Mana hard at work on her final blog post.
Hello, I am Mana who is from Japan and am completing my internship at Carpe Mundi where I have been working for two months. As I finish my internship, I would like to share what I learned from Carpe Mundi and its students.
First of all, the reason why I chose Carpe Mundi as my placement is because when I went to Canada for a year, my coordinator helped me lots to overcome many things. Since that time, I have been interested in helping others students in the way that she helped me. However, I had never had an opportunity to help students, so gradually, I started loosing my passion doing that. When I came to America and my teacher found Carpe Mundi I thought that this was my chance.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to do internship with Carpe Mundi. During these two months, I mostly participated in student meeting and sometimes shared about my experiences studying abroad in front of the students. When I met all Carpe Mundi’s students for the first time, they seemed like they are so excited, and I was so surprised. However, over time, I could see they are not only excited, but also nervous. They were struggling with their various feelings. To help them, Hansell who is in charge of Carpe Mundi, and also my supervisor taught us how ways we could control our emotions, how to get along with other people, and so on. They were also helpful for me, because I also sometimes have had same kinds of feelings since I came here. Going through these two months, I got to learn how actually students get nervous and how we can support them, also how other people are trying to do many things for these students. I was so impressed at how hard they were working. For me, when one student asked me about what I regretted bringing on my previous trips I told her not to over pack. It was maybe very small tip to her, but I was so happy that I could help the student.
The time I have spent with the students was not that long, but I can tell that each of student is very charming, kind, and awesome. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say good-bye to the students at the airport, but I really hope that they will come back Portland safe and healthy. Also, I hope that they gain much knowledge and find something that they are interested in, or related to their dreams. I hope all of their experiences are going to be valuable for them and after they come back here, and that they will be able to be proud of themselves.
Studying abroad is wonderful. I can tell that from my three study abroad experiences and my internship with Carpe Mundi. The things we can gain from these experiences are all different. You might learn from your cohort, host family, a new language, or a new culture. Whatever it is, we always are changed and transformed. It may only be a little change, but it has a big potential toward to the positive future. We learn so much about ourselves when we once we stay away from our home country. I want many people to experience studying abroad, help them to reduce their anxious feelings and help them to make their experiences succeed in the way that Carpe Mundi does. Carpe Mundi has helped me to realize my dream of helping others be successful in their study abroad experiences. Thank you!
Mana modeling our new t shirts with Amanda and Lilly.