Hello all,
Again, picking up from where I last left off with my blog reflections :)
Week 3, 5th August 09
Can't believe it is almost the end of my internship at Kaplan Aspect.. semester 2 has already started and I have switched from working every day of the week (I was working mondays - fridays during the July holidays) to working about twice a week.. only a little bit more to go till I complete my 20 days. And just when I've grown accustomed to working 9-5s!It is a somewhat bittersweet feeling, knowing that I soon have to leave Kaplan. I've grown so attached to it, even though eating lunch in West Perth on a daily basis has really burnt a big hole in my pocket! :P Seriously though, I am truly grateful for the time I spent there and will most definitely be sad when the time comes for me to leave.
Speaking about leaving and bittersweet feelings, this Saturday my Taiwanese group of students will be heading back to Taiwan. Already their one month study/excursion course is over and I have to say, their spoken English has definitely improved by leaps and bounds.. their command of English has become so much better during this one month! I'm really happy for and proud of them as I know how hard it can be. :) This semester, I am taking Japanese as an elective so I can totally relate to the difficulties of learning a foreign language. In all honesty, I didn't expect that I would make so many new friends within the Taiwan group.. perhaps from the start there was a sort of affinity between us; we were both only at Kaplan for one month and because we also shared a common tongue - Mandarin - it somehow brought us closer to each other. Again, I am really thankful for all the wonderful things that have happened during my internship. Who knew I'd actually make so many good friends during that short period of time? :)
This week has been a busy one at work as we are preparing for the graduation ceremony and farewell barbeque lunch at King's Park for the Taiwanese students. I have been working very closely with my boss, Julianne and the events coordinator (Keeley Nut) to organise and plan the whole process.. it is extremely important that everything goes according to plan on their final day here. We must ensure that they leave with a good memory of Kaplan and of course Perth! This is why we are planning to take a walk from West Perth to King's Park after the morning graduation ceremony - it will give the Taiwanese students some time to soak in the sights and hopefully be able to see how beautiful King's Park is now that the worse of winter is finally over. For this event, my main duties will be taking care of the graduation ceremony - I have to make sure that all the Certificates of Attendance are in order and that the correct names (both in English and Mandarin) are written on properly. As I am the only one in Kaplan that has a relatively okay (but not fantastic at all!) command of Mandarin, my boss Julianne has put me in charge of handling the many details of the Taiwanese group throughout the month, from making sure that their allowances are handed out promptly on time, to finalising passport arrangements, to handling their Taiwanese survey forms (completely written in Mandarin, I might add!) and now making sure that their Certificates are good and ready to go. I just hope everything goes according to plan and that their last day in Perth will be a happy one for all. Most importantly, I am glad that I am of help to my boss and that she trusts me enough to let me handle such important aspects of Kaplan.
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Reflection
It has been 2 months since my Taiwanese friends left, and we still often talk through MSN and Skype. My internship has taught me the importance of 'networking', which in this context is, making new friends that will hopefully help you during the course of your working life. I think that maybe when we all graduate from university and have found our first job, there will come a period of time when we will be very occupied with work and our professional lives that we might not have time to actually go out and 'meet people'. Therefore, in my opinion, we should grab every opportunity that arises and make the effort to actually build lasting relationships whenever we can; you never know who or when can help you and vice versa. It is a comforting thought to know that if I ever decide to head to Taiwan to work, I would not be alone over there. :)
I hope all of you are enjoying your placements!
Claire
Curtin University Bentley
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