5 reasons why you should do an internship abroad
Intern Marketing and Communication Gino is doing his
internship at the Dynaf Group from February untill June (2019)
Dushi bida is an adequate description of my life in Utrecht. I have built up a wonderful life there, so why should I leave? That is something I asked myself when the idea of an internship abroad came up. When I talked to my uncle about this, he told me that there can be hundreds of reasons to keep you from doing something, but there are only a few to motivate you. My hundreds of reasons are summarisable in fear. How will it be? What if I get homesick? These are examples of questions that immediately came to mind. The idea of an internship abroad is amazing, but my fear of the unknown definitely pulled some brakes. It is so much easier to stay within your comfort zone. But despite all of that, I am now already starting my seccond month of my internship at Dynaf. I will reveal my five reasons that caused me to go anyway, because I think nobody should listen to their brake pullers!
1. Look up your boundaries
Does ‘stepping out of your comfortzone’ mean that you enter a situation that does not feel right? That does not have to be the case. After all, you can also experience a feeling of comfort, if the situation is familiar. Therefore, it is comfortably to stay in your comfortzone. But is there not more in life than comfort? That question got me thinking about my boundries. So I started looking for them. I did this by trying new things like: new food, drinks and routes. Later on, I started to do things more and more differently. My search resulted in a more valuable life, which tasted like more. So why not take a bigger step? I have found my boundries and I have literally and figuratively flown over it!
2. Growth and development
Time is a different concept here in Curaçao, I even noticed that it flies here too! In the meantime I have already been doing an internship for over a month at Dynaf. By now, I hoped to have learned a lot, and I can gladly say I did. It’s nice to get to know another culture during your internship. Again a new experience! All these new experiences will make your world so much bigger, and that gives you a feeling of freedom!
Although, I did not expect too much freedom from Dynaf. because, you often hear that the interns at succesful companies get uninteresting chores and ultimately feel unappreciated. During this internship, however, I get the feeling that my work really matters! Because my designs will be the first impression for potential customers. I find this responsibility very cool and educational. Thanks to that, I can say that I am way more confident in my professional field now.
In addition, this is a commitment to moving forward rather than sitting on the bench. I am making big steps in the area of personal growth too. A getaway gives you new insights about yourself.
3. A getaway
What I noticed in the Netherlands, was that I got lost in my daily routine. Blinded by the comfortzone you could say. This was a reason for me to leave. I was curious what would happen, if I stripped away most of my familiar surroundings, things and persons. I heard that you are likely to start acting like the people you surround yourself with. If that is true, then I need to experience it myself. What are truly my decisions?
The embracing of change and a lack of attachment to a particular outcome, is a beautiful way to live. Everything will be so much easier and more joyful. Live in the moment, stop giving hundreds of reasons the control to pull the brakes.
4. Sun, beaches and parties
I mean, how can I write a blog about my internship in Curaçao, without even talking about this! With an average of 28 degrees and beautiful beaches, it was hard to stay in the gray winter of the Netherlands. I think we all have this magnetic pulling effect to tropical islands, so I will leave this reason open for your own imagination. I can however tell you some advice.
Partying and chilling on the beach is nice and all, but don’t forget your mental and physical health. It can be hard to say no if somebody asks you to go out. You can mostly thank FOMO for that. In addition this warm weather will not be a motivator for you to exercise. I recommend you do it though! Especially if you are in a stressful situation, or if you are not mentally feeling great.
A study in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology found that, physical activities give you mood-boosting effects. This will result in a quicker mental recovery in comparison to lounging around. Another factor of exercising being better, is because lounging around will give you some room to overthink. There are some nice companies that give bootcamps to students here, so that is a nice way to meet new people!
5. The internship abroad
My internship is also a good way to meet new people! The friendly colleagues, the rewarding work and nice company activities, ensure that this does not feel like a compulsory internship from 08: 00-17: 00. But more importantly, I get a lot of constructive feedback and can attend many meetings. This way I really learn to have more impact.
This company not only listens, but also carries out your ideas if you have a substantiation. In addition, analyzing the results of your work, really gives a kick. Because that is how I got to know, that my design has been seen by 15,000 people. It is also nice to see how things work differently in foreign countries. For example came to notice that I am not able to target people through Facebook ads here in Curaçao. That is why I am definitely going to do some research on this!
To sum it all up, this is a great internship so far. I really enjoy to work for an innovative leader in this market. Dynaf Group is the right choice for me!
Stop pulling the brake, break yourself free from it instead!
This video will show you what my actual internship at Dynaf looks like!
