1. [Type a quote from the document or the summary of an
Project SANIDHYA
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“The choices you make, not chances you take, define your destiny”
Choitram International School, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh,
India, from 01.07.2012 untill 18.08.2012;
Maria Luis, 16/09/2012

2. “I should have already written something here, but i didn’t had the proper time
or in fact, the courage to do it ... cause for me to write about India makes my
heart hurt, thinking about all of you, thinking about what we´ve been through,
and what I’ve left its very hard. I just want to leave everything and go back!! It
was an amazing time; it was the best time yet in my life. I’m very thankful for
this experience! First, a big thank you to the great LC that took amazing care of
us. I never thought i would make such strong connection as i did, you aiesecers
were incredible, you truly were angels, really devote your time to us, besides
your busy life, and then gave us a true smile all the time and true friendship! i
will always have you in my heart, even some of you guys i see as brothers, that
i love very very muchhhh ( u know that :D). Then a big big and tight hug and
kiss to all interns, 'cause u made me a better person, each and everyone of u
expanded my horizont... a big thank you 'cause now " my life will never be the
same" and that its cause my path crossed with all of you. And of course there is
always that special group that i have even closer to my heart (they put up with
me a lot!! ahah) and i miss them every day. I learned so much, i lived so much, i
felt so much that words aren’t even enough( and that is another reason i took
time to wright in this group page, cause put what i lived in words don’t make
justice). Finally a big thank you to India. I now really understand the meaning of
Incredible India. A country that amazed me and challenged me, all of us i´m
sure, but in the end brought the best of us and made us fell in love with all that
offers. Actually i still have one big thank you to give, and that is for luck, God,
Gods,destiny...etc what ever you want to call it or see fit to call it, we were truly
blessed, or at least i see it that way, and i´m thankful everyday and that makes
me smile everyday, what we had was beautiful and was a present to us, to
change, to grow and to be better persons or at least fight for it. For sure I will be
back. Love you all and miss you like crazy ♥ ”
Maria Luis
Post that I’ve written on Facebook after 3 weeks returning home, in my Internship group page
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3. AIESEC Exchange Report- GCDP
2. Introduction………………………………………………….4
2.1 Internship Presentation……………………………………4
2.2 Presentation of the Internship and Host Committee…4
3. Development
3.1 Presentation of the Organization................................5
3.2 Activities developed...................................................5
3.3 Project results............................................................6
3.4 AIESEC role..............................................................6
3.5 Personal Experience......................................................6
4. Conclusion………………………………………………………7
5.Pictures……………………………………………………………8
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4. 2. Introduction:
2.1. Internship Introduction:
I came from the economic area in High School, economics and politics always
where a passion, so when entering university, at the age of 17, I decided to go
to ISCTE to study Political Science. Then in the second semester I felt that
something was missing and I should do something about it, I should do
something that would change my life, change my vision and would help me
improve my work experience. So I decided to join AIESEC! I decided to be a
member and take advantage of what was available for me to grow and when I
had the conditions (money and parents approval) going abroad on a internship.
So I waited 2 year, to go abroad, but since day one I knew where I wanted to
go, India! And my LC was an expert in sending people there, so I was able to
listen so much about it that I was really motivated and more certain that I should
and want so much to go.
2.2. Presentation of the Internship and Host Committee:
So finally when I was 19 and had all the conditions, I could not wait anymore,
my mind was already somewhere else, so it was very exciting for me to choose
the internship but also very confusing, so much options, so much projects, like a
thousand little windows opening, so much opportunities and I could only grab
one! But the main factor that made me choose my projects was that I wanted to
be related to my study area.
So I choose, Project Sanidhya, actually, it was the project that choose me.
Initially I wanted to go to Jaipur, because the city was so beautiful and I was
already talking to the project manager about a project that was not even related
to Political Science, but then, I received one e-mail as so many others with
internship proposals, but this one was different!
It was about working in a school, Choitram International School, teaching
subjects that we were most fit to teach, since kinder garden to high school and
from classes like English, Math, French, Economics, Public Speaking to sports.
Also do Global Village, be a part of a Green Day, The ONU model and Debate
Team Sessions to increase the confidence of the students. For them to speak in
public and to learn the value of free speech. I loved it! It was very like what I
study, I could really make a difference and help the children to speak their mind,
in a country where still not who we are its valued, but where we came from. So
it was presented to me by AIESEC Indore, in Madhya Pradesh, a place that was
not touristic at all and located on the center of India. It made me forget Jaipur (I
could visit it trough out my journey in India). The boy who sent me the e-mail
was always ready to answer my questions and made me feel very secure about
the project and about the hostel and food that the project said it was included.
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5. 3. Development
3.1. Organization:
So my internship was in Choitram International School, a very good school, that
was located in a big campus that included this private school, the public school
and college for medicine and nurses and finally a teaching hospital. Choitram
was a rich man that believed so much in education and in helping people´s life.
And that spirit still is present, Choitram International, where I worked had the
mission to empower children, to prepare them to the future, made them feel
truly special and motivated to be the best they can. All around the school there
were motivational quotes! And also prepare the children to embrace differences
and to be prepared to an International environment.
3.2. Activities developed in the Internship:
In Choitram International the work fields were since Kinder Garden to High
School, and it was a school that was preparing the children for an international
environment that is why it was associated to AIESEC, they had since English,
French, Music and Arts, to Economics, Theory of Knowledge till Sports, and
even cultural sessions.
I develop my work initially with the Kinder Garden, two year old children, taking
care of them, and decorating the nursery for the more students that would came
on the next days. Then, I felt I need it to interact more with the older children, so
I assigned and prepared Public Speaking classes, to help children improve their
communicative areas .Also I was a part of the Green Day campaign and day,
and the Global Village. The working hours in the project depended in what you
propose yourself to. It was about you commitment with the children. But it had
the duration of the day of classes. Or the duration of the assignment you had to
do. So initially when I was working in the nursery it was from 8 am till 3p.m but
then when I started to teach the classes of Public Speaking it was the hours of
the classes and the hours necessary to prepare the lessons
My relationship with the members of the school, Principal, teachers and helpers
was very good. The Principal was always very understanding and curious and
the teachers very willing to give us tips and to show us the programme of each
discipline we wanted to teach. With the helpers it was also very good, but they
just didn’t speak English at all. With my co-workers it was also good to work, at
first it was hard to manage all the interns (because we were 60 interns) and
dividing the groups by areas of education, and by students grades/age. So we
had to have daily meetings and assigned leaders for the areas education and a
leader of the girls and boys, to make it easy to everyone to be aware of any
situation. But overall it was easy, and we just had to adjust to our class partner
that could be joining you to teach a subject.
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6. 3.3. Project Results:
Trough out the project we could see the children more aware of the different
cultures represented in that school. And, I could see improvement in the
confidence of the students when asked to expose an idea in front of the whole
class. But the Model of United Nations, and the Debate Team Sessions, didn’t
happened and that was a pity, for me it was the only thing that didn’t exceed my
expectations.
3.4 AIESEC role during internship:
My LC was very supportive, but as an AIESECer I was very prepared to search
and matching myself, but my LC was always available and there for me when I
started questioning what internship I should really apply to. During the
internship we had some e-mail exchange, and some Facebook follow-up.
The AIESEC Indore, was very helpful, very present, I was with AIESECers
present every day, the team that was in charge of us, really cared, and would
do anything for us, always helped me when needed. They even organized 3
conferences and 2 LC meetings while we were doing the internship. And they
were trough the recruitment process!
So I help also in the recruitment of AIESEC Indore, I was in the 2 LC meetings
and in the first conference (the other two I was away travelling because it was
after my internship)
So AIESEC had a huge impact in my internship, first of all because it made me
the opportunity to go abroad, to volunteer and my Host LC was amazing and felt
us feel like home, and integrated us so much. I really felt that the amazing
feeling that I have in my conferences back in my country could also happened
in a country so far and different, so I really realized that AIESEC its truly one.
3.5. Personal Experience:
This experience changed my life, it opened my horizons. Made me realize how
lucky I am to live with good conditions and have a place to live and food to eat,
made me realize also how everything depends of a matter of vision and spirit.
Indians are so proud of what they have, as little it may be, and that made me
feel so bad, because we are always complaining. And they are so free, life can
be lived with just a smile, the Indian people made me realize that. Besides, I
also met people from all around the world, the interns where so many and made
me learn so much, so much about their culture and different backgrounds, the
help me understand others religions, believes and break some of pre conceded
ideas.
So this internship made me grow a lot and made me know more about more
countries, and myself! And most of all, made me want to live more expiriences,
to have more knowledge!
The moment that probably mark me the most, for better and worst was traveling
of course. Going and discover India, because until then I was in a close city
very industrial and also living in a campus and I felt Iike I was in a bubble, only
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7. connecting with real India when going out of the big campus. So for sure, was
be able to get to know a India and all that as to offer, see the beauty of the
monuments, of the people and the colors of the clothes mixed with garbage and
poverty that its everywhere and the bad smells.
It was tuff to see all of that, to understand how much poverty there is and how
much people live in that conditions.
There while traveling I thought a lot… I realized that God should be very
big (alto I don’t really am a believer) it made me think that God as to be very
big, to reach everyone, because they live with so little and they always have a
genuine smile and are so nice and still they are thankful for what they have, as
little as it is and they thank the Gods for it. So it amazed me how they have their
heart “harm”. So I could say that this impacted me very much for negative and
positive.
4. Conclusion
My AIESEC Internship was amazing. I felt things I never could imagine, I related
to so many people! There was a sense of kindness all around, a sense of
curiosity, a sense of humbleness that made me love my internship. I was very
lucky to have a good internship, good accommodation and support from the
home and host LCs, also I was very well welcomed in AIESEC JAIPUR office
and team members, as I was travelling alone and I met some AIESECers that
really took care of me and helped me. So I can say that I really felt the strength
of AIESEC INTERNATIONAL. Also, I can´t forget the friends that I made, the
interns that became family!
I arrived alone, in the night I had an AIESECer waiting for me, the smells, the
Hindi, the Indian English, the bright colors of the saris and the noise, made me
feel strange inside, so happy to finally be in India at MY internship, but also I
thought “what am I doing here? Maybe I cannot stay here” but when I got to the
hostel and met some interns and understood that everyone had their fears and
where doing the best they could and enjoying the max to do something bigger, I
felt that I could do anything and from that moment on, I never wanted to get
back, I didn’t wanted to live, and every day I want to get back. It was the best
time in my life and I’m very thankful to everyone who made and help this
happen. Words are not enough to describe what I lived, and don´t make justice
to the experience it was.
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8. 5. Pictures
Me and an AIESECer from Indore after going to a temple, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Teaching about Portuguese Environmental concerns in Go Green Day, in Choitram International School, Indore
Indian Hospitlity, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
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9. Traveling India, Taj Mahal, Agra
Arriving home, Lisbon Portugal
Namaste!
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