Friday, September 11, 2015

What Living in Sri Lanka Has Taught Me...

Sri Lanka does not equal Asia - leave your prejudices at home Six months ago I used to live in Korea as an exchange student. After my stay there, to me, Asian cuisine was all about way too spicy meat and tasteless white rice, Asians were mainly focused on partying and there were only grey megalopolises with hundreds of skyscrapers and no nature. 

This was the reason I tried to keep my expectation regarding an internship in Sri Lanka as low as possible so that I do not get disappointed. However, Sri Lanka is nothing like that. The cuisine is amazing – delicious fried rice or noodles with vegetables and chicken, egg hoppers and tons of fruits. The local people as well as the people coming from other countries are amazing. I have never expected that they would be interested in spending time in the wild, riding elephants or even laughing when un expected rainfall ruins your make-up!

Team work is the key to success Although I have always preferred working alone and not having to explain my decisions to other team members, living in Sri Lanka proved me wrong. If I was good at taking short videos, there was another girl who was able to put the videos together and make a whole movie. Another one had great ideas about background music. Everybody is good at something, they just have to find and develop their potential!


Organize something well, find the right people and you will enjoy every part of it I have never expected that the project “Explore Sri Lanka” would be so well-organized. The tours were prepared in advance and the AIESECers have taken care about every detail. I could not imagine travelling alone by bus in Sri Lanka or asking for the directions. Therefore, it was truly great that there was always a team member with us to help us out with everything. The good organization as well as the friendly AIESECers made every experience unforgettable. This way, we have enjoyed every part of the journey and found something amazing or hilarious even in the difficulties we have encountered!



Stefani Tsikandelova, Bulgaria AIESEC Sofia University

No comments:

Post a Comment