Erasmus+ Traineeship: Being an Intern in Italy

Erasmus+ Traineeship: Being an Intern in Italy by Ahmed Nuh Yusuf It is obvious that there are many written blogs about Erasmus Life in Italy. It is a choice of many Erasmus students to do their Erasmus studies and traineeships in Italy. Like everyone else, it was also my choice. My preference was Puglia, a Southern part of Italy. At first, I was thinking to do my internship in the northern part of Italy, a more popular city like Milan, Rome or Florence. But, my invitation letter came from Lecce, a city that locates the southern part of the country. I started researching Lecce from the internet, and then I found myself in Lecce. I got the invitation from an amazing organization called Work in Progress that coordinates european projects involving a real community of enterprises and students. The organization sends the necessary documents for visa including the accommodation which it organizes, the invitation letter and the other required documents for visa procedures. Meanwhile, the organization contacts with many enterprises of your preferred sector till they find suitable one for you. It is perfect when you don’t have to worry about where you will do the internship at, that work will be done for you by professionals that have already analyze your cv months before! After I landed in Italy, the first thing was to reach the home, as it was a long day of travel, which I changed three flights from Ankara to Brindisi. It was around 10.30 p.m, there was a shutter with my name to pick me up from the airport to the home, it was organized by the organization as well. The first thing that will come to your mind when you are new at somewhere is getting an internet access to inform your family and friends that your voyage was safe and that you reached your home. When I came to the house, there were other interns mainly from Turkey and some other nations who were our housemates. I got my Italian number and waited for the interview with the enterprise that I was supposed to work at. After that, I started working with them based on my field of study. Every intern who was our housemate was placed an enterprise that was based on his/her field of study. The internship helped me to apply what I have learned from the school to a work environment, improve my professional experience and learn skills to fight unemployment, above all, in another country. Apart from work life in Puglia region, the region is a touristic destination to many people from around the world as it has some historical sites and during the summer, many people are attracted by the beautiful beaches of the region. Very popular beaches of the region include Otranto, Gallipoli, Santa Maria etc. As someone who grew up at hot location, which has proximity to the red sea, the region is like a must see destination if you are addicted to swimming. Even, working with the organization as a trainee, I got chance to participate another 7 days youth exchange program that was held in Latvia. It was like both on the job training and learning as well, above all, it was an opportunity to make new friends from several countries in Europe. Lastly, Erasmus+ Traineeship is a great opportunity to equip you the qualities you will need in your work life, improve your language and diplomatic skills and make new friends. Thanks Work in Progress Staff&Community, I am sure i will be back in my European Village, Galatone!