Alumni Interview with Vanessa Wein

What inspired you to travel abroad? 

I wanted to go abroad to see more and explore the world. I wanted to make new experiences and hoped to become a bit more independent. 

Why did you choose Studentsgoabroad? 

I decided to get an internship in Bali with Studentsgoabroad, as they are already well known in my university. In addition, the internship description sounded really appealing for me. 

What was your favorite part about Bali? 

First of all, the weather! It is sunny almost all day long and you will always have a great start into the day. Second, of course, the ocean! No matter where you are, it is always just a couple of minutes ride to the ocean. Bali is absolutely great for learning and improving your surfing skills, as the island offers so many different kinds of breaks. And last but not least, Balinese are very warm, welcoming, and helpful. They really put a lot of effort in their culture, which can be seen in everyday offerings in front of every house and in their Hindu temples. Everything appears very colorful! 

What made your experience abroad extraordinary? 

All the people I have met during my travels! We took spontaneous trips together and I really don’t want to miss that time! 

How did the local program staff support you throughout your program? 

Studentsgoabroad found an internship, where most of my colleagues were German actually, which really made communications easy. Everybody was super friendly and always happy to help if I had any questions. 

What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad? 

As I am still traveling, there is actually not much that I would have done differently along the way. 

Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like. 

A typical office day looked like this: I woke up from my alarm around 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. After that I drove to my office, which was a 10-minute scooter ride from my accommodation. I did a lot of data mining, email support, and acquiring new customers for the app the company had developed.

Around 11:00 a.m. everybody got hungry and we went for lunch together. Most of the time we went to a traditional warung and had “Nasi Campur” (which translates to “mixed rice”). After our break we continued working until 4:00 p.m.

I left the office, went home to get changed, and to get my surfboard, and then went straight to the beach for an afternoon surf. In the evening, I was pretty tired most of the days, but happy. I always bumped into somebody at home after surf, with whom I could have a nice chat or a sundowner. During weekdays, that was basically my day. 

What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad? 

Well I probably spent most of my free time in the ocean surfing. Saturday and Sunday I tried to travel around the island for day trips to see as much as possible. 

What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it? 

I lived in a guest house (also called homestay in Bali), which is a complex of small apartments and very common here in Bali. The rooms were so pretty and clean, and the staff was very friendly. However, I felt that it was a bit too far from my office and to the beach so I changed my accommodation after a couple of weeks.

The second accommodation was quite similar, with my own bathroom as well. However, it was quite hard to get to know other people in the homestay, as there were a lot of rooms and the atmosphere was not as warm as in the first accommodation. So I decided to move again. 

This time it was a hostel. It was small and cute, and it was easier to get in contact with the other travelers. Also the staff was very welcoming. Even though I had to share my room, I really enjoyed staying there. I only had two weeks to go in my internship so it was kind of a good deal. 

What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins? 

You will spend all day (8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) at the office and in front of the laptop. But as my host company was an app developer specialized on a soccer trainings app, I actually didn’t expect anything different. My responsibilities have been marketing and a bit of business development; this also includes repetitive work, especially when you are going for a new market. 

Would you recommend Studentsgoabroad to others? Why? 

I would definitely recommend this internship for anybody interested in business development and marketing for apps. I could gain new skills as most of the tasks were new to me. 

What do you feel the biggest benefit of traveling abroad is? 

You try a lot things that you probably wouldn’t have done at home. You are not in your everyday environment, which means that everything runs a bit differently and you will learn to find solutions by your own. This makes you more independent and confident. I would say that you definitely grow personally and learn how to appreciate different values in life. 

Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life? 

I decided to spend some more time in Bali after my internship and travel a bit in Asia. But so far, I can say that this internship has helped me to gain more professional skills and learn more about the actual business of sports and career opportunities after I finished my studies. In general, I couldn’t choose a better country than Indonesia. Not only the people but also the surfing sport lit up every day. I will definitely try to stay connected to surfing and will now plan all my holidays at an ocean! 

What does meaningful travel mean to you? 

For me, meaningful travel means that you combine your travels with something else, such as gaining professional experience. In my opinion, Studentsgoabroad really does that, as my travel to Bali was itself a great adventure, and the internship definitely added more value to these travels. I could kind of combine both things with just one trip, without taking time out from my studies.