A great experience to live and work in a different country

Hello Annika! Who are you, tell us a little bit about yourself? Where do you live, what do you study, what are your hobbies, etc?

My name is Änni, I´m 17 years old and I live in Germany.

Currently I´m working as an office clerk there. In my free time I love to read books or to listen to music while drawing! I´m also very close to nature, which is why I love to take care of my plants.

Why did apply for a Erasmus+ financed work based learning-period abroad?

I applied for Erasmus+ because I thought it would be a great experience to live and work in a different country for some time! I think it´s always interesting to see how people in another place work and how their mindset is set.

Why the Åland Islands?

I chose the Åland Islands because I thought that it would be something different.

When you grow up in Germany a Country like Spain or Italy isn´t very special anymore. (For most of us as least) Because it is just a very common holiday destination. But I´ve never met a person that said, “I went to the Åland Islands last holiday.”.

I think that´s what made it so interesting for me! Something completely new. A place where I could make new memories and had zero comparisons with.

 

What did you know about Åland before you came here?

To be honest I didn´t know much about Åland. I knew that you speak Swedish here, even though it´s a Finnish Island and that it´s very cold and expensive here.

I was all about learning things about Åland, when I´m there. So that I could learn from locals or historical museums or so.

What will you tell your friends about Åland?

When I get back home I´m going to tell my friends that the people here are incredibly nice and so welcoming! Every day I was and still am more surprised about the kindness of the people here. Of course, in a positive kind of way! I will tell them that it was definitely one of the best experiences I´ve had so far. But the weather will also be a big topic. Comparing to Germany it´s incredibly cold at this time of the year. But I think it pays off because it looks so pretty in Åland at the moment. Also, in my opinion you get used to the weather quickly! So even though the temperatures were pretty much the same, the first week here felt way colder than the second did.

 

When going on a WBL-period abroad, is there something that is important to remember or find out before going away?

I think the most important thing to remember going on a WBL-period abroad is that you only live once! I don´t think that you must have much experience for going on this kind of trip. You just have to overcome your fears of what could possibly happen. 

This is an amazing opportunity for everyone so just go for it! Trust me, you will be fine.

Do you have any “good to know”-things for our students who are considering an internship abroad?

In my opinion the most important thing to have the best possible time during an internship abroad are your language skills. You should speak English, or the language spoken in your internship country well. Because in my opinion communication is key and if you´ve got a hard time trying to communicate with someone I think it´s going to influence your confidence when it comes to going onto people or meeting someone new.

But just be yourself and I think it´s going to be great!

So, all in all I can definitely recommend going on a WBL-period abroad. I´m very grateful for the experience and I’m looking forward to doing something like this again some time!

Annika B.
Klara Oppenheimer Schule, Germany