Work

The way I was welcomed at the place of work and the confidence and the responsibilities the office provided me with made me feel at ease. The office work met my expectations: I developed software skills, built physical and 3D models for projects in course, visited construction sites, etc. The work environment was great! I made good friends - it was a bit hard at first due to the hard shell one must break to get to a Swiss. They are really fun once you build the connection!! Being in architecture, work methodology and laws vary immensely from practice to practice and from country to country. It was of great value to me to get a look and general understanding of how the industry works in Switzerland.

Experience

A few months went by and I already felt very comfortable in this new environment which then allowed me to go and discover the wonders Switzerland has to offer. I took part in some of the events organised by IAESTE. They did these fun weekends in several locations within Switzerland so it was quite fun to explore the country and to meet other interns from everywhere around the world. Switzerland lies in the center of Europe which means I could travel anywhere. Every other weekend I would visit neighbouring countries and discovering new sites with incredible people. I’ll certainly miss how easy it is to get around and how efficient transportation is.

Discover

This was my very first time living abroad on my own and so there is this natural fear for the unknown I had to overcome. I stayed in Zürich, the biggest city in the country, even though I thought it was quite small. After my experience I have to say I’m forever grateful to my employer and to IAESTE for providing me with an unforgettable experience and I look forward to my next experience with them!