We love to share stories about successful people who took every opportunity and transformed them into something great. In today’s blog post, we will talk about Christopher, who came in Romania through an AIESEC exchange during the summer of 2022.
Christopher Kantelhardt was an intern in Iasi at a translation agency, YTranslations. We asked him a couple of questions in order to find out how was this experience for him.
Why did you decide to go in an internship abroad?
“I really wanted to immerse myself in a brand-new culture and to be on my own. I believe you can really grow as a person if you put yourself in a completely new environment and learn about new perspectives on life. I saw the AIESEC experience as a great way to improve my English skills since there was (and still is) room for improvement. Finally, one of the main reasons for which I did this is to gain valuable work experience abroad.”
Why did you choose YTranslations specifically?
“After the first interview, YTranslations left a good impression on me because of the nice and calm atmosphere and also because of Alexandru (the CEO of YTranslations). What made YTranslations stand out to me is that their internship was helpful and made me get in direct contact with clients, suppliers etc. This was valuable to me and I saw it as a great opportunity to gain experience that will be useful in my professional and personal life.”
How was the experience overall?
“I had a great experience so I am very happy with my choice. It really surprised how warm and welcoming they were all with me, even though I didn’t speak Romanian. I clicked very well with the local AIESEC committee of Iasi and they made me feel right at home. Everyone at AIESEC spoke English very well so I felt comfortable and well-integrated. They were also always there to help me with any question or issue I had.
One thing that was really special for me is that they invited me, along with 2 other interns to assist to the the local AIESEC elections which were held in Iasi’s town hall. It was a unique experience and really gave me an inside look in the local committee.
The food in Iasi was great and I loved trying out the local food at restaurants. I especially loved Papanași and I have to admit that I miss them a bit now that I’m back in Germany.
Living in a university dorm was also nice since everything I needed was already there. In the first few weeks I was alone in the room, but later I got a roommate which was another AIESEC intern who worked at Ytranslations. It was really nice because we got along really well and I always had someone to hang out with, outside of working hours. “
How did you develop during your internship?
“Overall, I have become a lot more independent due to living and working in a new and unknown environment. Aside from that, my English got better because people generally don’t speak German. The only time I spoke German was when I did sales for Germany during work or when I called my family.
During my internship at Ytranslations, I’ve developed a lot of sales skills, I’ve learned to be more assertive and more confident to speak with people I haven’t met before.
Working in an international team with various nationalities also helped me gain new perspectives on life and made me more open-minded as a person.”
What did you like the most about Romania?
“This is a really difficult question! Like I said before, I liked the food there, especially Papanași. But if I have to choose one thing, it would probably be meeting so many new and amazing people. The people at YTranslations and AIESEC were very nice and hospitable and they did this experience great. I’ve made new friends, gained new perspectives and grew as a person during this internship. I would certainly recommend going in an AIESEC experience to anyone who wants to develop themselves.”
