Rising Sea & The Mekong Delta

It was extremely helpful to have ABROADER when I arrived to Vietnam. I didn’t have to worry about how to get from the airport to the house or how to get a local sim card. Also ABROADER staff (Tung and Ngan) were periodically checking on me to make sure everything was ok. Mo and Claire were kind enough to arrange a city tour when I visited Saigon. However, the most important thing was that ABROADER Vietnam introduced me to Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.

The industry visits provided real-world experience and foresight into our future careers. The field trips gave us a new insight into a rich, deep culture, and ABROADER organised parties were heaps of fun... They usually ended up turning into a very late night as well. During the trip I always felt safe thanks to the local buddies and our program coordinator. Before I left for this trip, I could not help but feel nervous. It was my first time travelling overseas and I was about to leave my home country for ~one month. I did not know what to expect from Vietnam/Singapore, the people I was travelling with, or the countless people I would meet overseas. Since the very first moment that I arrived the local buddies welcomed me with open arms. The entirety of the group that I came over with also bonded so much quicker than I thought possible. From the start we were exploring Ho Chi Minh City, while introducing ourselves to the locals and the nightlife. All the activities on the trip were great and we were all kept busy. This was a really big positive in my opinion as, had a tentative schedule have not been organised, it may have become easy to 'waste' a day or more relaxing. That being said, there were some free days designated throughout the trip should you wish to catch up on some sleep ;). Provided you use a little bit of travelling smarts I cannot see any problems that should arise on your trip. Each and every one of the local buddies, (our coordinator included), were so kind and caring. You should really give it your best effort to open up and engage with each of them. They are all such great and unique people and provide the best way to truly immerse yourself in the adventure. Furthermore, they are so selfless and are always able to provide advice or help you out with literally anything. You have a golden opportunity to make some truly long-lasting friendships. Both Vietnam and Singapore themselves were amazing countries to visit. There is an aura about both that gives you the feeling that something is always happening. Particularly in Vietnam, most local places are open at almost all hours of the day and deep into the night. However, this never left me feeling as though the cities we visited were too busy. Being in a largish group of good friends and exploring was completely fun and relaxing too. The visits to more discrete locations were also beautiful and completely peaceful. Finally, the local civilians were so kind, welcoming and genuinely happy that we were experiencing their culture and lifestyle. Now that the trip is over all I can think about is how I wish it had gone for longer. How I wish I had extended my trip even further, and how I am already planning to meet with the friends I have made on this journey for further travel. So, if you are worried or nervous about any parts of this trip, all I can say is that it truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity. There are so many friends and stories to be made. Get out there, take every opportunity you can, don't overthink it and just do it!

I was happy with everything else including in-country logistics and visa support, orientation and city tour and I would definitely recommend this internship in Vietnam to my friends or students who are interested. Though most of my work was limited to observation depending on what department I was placed in, I was able to contribute to the nursing staff by other means (i.e. sorting through medicine to be used for the next day). However, in the ICU, I got to perform all nursing tasks except for mixing drugs as only head nurses could do that task. In addition, I found it really helpful that I had many supervisors at work and they all cared that I learned from this experience. Regarding my experience with ABROADER Vietnam service, what I appreciated the most was probably the local buddy they paired me with here.

I did have a bit of trouble with my original internship, but ABROADER was very supportive and active in ensuring I got the best experience and helped me switch to a different company. My new company became a place where I learned about company life and got to work on independent projects. It was also great to have the local buddies with us, as they went around town and did different activities with us. The local buddies definitely made my experience here more fun and made it easier for me to acclimate to life here. Also, going around Ho Chi Minh City was actually much safer than I had imagined, and people here are usually very friendly to help out foreigners. My time here went by very quickly, and my summer experience of growing, learning, exploring, and lots of eating is definitely one I will remember!

My Internship here was an incredible time. It was educational, stuffed to the brim with wonderful experiences, new friendships and so much more. I am glad to have had ABROADER Vietnam supporting me with adjusting to the lifestyle here, and have already recommended it to colleagues from home. I was impressed by how fast they were to help, and how far they went to help me fix things, if problems occured The only problem I ran into was during my internship, you can imagine the amount of people with adequate english was limited, especially those that were able to give me clear instructions on what to do. As a result, a measurable amount of time was spent observing and helping out with small scale procedures within the departements. This was not the case in all eight of them, so at times I was able to work just like back home, provide valuable assistance to the Nurses in the departement work as an integral part of the team. I believe the internship provided the patients, and the Nurses with a valuable experience. Besides the occasional english lesson for the nurses, being the caregiver to children should expand their cultural horizon. The individuals I worked with, on the other hand provided me with as much attention and chances to learn as possible. In the future, expanding their english knowledge can only improve relations to students. All in all, I am certain that anyone who will be working with them for an internship will see how hardworking they are in making the experience here in vietnam as flawless as possible.

I have always been an extremely shy person, when I was small, my face would turn red and I even cried in front of people. Now that I’m a grown up, I want to become more confident, make friends and talk with them like other people do after one-month internship here in Vietnam.

Doing my internship Vietnam, will be an unforgettable experience for me because reflecting back to the past 4 months staying in Vietnam I have learned quite a lot in Vietnam in terms of culture, people, work ethics and values, it grows me as a person to become a better person with the way I interact with people, working with them on a project and how to deal with problems whether big or small. At the end of day, people are people, they are not going to be your ideal circle of friends or co-workers that is going to go your way all the time, but what you can do is to make the best out of it and always end on a positive note :)

There are few words that could describe my time here this summer. The time I have spent here has been priceless and life changing, even more than I thought it could be. I learned so much from my nursing internship in Vietnam that will help me very much in my future. However, the life experience I’ve learned, through adapting to another culture, traveling alone to beautiful places and having a sense of home here is something I’ll never forget. The people here have touched my heart, and I’ll have these memories forever. This country, these places and people are beautiful, and I am so happy I came here. It’s inspired me to always follow my dreams, no matter how big they are, and that I can do anything.