Work

I am presently pursuing a Bachelor's in Computer Science Engineering. When I got the opportunity to do this internship I was in my second year of college. So, I would rate my technical skills as 6 out of 10. Being a second-year student I still had to learn and gain a lot of knowledge on some particular subjects. When I received my acceptance letter I was a little sceptical thinking whether I will be able to spend my two months there, whether I will be able to complete the project with the skills which I had at that time. I decided one thing and it was no matter what happens I will give my 100%. Once I reached there and went to the company, met my mentor, I started learning something new every day. My task was to create an Object Tracking System which would keep a record of the PCBs coming in and going out of the company. At first, when this task was given I faced some challenges like I was not able to rectify errors coming in my code, the UI was not that impressive, had problem incorporating some libraries required for the code to run. But I never gave up. I started searching online, saw some videos and read some documents which really helped increase my knowledge and gave me a better understanding of the things I was doing wrong. It helped me enhance my technical skills. I basically developed a system which helped keep track and records of the PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) for the company. Created Tables in the database MySQL of the PCB box information. Created various panels in java wherein one could add, edit and view the information. Everything was achieved through Java Database Connectivity(JDBC). I also made an attempt to include a QR code which when scanned would give the information about the product/box in which the PCB was. Also made an attempt to convert it into a desktop app so that it could work on any computer. At last, I was able to create something which I thought I could never do it. My graph changed drastically, earlier I was at 6 but now I am at 8.5. This internship made me realize that I used to underestimate myself and my skills. But now I think if you are given a task and you have the will to complete it you will definitely succeed. It helped me enhance my technical skills, improved my communication skills and made me realize that one should never underestimate themselves.

Experience

The whole experience was amazing. All the interns working at the company were provided with a Chinese family to stay with. The first day when I reached Changzhou and my family came to pick me up and I started to have a conversation, I realized that she was not able to understand me. Seeing this I got so worried and thoughts started popping in my head like will I be able to stay there for 2 months, my family is not able to understand me because of the language barrier. The first night I was so depressed and kept calling my parents the whole night, kept crying but my mother just said one thing that gives some time and everything will be fine. So, the next day(my first day at the office) I met my mentor and he introduced me to everyone. They all were so welcoming and greeted me with a nice smile. Then I got so much engrossed in my work that I completely forgot about the first night. My mentor was so understanding, helpful. He used to always check on my work and made sure that I felt at home. He used to get me some food since he knew I was a pure vegetarian. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor. He used to help me plan trips, helped me using the apps. I even got a chance to spend my last two weeks at his home and I really enjoyed, he used to cook for me. He explained to me the Chinese culture and introduced me to good Chinese food. Working at MT was never boring because every week we used to have English corners wherein I was supposed to teach English to them. Also, I got an opportunity to learn some Chinese. IAESTE china together with MT used to organize various events like Cultural night, City Rush, Food event and the graduation day. I made so many friends from different countries like England, Germany, Wales, Poland, Serbia, Hungary, Canada, Bolivia, Belgium, Spain. We all used to wait for weekends so that we can go and explore a new city in China. I was there for 9 weeks and saw 7 cities starting with Changzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Beijing and ending at Wuxi. China is such a beautiful country full of culture, tradition, comprising of exquisite ancient water towns, gardens, local streets, skyscrapers, history, traditional food, these all reflect the Chinese appreciation of balance and harmony. Adding to its charm are impressive buildings. One cannot miss seeing its beauty in all the cities. There was always something new in every city. Everything was just spectacular. I have made some good memories and captured everything in my camera and my travel journal. Also, my dream came true to see the Great Wall of China. Studying about the 7 wonders of the world I was always very fascinated by the Wall. I had a really great time with all the interns, we used to go clubbing and dance all night. We used to stay up late at night till 2- 3 am and just chatting, playing games. I had lots of fun with them. We got to know about each other country's culture and tradition. We all became like a family. It has been 3 months but still, I am in contact with them through Instagram, Facebook and WeChat. Being a pure vegetarian it was a little tough for me to find veg food. But still, the veg food that I tried it was so delicious, Hot Pot being my favourite out of thang yuan, Chinese local cabbage, barbeque. In the end, I got so attached to the people that I didn't want to come back. This only justifies what a wonderful time I had. The only problem with IAESTE is that it leaves you with memories that will last forever and this whole experience will never be forgotten.

Discover

Dalai Lama has rightly said that go someplace you have never been before and for me it was China. This was my first international trip and I can see a huge amount of change in me. I am now more confident, independent, hardworking, can open up more easily, developing good communication skills, technical skills enhanced and I feel like now I have done something professional. I remember being a person who used to get afraid of going alone to the supermarket but now I can travel the whole world, explore new things. Many first things happened on this trip like I tasted wine for the first time, I went to Beijing alone( the most crowded city), it was my first international trip, went clubbing. The whole experience was just mesmerizing. I will cherish these moments forever. I would like to end by saying that be a traveller, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.