The local buddies and program manager were the support I felt most satisfied with because I feel like if I had any problems or needed help, I was able to reach out to them for support. I’m very satisfied with the people who work at the center as well as the students because I feel like everyone treats each other like family so there is very open and easy communication with our coworkers who speak English. I feel like I had good support at the center because everyone was very welcoming and understanding.

The host organization has a very welcoming and friendly environment that makes it easy to approach one another. They’re very understanding and are willing to listen and compromise as well as have mutual respect for one another. I think the host organization could have been clearer at the beginning of the internship about what our roles are, what the center is about, and what we need to do/finish by the end of the internship. There was a lot of confusion about what my role was in the beginning since the tasks they gave us were very vague and I didn’t have a lot of information about the center itself until mid-July, so it would have been nice if they were more specific.

I really enjoyed spending time with Lemon and Kazue during the city tour as they were very knowledgeable about places and it was just really nice talking to them and getting to know them because they were so incredibly sweet and friendly.