My AIESEC Exchange Experience of Hewan Legesse

Hewan Legesse, 20, Torino, Development Internship in Turkey, February-April 2011

When I knew I would be going to Turkey, I was too excited and very happy that I started counting down days starting a month before. But one day before my trip, I started feeling nervous. I felt like I will be leaving my friends, my school, generally my comfort zone. Just few hours before I took the train to the airport, I took a long walk alone on the street of Vercelli to calm myself down. I told myself that it is just six weeks and I would be back before I knew it.

 After an overnight stay in the airport and six hours flight, I arrived in Istanbul airport. Deniz, One of the dearest members of AIESEC Kocaeli , were kind enough to pick me up from the airport and we took two hours of bus trip from Istanbul to Izmit. I was too tired that I was sleeping in the bus all the way so I don’t remember most parts of the trip except the people that were selling water and Iran, Turkish famous drink which is more like yogurt with water, on the bus.

 When we got off, my fear and my nervousness suddenly disappeared. Izmit warmly welcomed me with an unexpected sunny bright day on the beginning February, music everywhere, people going up and down, sitting in group dinning and drinking on the outside cafés and kebab places and perfect strangers offering help while we were trying to drag my big luggage.

Everything around me was just talking to me, “You made the right choice.”

  When we got in the AIESEC office everybody, including my whole host family who were waiting for me there to take me home, welcomed me as if they have known me before and have been missing me for long time.

  Working with the local committee of AIESEC Kocaeli was also a great experience for me. They were a group of young students with lots of enthusiasm and spirit of hard work. They were always trying to make things go smoothly for all the interns. Though they were a little bit unorganized at times, they did a pretty good job and the whole program ended successfully.

  The name of our project was Meet my friend. There were over 40 interns from all over the world, Brazil, China, Colombia, Indonesia, Russia, Slovakia, Egypt, Japan, Korea….many more. We were divided into ten groups and with team leaders selected from the local committee members. It was a wonderful experience. I have to admit, at first I was a little bit paranoid about going to a high school full of teenagers and talking about just culture but I was once again proven wrong. The students were wonderful, friendly and smart. Also the teachers were helping all interns in every possible way they could. We would go twice a week to a high

school and once a week to a primary school.

  What we actually used to do was delivering presentations in classes about our culture and about the places we came from and then encourage students to speak and ask questions in English. But the students were not the only ones that were learning different about cultures but so also the interns. I learnt a lot about different countries. I actually realized how I have been ignorant and I was inspired to read and know more about the rest of the world. I had the chance to represent both Italy and Ethiopia at the same time. I discovered a lot about both

Italy and my country while preparing the presentation. I tried my best to show how great the countries I am coming from were. I was successful; at least I think I was. Everybody liked my presentation. Then I got the chance to see and watch all the presentations of the other interns. I was taken by surprise how much every country has beautiful things to offer to this world.

  All in all, I can say my trip to Turkey was impeccable. The people and the landscapes of Turkey, a weekend in Istanbul with the whole AIESEC group, the wonderful students at the school, which with some of them I ended up having a close relationship being like their big sister sharing secrets and experiences and my lovely host family.

  So, the weeks flew by and sadly because of a reschedule of my exam I had to come back two weeks earlier. The funny thing was as scared as I was on the day of my flight to Turkey, the day of my flight back was worse, it was hard to say goodbye to everybody after spending all the wonderful times together. Saying bye to Turkey was another big sad thing too. So, we decided not to say goodbye and instead see you next summer and I can’t wait to see them all again.