Category: Ileaders, Career, Management, iLEAD, Media Studies,

My AIESEC Internship

"How was Egypt?"

A question I frequently encountered once I returned from the internship with AIESEC. Although various thoughts rushed into my mind, all I managed to utter was: “Amazing!”

Nervous as I was, everyday that feeling faded away bit by bit as I started interacting with other nationalities and befriending them. Our explore project started with a group of complete strangers and ended as a family. The group bonded over hibiscus tea, Nile river ferries, scuba diving, atv riding, camping, hot air balloon rides and not to forget hours of travelling in buses and micro buses non stop. After travelling for days we’d come back to the city where we were staying- Suez.

Once in the city, every evening we would meet up with the rest of the EP’s (exchange participants) who had other projects and exchange stories. As I’d tell them about our travelling, they’d narrate their experience of teaching art or English to children. At the end of the day, we would go back to the apartments to our roommates with whom I would share innumerable memories.

Tackling issues and working together made the whole journey worth it and got all of us closer as well. We adapted to each others habits and patterns to an extent that whenever a problem arised, nobody had to face it alone! Being in a foreign country, we learnt to follow and respect the customs of the country. The language barrier was challenging at first but slowly with the help of the AIESEC’rs we overcame it with the basic Arabic words that helped us throughout!

The global village showcased cultures of Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey, China, Bolivia, Kenya, Brazil, Morocco, Mexico and India. The colourful event united all of us with the native songs,dances, dishes and attires.

The project ended with a video being made to display a glimpse of Egypt we experienced: