My name is Mandy Janssen and I am a 21 year old student from The Netherlands. Currently I’m studying International Event Management at NHTV Breda in The Netherlands.
I’ve always wanted to experience a new culture and Canada and the US have always interested me. For my study I got the chance to do a practicum at INTERNeX itself as a PR-Coordinator for 7 months, so I decided to just take the jump and do it. Our school has had a relationship with INTERNeX for a few years now, so I came into contact with INTERNeX via the database of NHTV. My practicum is part of my university program and what I have learned until now is certainly very helpful for my future career.
For this job you need to be very social and a fun and open person. You need to be understanding of people and situations, but you also need to have good communication skills. As part of the PR-Team I join almost every activity and I always like to hang out with the other candidates and to be surrounded by people who are in the same situation as I am. So far I went on the Rocky Mountains trip, went to Victoria, Whistler and soon also Seattle. We did an escape room, went to a game of the BC Lions and many more things. The Rocky Mountains trip is definitely the most memorable thing I did. The nature there is so beautiful and since it was 2 days after I arrived it was a great first impression.
I rent a room in a shared house. I found it with the help of INTERNeX. At the beginning I was a bit overwhelmed by the size and the amount of people in the city but after a while you get used to it and it starts to feel like your second home. The people are really nice here and the food is amazing. I had some personal challenges since it was the first time for me living on my own. So figuring out the financial part was bit of a challenge but it’s getting better.
The first thing I will do when I come home is hugging my friends and family, eat a lot of Dutch food that I have missed and go out to the club with my friends.
This trip definitely inspired me to travel more. In the beginning I was a bit scared to be by myself for so long but hopefully my next adventure will take me to Scotland or Ireland for my 4th year practicum.
I would recommend the services of INTERNeX to everybody. INTERNeX is not just a company, but it’s a family that looks out for each other and helps each other where necessary. INTERNeX helped me find new friends and feel at home here in Vancouver.
-Mandy
INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com
For those of us who went to Cypress last Saturday, we had a fantastic time skiing down the snowy slopes! It was quite foggy in the morning and early afternoon so I couldn’t see where I was going (which really made it difficult) but the first run I went on was green so it wasn’t that bad. And when I was first going up, I was dreading the fall after the lift chair but I actually didn’t (which really surprised me). As I was going down, I kept slowing down some of the people so I felt really bad but it was still so much fun. After couple of hours, everyone met up at the Cypress Creek Lodge cafeteria for lunch and we took a really nice break. As we were eating and chatting, everyone agreed to go up to the Peak together. I was so scared because I actually haven’t been up there wasn’t sure if I’d make it down alive! But they convinced me by telling me that there would be a really nice view to take photos. When we got up to the Peak, it was still foggy so unfortunately I couldn’t see the amazing view they were talking about… but I did get awesome photos and the snow there was much better than the lower parts of the mountain! I also loved how we would wait for each other during certain points so that no one would get left behind or getting lost.
Speaking of getting lost, Ilse and I somehow managed to do just this. We went down a different path and ended up almost going off a seriously steep hill (even some of the pro skiers who were standing beside us were contemplating on whether or not they should go down this way). After much consideration, Ilse and I both decided it was best to hike back up and go down the other way (which we should have taken). Even though it was such a pain to hike back up in our ski/board gear, Ilse and I were laughing so much. We really found this whole situation hilarious and after much struggle, we made it back down without a problem. The others were waiting at the bottom all worried, oops!
INTERNeX Canada 