My Life changing AIESEC Internship in Sri Lanka - Asha Chowdary

Hello! I’m Asha Chowdary from India!

I'm a new recruit in the international organisation, AIESEC! The most wonderful part of AIESEC is my exchange period. It was so fascinating for me when I heard about the internship programs conducted by AIESEC where you could actually go to a different part of the world and leave an impact by your work. It was a fun and a challenging experience.

I worked as a volunteer for Youth Empowerment  Project YEP 5.0 in Colombo South which has added wonderful of colours to my life. That was the period when we felt responsible working for another neighbouring country selflessly just for our fellow brothers and sisters to have a bright future ahead.

What a never forgetting experience it was to spend six  complete weeks with different people from different cultures pushing yourself from your comfort levels and bringing the best which was lying within! Though it took all the EPs to get to the major issues of the country and scale out proper methods to channel, the problems to the youth of the country and make them realise their importance in the society and how they could help curb the nation.

We also had holiday trips apart from our project works which really helped me personally to become a more strong and an independent person because it takes a lot of guts to go roam carefree in a nation where the language is unknown and the people are complete strangers. Whenever there were good times or  bad times, AIESECers were always just a call away to help us sort any kind of issue . This is when i got good knowledge about the importance of customer experience and all the phases an EP goes through in his/her internship. It was really awesome to work with such hard working and dedicated people which teach you untaught lessons of life !

Before the internship I was a person with low confidence levels,who could not pick up conversations with random people,and was an introvert ! Now after coming back from the internship AIESEC has  made me an extrovert person,shouted up my confidence levels and help become an extrovert and a good person and and gave me a bunch full of friends .

I have gone through a lot of self development and improved my skills which helped me in doing  more productive work. I have changed as a person both personally and professionally when I was on an internship. That is when I realised that there is something new which we learn in every opportunity that we take up in AIESEC. I thank AIESEC for providing such wonderful opportunities where the person develops and also the society develops !

Sherman Wong Exploring the Unknown as a Global Volunteer

Trying new things and exploring the unknown was nothing new to me and was something that I have always loved. And so, this summer I’ve done exactly that! I went for a volunteering exchange in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka being a country that I have minimal knowledge about deemed to the best place I could have chosen. This experience has really opened my eyes to so much more that I never knew. From the different cultures, food environment and people I have experienced in my exchange. It definitely was an experience like no other.

Besides, engaging with the community of a different background was one of my favourite parts of this exchange, where I really got my hands dirty and truly the impact of volunteering afterwards. I have learnt so much from this experience working in such a diverse team of 10 people from different countries, it truly was very different from the ordinary when people have such different views, thoughts, ideas and more which we would not experience back at home.

Overall, I would say that these were some of the best moments of my life and that this has been one of those best decisions you make in life. At the same time, It’s a great opportunity for you to do something meaningful that your future self would thank you for!

30 photos that will make you wish you were in Sri Lanka Right Now!

Click here to check out the photo album in our Facebook page

Click here to check out the photo album in our Facebook page

How I became a Global Volunteer with AIESEC in Colombo South - by Tu Nguyen

Hello everybody, my name is Tu Nguyen (nickname Tom). I come from Vietnam and I am 22 years old. Currently, I have been studying as electrical engineer in Nottingham University Malaysia Campus. I know AIESEC organisation from my university (AIESEC UNMC) and it is the first time that I attend AIESEC Global Citizen program. And I decided to choose teaching English for children as my summer project. The reason why I join the AIESEC’s program is that teaching English is my hobby as well as I want to explore the other countries with their cultural and contribute to society on this summer. Moreover, this is first step of the journey to discover myself.    

However, it was not easy to answer the question “Which country could I choose?”. After considering carefully about my hobbies and interests, finally, Sri Lanka was my destination on this summer. Firstly, I like nature, tropical forest, mountain and animal. Secondly, I also like swimming on the beach. Therefore, why I chose this fresh and beautiful island country.

When I came to Sri Lanka, the weather was not surprising me since it is quite similar with my country. However, the lifestyle was totally difference. And the most interesting thing was Tuk Tuk, the popular lovely vehicle. Furthermore, we could not ignore the food which is a part of culture of one country. Sri Lanka’s foods including spicy foods were delicious although the spicy was not my favourite.

Moreover, the landscapes in Sri Lanka were really beautiful, huge and impressive. There are a lot of famous places that attract a large of tourists such as: Siririya, Kandy, Galle… as well as many activities surfing, diving and my favourite activity: rafting.

Beside travelling, the main purpose of this project was teaching English and I attended project name Guru Gedara. It was totally fun and worthy. I love the children due to their loveliness and activeness. Until now, I am very happy to teach them though I felt tired and exhausted sometimes. It makes me become a real teacher with highly responsibility.

In brief, the exchange program is a big opportunity to learn and understand the culture of foreign country. It makes my life worthier and more colourful. Moreover, I am really impressive not only the landscapes but also the hospitality of people in the beautiful island Sri Lanka.

My Experiences in Sri Lanka - By Clarrie Lee Gaik Li

Hi, I’m Clarrie Lee Gaik Li from LC Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). I chose to join Aqua 4.0 project in LC Colombo South, Sri Lanka from 4th July to 16th August 2016 during my semester break as I was looking for personal development and broadening my horizons through AIESEC exchange programme.  

I remember the very first night as I stepped into the international airport of Sri Lanka. It was past midnight when I reached. I met my project leader outside of the airport as he came to pick me. I was totally blanked out after the three hours flight and it was hard for me to search for him in the crowd of Sri Lankans outside who looked similar to me. I was expecting someone to hold up a paper that wrote “AIESEC” though so it’s easier for me to find. Somehow thankfully he managed to find me and brought me to the accommodation place. On the way to the house, it was dark and the car window was open. I was curious and new to the whole new environment of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan air smells different from Malaysia. There was an incense smell everywhere and I think it took me around three days to get used to the smell. 

Adapting here took me almost two weeks. I was crying and missed home so much on the first week. I was so confident that I could adapt within a day or two back then as I am used to being out alone. Then, I realized that I had 5 more weeks to survive here in Sri Lanka and got worried. Thinking back, I can laugh at my previous self for that. As time goes by, it’s not about “surviving” anymore but learning how to maximize the best experience I want it to be as well as to learn about the culture of Sri Lanka. 

We have 9 EPs for this project. I am very happy to know each of them and they gave me support and care throughout the whole project. We also have the opportunity to travel together to many beautiful places of Sri Lanka and it was memorable. I thought that I will have a less good experience with people of my race and I was wrong. It taught me not to jump to conclusion so quickly. Besides, I have the chance to meet EPs from other projects that live in the same house or during some field trips and had a great time with them too. 
  

Aqua 4.0 turned out to be an amazing and impactful project and I never regret that I chose it as soon as I read about it. We attended several field trips to laboratories and water treatment plants to have an idea about water quality analysis and treatment. We also did several talks and activities on water conservation to the school children and orphanages. As I was researching on water related issues and chronic kidney disease (CKD) for the upcoming school session which we had to present, the search brings me to a current issue in Sri Lanka where people are suffering from that disease because of drinking polluted water which contained ions and heavy metals. Our project managed to supply three water filters to three different schools in Anuradhapura which is one of the top places in Sri Lanka that is affected by CKD. Seeing the children refilling their water bottles with the filtered water really warms my heart. There is a feeling I could not explain through words but I am thankful to be part of the impact. 
     

I love all the trips and holidays organized by the project’s OC. I enjoyed walking and trekking through the nature of Sri Lanka which some of it are part of the project. It gave us time to get to know each other better and once I know the OCs, I found that they are very nice people and fun to have around. They are more than happy to tell me more about Sri Lanka and are very helpful when I needed them. There are always OC around when we go to school sessions or field trips but I only really know them better after the trip to Anuradhapura where we stayed together for 3 days.  I wished I had known them better earlier and have more fun time together. I’m not sure if I will be able to meet them again after my exchange here but I hope to see them again. 
     
I learnt a lot more about the life in Sri Lanka and also myself after my 6 weeks here. I would like to say that I’m grateful that I have a whole bunch of energetic and supportive people who go through with me in this voluntary programme. A great appreciation to the OC for working very hard and putting everything together to make this project a successful one and giving me an unforgettable experience here. Thank you and I will miss everyone I met here. 

The winter season has begun!

On the 14th of September eve, 2016 the AIESEC CS local committee has gathered for to announce a new chapter of  excitement and joy for a whole new season. The meeting commenced with the appreciations of summer season team leaders as they had shown a promising performance to collect maximum number of satisfaction in participation.  

While you conclude the end of previous chapter, the next chapter dawned with the announcement of new team leaders for this coming season. It was indeed an act of bravery shown as they step out from the audience in the midst of applauding and cheers. They were given a brief  introduction about themselves and the representing projects.

Next segment was the introduction of the iflyers who had taken the challenge to come out of their comfort zones and volunteered to make  a difference in another community. As the 30+ iflyers stood up, Druvinka and kasun came forward to share their experiences since there were limited time for the meeting to wind up. Druvinka who has gone to Malaysia and Kasun who has gone to Thailand to experience a life changing opportunity in exchange participating. By listening to their sharings it left a sense of curiosity in the air for the potential iflyers who might apply to reveal themselves in a position that they would never tought that had existed in them.

iGT Corp Hunt results took into a  new level of surprise. Best performing members were recognized and rewarded for high capabilities that they had out shine. Results of the next Corp Hunt will for surely be in a greater shape as expecters will wish for more challenging results next time.

“Innovators” another sublime confidence champagne where you can share your innovative ideas which can turn into a promising project for the next season. Those who think that they have a great idea, where you think it will be productive or it might give a smashing out run, then here is the best opportunity to try. We appreciate and value your views, that we are ready to lend an ear. Share your ideas and as a team we will discuss whether we can take the initiative to proceed forward.

The announcement of the lead cs including the induction day organizing committees and the marketing team were up in next. The introductions were being followed with positive wishes as all want to give 110% out from them.

Special announcement is made regarding the I respect you day which will fall on 1st of October and more information will be updated soon in our facebook page.

Last but not least, after the thank you speech from Kaushalya, embracing the new talents and bravery the meeting came to a halt. Members happily gathered for the selfie rewriting the history with further plans and yet another excited day with CS family.

Merel Jansen shares her experience in FEEL LANKA 9.0

For the summer of 2016 I decided that I wanted to do something meaningful with my 2 months off. AIESEC provided the perfect opportunity of getting to know different cultures, exploring a foreign country and making yourself useful in a volunteering project with their Global Citizen projects. After some browsing I found a project that immediately got me excited: Feel Lanka 9.0. On the 12th of July I arrived in Colombo for a summer full of travelling, photographing and reviewing. The goal of Feel Lanka 9.0 was to promote Sri Lanka's tourism sector to get people excited to visit this beautiful country. During the project I made several 3-day-trips with 14 other interns through Sri Lanka where we got to know more about the islands' surroundings, culture and food. A few of the trips were sponsored, such as a rafting trip with the company Borderlands. In exchange for Instagram shoutouts, personal blogs and TripAdvisor reviews from all the interns we received a 2-day rafting and bonding experience with Borderlands, which was an amazing deal.

 Whenever we were not travelling, we stayed at our EP-house in Moratuwa where we could edit our videos, write our reviews for the hotels we stayed at and of course, chill. By living together with all 15 interns for 6 weeks in one house we really bonded as a group! Everything we needed was located near the EP-house, which was very convenient. E.g. K-zone, a hotel with a swimming pool we could access for 8 dollars, etc. Due to the last sponsored trip being cancelled, we had a lot of free time to organize our own backpacking trip to the parts of Sri Lanka we hadn't been yet. This was a great and challenging travelling-experience. By always taking public transport and eating at local food stands we could really engage with Sri Lanka's local life!

It has been a great summer with making friends all over the world (our project had the biggest diversity in cultures compared to other projects in Colombo!), learning about other cultures (as well as at the Global Village as in daily life) and developing myself. It was not always easy being in such a different culture for 6 weeks straight in weather conditions I was not used to, but I would do it all over again. I can really recommend the project Feel Lanka to whoever wants to improve Sri Lanka's tourism sector in a very fun way.

Watch the video of the Down South trip of Feel Lanka 9.0 -https://www.facebook.com/FeelLanka/videos/985960041513243/

Knock ! Knock! Kites are ready to soar!

Kite is a toy which will brightens the evening with colours of joy. The serene blue sky, the humming music of the blowing wind and the beautiful sunset was captured, as the kite festival pinned to one of those happy days in August which ring the bell of festivities are in the air!

To mark the successful completion of summer peak the kite festival of AIESEC Colombo South took place on 18th of august at the Mount beach, Mount Lavinia. The fellow AIESECers and exchange participants from summer projects have joined to enjoy the good times on their stay in this beautiful island.  

The evening was organized with fun filled games and jives. It’s always the enthusiasm of the gathering enhances the magic of the event. The agenda kicked off with the sand castle competition which was a difficulty even for the judges in selecting the winners in categories of most creative sand castle and the best creative explanation.

It started as a group activity. The teams were formed with minimum of four members to maximum no limit and four teams were ready to accept the challenge. According to the rules and regulations the sand castle would be area of 4² feet to 2 feet in height, and the given time will be 30 minutes to finish the task.

Next was the “Pani Bambare”. How you play pani bambare was one member from a particular team goes running towards a stick which is placed steadily upright some distance away from the starting point. After you reach the stick he/she has to run around the stick, bend and slightly touching his/her temple on the top edge of the stick. As soon as you finish ten rounds he/she has to run back again to the starting line so that the next member will follow the same.

The gathering were engaged in an event of frenzy that It took the attention of everyone in to cheers because after running ten times in circular motion no one was in ability to run in straight line for at least 3 minutes.

Last but not least, after the prizes were given for the winning teams the Kite flying took place, where the sun was setting down leaving a rich golden colour gracefully embracing the horizon . In midst of all the excitement, the kites appeared as color dots blanketing the evening sky. Unlike other festivals AIESECers have their own way with jives that marked the yet another day to cherish in this windy August, at Mount beach.

By Devindi Abeydeera Gunaratne

30 Incredibly Amazing Days in Sri Lanka - by Mu Hui from China

    After 3.5 hours flight from Tianjin to Kunming, 22 hours transit and 4.5 hours flight again, I finally arrived in Sri Lanka, a country which attracted me the moment I got off the airplane. While walking out of the airport, I was surrounded by the beautiful smiles of local people, leaving a deep impression on me. Then I found Piumi, my EP manager, who came to pick me up. She was so cute and friendly that I soon adjusted myself to the new atmosphere without feeling homesick at all!

    I spent my first two nights in Piumi's house. Her families are very nice and hospitable, talking with me about my country and offering me tasty food of Sri Lanka. On the third day, I moved to the EP house. At first I was a little bit unaccomodated, because there were "visitors" from time to time, cockroaches and spiders. However, this scared feeling toward insects quickly disappeared with more and more EPs coming and further importantly, with the help of Piumi.

    In the next few days, I took a short trip accompanied by some Chinese friends and a French girl. We went to Kandy, seeing the temple of tooth. And then went to Nuwara Eliya which impressed me a lot for its cool weather, almost 10 degrees lower than Colombo. After settled, we went to Victoria park, relaxing ourselves in the pure and fresh air. The next day we set off to Horton plains. It was really an unforgettable experience. We hiked for more than 8 kilometers, in which we saw the world's end, mini world's end and baker's fall. The only pity is that due to the cloudy day, we were unable to see clearly the view by the stiff. But two hours later, it turned sunny. It seems that the shiny sun, the blue sky, the flowers which can be seen everywhere were all welcoming me as a new guest to Srilanka.

    The following week I went to the nursery. Teachers there knew English. They showed their hospitality through passionate greetings and funny selfies. Kids were all adorable, singing songs every morning, praying before meals, even kowtowing and touching my feet after class. At the beginning I was shocked and didn't know how I should react to this behavior, since in China it is considered a supreme manner. Fortunately with the explanation of the teachers, I understood eventually and got used to this. I taught them from alphabet to simple words, with the method of classification given by the teachers. They were so intelligent and eager to learn new knowledge, therefore, I could finish my task easily everyday. Then I played with them in the yard  and sometimes introduced them interesting games of China. They were very expert at them so we really enjoyed ourselves and had a great time.

    The next two weeks besides going to nursery on the weekdays, I travelled to Negombo, Galle and Mirissa, having a bunch of first-time experiences with my dear friends. We tried delicious seafood, watched breathtaking sunset, dived and saw colorful carols and shells and surfed under the instructions of professional guys, all becoming my lifetime memories with no doubt.

    The weekend before I leave, I went to Galle again with the kids of the nursery, as well as their parents and teachers. During this one- day trip, we had the opportunity to have a look at the sea turtles and the exterior of the army ship. At the end, we didn't even want to say goodbye to each other.

    Time flies! I felt four weeks was just a blink. The night before I leave, Piumi and her families took me and the other three EPs to a fancy five-star hotel, another first-time experience! It really is a great feast with various kinds of foods, vegetables and fruits. But this is not the end. They secretly prepared a surprise! After finishing eating, a chocolate cake was presented in front of me. Then they gave me a big gift, with a frame full of the pictures we took together. Later, Piumi passed me a goodlooking bag with a tender scarf. I was so moved that I was nearly speechless. What a night! The next day I left, unwilling to say goodbye...

    Now I'm in China. Those 30 incredibly amazing days seems like a dream to me, in which I met 7 nice Chinese guys and one French girl, many nice Sri Lankan people and naturally beautiful landscapes. I will keep this memory forever in the bottom of my heart and hope to come back to Sri Lanka in the future, seeing all of you there again, like a family.

Mu Hui (Haley)

Project Hodiya - AIESEC Colombo South

    

Praharshita's unforgettable experiences in Sri Lanka

SRI LANKA - A land like no other

Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful countries of the world. It is rich with culture, tradition, scenic beauties, food and the people here are very kind, sweet and helpful. The climate in this country is very pleasant and happy. The falling ray of the sun upon the gushing waves is a marvelous sight to see. Clean and neat beaches, historic pagodas, waterfalls, caves, the lion of the rock-Sigiriya, ancient temples and many more places make this country a wonderful tourism place. A person who is in love with nature will love this island.

Youth Empowerment Project - YEP                                             

By the name itself you might be wondering its just empowering the youth, but it is not as easy as it is as the name suggest. It’s much more than that, it’s a life changing and a life long cultural experience along with empowering the youth in Sri Lanka we ourselves also got empowered. This experience has taught to look, think ,observe , introspect everything around us in a more challenging way.

During the project we have visited schools and universities conducting sessions through activities on interesting topics like entrepreneurship, communication skills, team work, leadership, and the cultural sharing of different countries. We were well planned for the session to give our best. AIESEC has this amazing culture of roll calls (dance which anyone and everyone can do) which keeps you active and energized at all times. It was an amazing time and fun filled session during the YEP( Youth Empowerment Project). We were provided a house to stay where students from different parts of the world had come to live together and this experience has taught us to be independent, adjust, adapt to new environment and surroundings, to cook, love, care, share and most of all to be a family. The local food was tasty and flavored with lots of spices, a word to be mentioned about the famous Dilmah Tea without which our day wouldn’t begin.

Apart from these sessions we had “Global Day” which was one of the best events where, we got to interact with students from various parts of the world. The main object of AIESEC program is to build a bond between the youth of various countries in exchanging the cultural, traditional and social practices amongst them. A few places that were covered during the trip to Sri Lanka include Southern Province- Galle and Matara, Colombo in the Western, Candy the central, Trincomalee Eastern and Ella in the Uva province. The sacred holy Buddhist temples, light houses, forts, beaches, waterfalls are a must to be mentioned the beauty of these can be enjoyed and captured with our own eyes.

I extend my gratitude to the Local Committee and every member of AIESEC COLOMBO SOUTH, SRI LANKA for giving me such a marvelous, joyful and unforgettable memories in the lap of mother nature at Sri Lanka.

Praharshita Duppala
Exchange Participant for YEP 5.0