Boarding the airplane, that would first bring me to Singapore and then to Kuching in Malaysia, I was very much doubting my decision to leave Amsterdam for over 6 weeks to go on an AIESEC experience. I would be missing out on a few of my best friends’ birthdays and leaving everything I know to dive into this new adventure.
Working at a summer camp in Malaysia
If I had to describe my experience with AIESEC in one word it would be “adventure”. I got to be around so many great people, joining an awesome project and seeing the beautiful features of this beautiful country, when I went to Kuching to join the ASEAN Project 2015. The ASEAN Project is about providing a three-day summer camp to high school students. In this camp we’d set up 5 workshops on different topics; environmental awareness, cross-cultural exposure, leadership, soft-skills and career development. The workshops were on an introductory level and were supposed to create awareness and interest in the different fields. But it wasn’t just wonderful because of that. It was so great to see how these kids lived, what their schools looked like and how they reacted to 10 foreigners invading their school for the weekend.
Most memorable moment of my experience
The thing that most remained in my memory about these students is the openness and willingness to learn. Many of the experiences were very inspiring and really turned out to be an addition to their personal career path. I also learned a lot about myself, about relationships and cross-cultural interaction. I learned about cooperating in large teams and working together with companies and organizations like the local university and sponsors.
Besides all the work that we did, we had enough time to explore the great food of Sarawak, to discover the incredibly beautiful rainforest and wildlife of Borneo and to spend time at the beach or at the mall. I can look back at a great experience, remembering all the great places and people I have met.
Thank you AIESEC for setting me up with the amazing LC UNIMAS. If I could, I’d go back tomorrow.
This post was written by AIESEC in the Netherlands. We offer international voluntary projects and professional internships with the aim of developing leadership in youth. You can read more about our experience stories here.
