Candidate Exposé – Jakob Rodehorst

“Moin Moin” that’s how you say Hello really often in the northern part of Germany .
Today i would like to introduce you to Jakob, a 26 year old student from Germany.

Originally he’s from Hamburg but currently he’s living in Berlin doing his Master’s degree in political science.
Back when Jakob was planning his stay abroad in Canada his main motivation was to improve the chances to a masters degree. Additionally, since he did his internship at Amnesty International and this company still represents a future potential employer for him, this practicum was an ideal opportunity. For sure he also wanted to get some international experience after finishing his bachelors degree, get to know new people and improve his language skills. He really enjoyed working at Amnesty International, a well known human rights organization, where he organized the volunteers and helped them in planning the events. He was able to acquire skills such as working independently on his own topics, organizing different tasks as well as communication skills while finding new partners for the company. For him an additional interesting point was to learn a lot about and from the first nations in Canada.
He definitely had many unforgettable memories but meeting amazing people from all over the world while exploring the Rocky Mountains and the many other beautiful nature spots was the most memorable thing for Jakob. He joined several INTERNeX pubnights, did a bike ride in Stanley Park, went to Richmond night market and celebrated the typical German “Oktoberfest” at UBC with us. As I can say, it was a really fun time.

For him Vancouver, Canada presents the most beautiful and unique landscape he has ever seen in his life. Next to this there is this unique North American city which has so much to offer. The perfect place to be 🙂
Has this trip inspired him to travel more? Yes of course. He actually did right after his internship was over. He rented a car with his girlfriend and travelled to the eastern part of Canada, flew to New York and Mexico. This definitely sounds more than amazing.
During his stay abroad INTERNeX was a great support for him. We could help him to get in a social circle and he appreciated having someone to talk to with small problems. INTERNeX made the perfect start in this new and at the beginning even strange environment possible for him. And that’s definitely a thing everybody wants to hear.

Thanks Jakob for sharing your special Canada memories with us 🙂

Have a great week 🙂

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Candidate Exposé – Lukas Hug

New week, new candidate – rather a new “old” candidate.

I am happy to present the story of Lukas, our previous INTERNeXer 🙂 glad he shared all his special memories with us.

Today it’s all about Lukas, a 25-year old student from Germany. During his time in Canada he did his bachelor degree in economics but now he’s already finishing his master’s degree in Finance and Accounting in Munich. Originally, he’s from the Black Forest. Additional fact 😉 – in his free time he likes to play soccer by the sea.

First things first, he enjoyed his time abroad very much. Since he wanted to work and live abroad for his entire life, the day Timothy visited his university and did a presentation about the programs INTERNeX has to offer, made Lukas’ decision. In this context a huge thank you to the INTERNeX team for making this opportunity possible for him. He did a practicum with a wealth management company which is a common company especially in Canada and the US. Primarily his tasks were to organize and taking part in networking events mostly to get new clients as well as recruiting and consulting tasks. He also did some office organization jobs which definitely sounds like an interesting and varied workday.

Furthermore, he enjoyed being in a multicultural department with 4 guys from France, England, Poland, and Russia helping people to invest and save money with e.g., retirement plans or providing support in insurance tasks. There’s not only one thing that was the best about his stay in Canada, it’s a collection of memories. He really enjoyed being surrounded by friendly open-minded people who are always polite and tolerant. Because of this it was always easy to get to know new people from all over the world. For him it was not only about improving his language skills, but also getting work experiences in an international atmosphere. Another interesting fact he pointed out is the difference in financial planning between Germany and Canada as well as the different processes being used. This practicum helped him a lot to see finance from another point of view.

From the first moment on, Vancouver was a big adventure for Lukas. It all started with waiting for 5 hours at the immigration office because they were so busy. After that, he was able start to enjoy his stay with a BBQ at Kitsilano Beach organized by his host family. It was a great chance to get to know each other.

He enjoyed many of the INTERNeX events such as almost every pubnight on Wednesday. Additionally, he participated in a soccer club which is a funny story…. On his way to a hiking trip to grouse mountain he just spotted some guys playing soccer. He watched them until one of them asked him to join. He didn’t wait to be asked twice. From this moment on he was part of the team and participated in the training and games every week. He also enjoyed all the hiking trails like Garibaldi Lake or Grouse Mountain where he enthusiastically enjoyed the amazing view. However, for him, the Rocky Mountains trip was next to his trip to Victoria to meet some friends, for sure the best experience.

In his words he gave 5 out of 5 stars to the INTERNeX Team, his experiences, and the whole stay in Canada!!
Thanks Lukas

Have a great week 🙂

Cheers,

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

How was Pub Night?

Yeehaw!! I don’t even know where to start…it was sooo much fun! Last night we went to the Yale Saloon and I think it’s the first country bar I’ve been to and probably not the last one. 😀
I was told to brace myself for a lot of action and yeah…it wasn’t a “relaxing” Pub Night with only food and some drinks at all.

Right after ordering our first drinks the fun part already started. We did Line Dancing! I really didn’t expect it to be so much fun. For those of you who didn’t know yet: Line dancing is a choreographed country dance.
So first an instructor taught us the choreography step by step and when he said that we’re gonna do it with some music now I was really nervous because I didn’t feel ready. And as expected I messed up in the beginning because it was so much faster than before! But since the steps are repeating I could get myself back into it. It still was a little chaos on the dance floor though 😀

After a couple more drinks my highlight of the evening started…the BULL RIDING. Some of you guys said it’s a ritual for the new ones to do it so I had no choice but I’m glad I tried it. Let’s stick with “tried” because I wasn’t really good at it, although I guess it is the thought that counts – right? 😉
My biggest worry was not even getting on the bull but I did it (well not really elegant but never mind!)
It was so great to see how everyone cheered for the others! I love the INTERNeX team spirit! ❤
Furthermore we played some pool and some guys even used the punching bag to show how strong they are (or not? – just kidding :D) I really enjoyed it and hope you had as much fun as me!

So this was definitely NOT my last time at the Yale Saloon and I can’t wait to go back.

Thanks so much! xx  

Cheers,

– Alina

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

Alina’s First Pub Night

My very first Pub Night with the INTERNeX family!

Yesterday was my first time at Pub Night and I still can’t believe how many of you INTERNeXers were there. First of all, I want to thank you for such a warm welcome! Obviously I didn’t get the chance to talk to everyone, but I’m pretty sure I will get to know all of you shortly and I can’t wait! When I tried to take a group picture, I realized I had to take two, from each end of the table, because I couldn’t get everyone into one. 😀

So last night we went to the Beaver. It’s a really nice Pub on Granville Street, which I was told is THE street downtown to go out. And actually I was pretty impressed by how much was going on there on a Wednesday night, because where I come from it’s not common that a street is still so crowded late on a weekday. We started our evening with some food and drinks and because we became more and more people over time the waitresses had to add another table again and again.

Later at night we played bingo. I was really excited because it was a music bingo and I haven’t played it before and some of you couldn’t even wait for it to start. It was so much fun even though I didn’t even know most of the titles of the songs but others did and then we just helped each other. Great team work guys! Three of us even won a price. They got a pitcher and a shot for free. Lucky you! I definitely want to come back to the Beaver because I really want to win too. 🙂

After that a part of the group continued their night and went somewhere else afterwards, but others just headed home since they had to get up early this morning.

So a couple of us could take the same skytrain back home and this ride was a little adventure for itself. We were standing there and all of a sudden the train made an emergency stop. It was actually fun because we fell onto each other kind of like dominos. And even the door opened a little, but fortunately nothing happened and we just stopped for about a minute and then we could continue our ride. We just didn’t expect it at all. 😀

All in all I had a really fun night and I’m even more looking forward to the other Pub Nights and of course our trips on the weekends.

Furthermore, I can’t wait to get to know all of you more and spend lots of time with you guys!

So have a great day and see you soon!

Cheers,

– Alina

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

 

PuB NiGHT Review: Portside Pub

Wednesday nights are our favourite one’s! Why? Because it is PuB NiGHT of course! Every week, we are meeting at another place in Vancouver to enjoy a fun evening together.

Yesterday, we were welcomed at the Portside Pub in Gastown. As the name might tell you already, this pub gives you the feeling of sitting in a cozy boat while drinking a beer and sailing on the big, wild sea. The chairs around our table were taken quickly, so it was time to share the newest stories about placements, work, future travel plans, the annoying roommate or the lovely host mom. It is always fascinating how much we actually have in common, even though we are all coming from different parts of the world.

After a while of chatting, the serious part of the night started: karaoke. The lyrics were projected on a big screen, so everyone could sing along with the brave person behind the microphone at the front of the pub. (So it was actually not that serious.) The star of the night: Julian who surprised the crowd with the song “To love somebody”. Wow, that was amazing!

The rest of the night passed by quickly with singing and dancing along to great performances. And one, maybe even two freshly tapped beers. However, at the end of the night we found ourselves not back on sea, but in beautiful Gastown. Luckily!

Keep your chins up, soon it will be weekend again! I hope to see you on Sunday for a tour behind the scenes at the Rogers Arena.

– Kerstin

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