Hello! I spent this summer working as an intern at Tatung Sustainability Venture Holdings in Singapore during June and July. STEP gave me the opportunity to expand my horizons and experience so many new things. As a young adult who had never been out of the United States, this experience allowed me to learn about different a different country’s culture and work environment first hand.
Throughout this experience, I had many growth opportunities and moments of adversity that I had to overcome. I think one of the biggest changes that I saw in myself at the end of the internship abroad is the fact that even with different experiences and world views we all have more similarities than differences. A lot of the time the media and books will portray that people in different countries are vastly different from each other; however, past some obvious cultural differences, my peers and I were able to find many similarities between each other. It made us reevaluate the concept of us vs. them that sometimes takes over when you have not actually interacted with the people being portrayed.
There was not one large instance that caused this transformation, but I had a collection of small events that grew into this understanding. The times interacting with my superiors at work and learning about their lives. By talking with the other interns from Singapore, I learned about the differences in our education system, but we would relate over common worries and feelings of triumph. At the stores, the interactions with cashiers and employees were different with how they approached their work, but the care they had for their jobs was the same.
The other big transformation I saw in myself is that I had picked up more colloquial Chinese (Mandarin), and I had become more adept at following along with conversations. I have had a renewing in my desire to continue studying Chinese. Additionally, I can see myself continuing to pursue global work opportunities to learn about more countries and cultures in the workplace.
I was able to come to this conclusion through the growth experiences I had at work. There was a bit of a learning curve here because the parent company is based out of Taiwan; therefore, all of the management and executive meetings would be held in Chinese. With diligent practice and help from my coworkers, I was able to learn a lot and pick up many new skills.
The other events that led to growth in my ability to overcome challenges more efficiently and calmly began when I landed in Singapore after 29 hours of travel. Within the first few steps of getting off the plane, I got a notification that my luggage was left behind in the States at one of my layover locations. After some anxiety, I got in contact with the necessary people, communicated how to fix the situation, then went through customs. After going through security, my luggage that was said to be missing was sitting at the carousel waiting for me. The biggest thing I learned from this is to keep a level head and do what you should then things will work out.
These transformations I have seen in my life will have a lasting impact on my life. The language experience and learning about different cultures in the workplace has given me the clarity that I would like to pursue this in my career. The interactions with people from different cultures and being immersed in a foreign environment to learn about each of our similarities has influenced how I engage with new people. It has opened my eyes more to the best way to learn and get to know people with different backgrounds without getting as nervous about our differences. Lastly, the moments of challenges have given me confidence that I am able to overcome times of trouble without having to be overcome by anxiety. I believe that these transformations will help me as I continue to pursue my education and my career beyond.
