8 things you must do in Sri Lanka

I’m not sure if you know about it, but Sri Lanka is an island full of beautiful places. If you’re young and passionate about exploring new places and living adventures, you should definitely visit this country.

Besides, Sri Lanka it’s also one of the countries with an easy visa process for Indians.

Here are 8 unique things to do in Sri Lanka.

1. Go on an Unforgettable Train Ride

When the journey is more important than the destination, you know you’re in for a special treat.

The train route from Kandy to Ella is one of the most beautiful train rides you will ever experience in your life. Surrounded on both sides by lush green forests, tea plantations, charming hills and the occasional waterfall, this is one train journey that you’ll wish would never end.

The trains in Sri Lanka are very clean and rarely crowded, so you might not even need to book your tickets in advance.

2. Stay in a Tree House

No matter where you are in Sri Lanka, you’re never too far from a lush forest. The incredible greenery of this country is one of the top reasons to go there. To get the full experience of these forests, make sure you spend the night in one of the many tree houses for rent here.

Originally built by villagers to protect them from the many wild animals which roam these forests, the tree houses in Sri Lanka are the perfect way to spend a night close to nature. These tree houses aren’t just comfortable to stay in, but also very affordable, making them one of the top things to do in Sri Lanka

3. Try Surfing on the Beaches

No visit to this country is complete without a day spent at the beach, which is one of the top Sri Lanka tourist places. Being a coastal country, Sri Lanka has some of the best beaches in the world.

Just relaxing by the sea watching the sun go down is a great way to spend your time. But if you’re in the mood for something more adventurous, you can also try your hand at surfing. Arugam Bay, in eastern Sri Lanka, is one of the top surfing destinations in the world!

So make sure you visit during the surfing season in March and April, because this is when the waves are at their strongest.

4. Go on a Bicycle Adventure

The best way to explore the small villages of Sri Lanka is on two wheels. There are many places here which allow you to rent bicycles at a very low price. Just cycling through narrow lanes, dirt paths and patches of greenery can be an incredible way to spend the day.

Don’t bother sticking to a map or a set bicycle route. Going where the road takes you can help you discover more of this beautiful country.

5. Go Dolphin and Whale-Spotting

How often do you get to see the biggest mammal in the world up close?

The ocean surrounding Sri Lanka is teeming with blue whales and dolphins, which can be easily spotted. Every morning, boats leave from places like Galle and Mirissa, in southern Sri Lanka, to popular whale-spotting areas in the sea.

For a very low price, you can buy a seat on one of these boats and see these beautiful underwater creatures for yourself.

6. Hike Your Way to a Waterfall

Sri Lanka is home to hundreds of beautiful waterfalls, set in the middle of green forests. While the popular ones are usually packed with tourists, you can ask the locals for lesser-known falls where you can enjoy your own privacy.

These falls can usually be reached by trekking up hills, many of which aren’t very difficult to reach. Depending on your level of experience, you can find a waterfall to trek your way to so you can fully immerse yourself in its natural beauty.

7. Visit a Tea Plantation

Lipton, a name that is now synonymous with tea, was first started by Sir Thomas Lipton in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. Even today, decades later, Sri Lanka’s tea plantations remain beautifully green, making them a must-visit for every traveller.

When you explore the tea plantations, don’t forget to also visit the tea factories nearby. If tea makes your world go round, it will be wonderful to see how it’s made from start to finish. The factories even give you a cup of tea by the end of the tour so you can taste the fruits of their labour.

8. Volunteer for a cause you support

Sri Lanka should be at the top of every volunteer’s list.

This incredible island country has some of the most dynamic non-profit organizations, which are bringing about a world of change. Ranging from educating children to preserving marine ecosystems, one can find incredible opportunities to contribute to a better world.

Every minute you spend in this beautiful island will be filled with unforgettable experiences.

Have you ever been to Sri Lanka before? Tell us how was it!

If not, what are you waiting for?

If you are eager for an opportunity to experience Sri Lanka, we can help you with that. Check our opportunities for the Global Volunteer Program.

As a volunteer with us, you will not only be able to bring about a positive impact, but also explore new countries and learn about different cultures.

How an Internship in Malaysia Can Help Further Your Career

Beginning your journey in academia is a phenomenal experience, an experience that is not only rewarding in its imparting of knowledge and wisdom, but also an experience that presents you with the opportunity to shape your career and life as a whole.

You have done the hard work in studying and preparing yourself to get into a college and pursue your dream education, and what comes next is a world of possibilities. One such possibility, a great opening to your career, is going for an internship that will not only give you a taste of what lies ahead, but will also apply your current education into real-life perspective, and, thereby, strengthen your preparation for the future. With this rationale in mind, a chance to pursue an international internship or volunteer abroad looks good on every college student’s CV; and Malaysia brings forth a destination for all that and more. Let’s take a look at the benefits of an internship in Malaysia for Indian students.

Malaysia – The Destination

Situated in South-East Asia, Malaysia is one of the highest rated tourist destinations in Asia, and an enormous multi-cultural business hub on the world map, featuring some of the modern world’s best architectural marvels.

With a booming economy, growing cultural diversity, year-round moderate, warm weather, and a food paradise, Malaysia is truly the place to be.

The Organizations

When you chalk out your education plan, with a certain goal set for your career path, you also plan and look forward to working for or be associated with the organisations of your dreams.

With a cornucopia of organisations from all around the world, carving your way into a favoured career is what an internship in Malaysia for Indian students has to offer.

The Multicultural Learning

The world today is a small place, everyone is connected with each other, and the working environment is no longer limited to one office or one country or one kind of people. It’s a global community we are living in, and international exposure and cross-cultural communications, in particular, are the order of the day in the pursuit to make a mark amongst fellow people of your global community or industry.

The skills you develop – in learning new languages, picking up and sharing cross-cultural wisdom, and making a social network in a true worldwide context – are precious career tools to acquire today, for the world of tomorrow.

The Lessons

The globalised outlook and years of foreign trade and investments, within a controlled setting, give Malaysia a distinct edge over many other Asian countries, especially in its humble ways of imparting career and life lessons via growing companies with a mix of Western and Eastern cultural wisdom. This is a great boon for student interns.

These are invaluable lessons that will take you a long way in your career, whether they are directly taught, or you naturally happen to pick them up during your internship.

The Profile Boost

The opportunity to work and learn in the real world, applying practical actions to theoretical knowledge, in itself, is a gratifying and humbling experience. Besides this obvious gain, an internship, particularly in an advanced country like Malaysia, is the perfect boost you need to start off your career expedition with an impressive profile and résumé, even before you have graduated.

The Economic Stability

The Malaysian economy has grown exponentially over the last two decades, and despite global recessions and depressions in South-East Asia, Malaysia has sustained, and a stable and sound economy prevails. Hence, interns can reap rich benefits out of the nation’s improving economic structure and stability.

The Professional Network

With a country that is thriving in its economy, along with a growing number of companies and global industrialisation, an internship in Malaysia opens the door to meeting and building relationships with innumerable high-calibre professionals, and that, in today’s world, is an indispensable treasure to have. It is a privilege to be able to start building a solid professional network as an intern.

The Empowerment

Once you travel abroad, to a country like Malaysia, amongst all other palpable benefits, an indirect value of the entire experience of going out of your family, your country, and your comfort zone, is empowerment.

The Cost-Saving Advantage

International students, especially interns, can live in Malaysia at meagre expenses, and, therefore, save money for their future. Students and young people can easily manage their living with just RM1100 a month, which includes their food, accommodation and other miscellaneous expenses.

In conclusion, an internship in Malaysia for Indian students is a seamless platform to begin your career on a high note, while also procuring a treasure of learnings and wisdom along an unforgettable journey. Visit AIESEC for international internships and a global volunteer program spread over 25 countries. Whether you want to pursue an internship in Indonesia or volunteer in Vietnam, we’ve got you covered.

7 Characteristics That Every Great Volunteer Has In Common

Volunteers around the world are driven by a single purpose: to leave the world in a better place than they found it. If you have been inspired by the many reasons to volunteer, you might not know what to expect. Volunteering is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, adventures you will ever experience in your life. If you want to make the biggest impact during your volunteering stint, you need to go above and beyond what is asked of you. What distinguishes good volunteers from great volunteers is their passion and drive to bring about a positive change with their work. Here are a few skills of a volunteer that they live by which can motivate you as well.

1. They Have A Fearless Approach

To be a volunteer, especially in a new country, requires a lot of courage. You need to push yourself far from your comfort zone and adjust to new cultures, languages and people. Volunteering also requires you to come face-to-face with many harsh realities of the world. You will be meeting children who have experienced unimaginable pain, women trying to rebuild their lives after trauma and even animals who have faced inhumane cruelty. But as a volunteer, you need to be fearless and put their needs before your own emotions.

2. They Have Infinite Patience

A bottomless reservoir of patience and tenacity are crucial skills of a volunteer. When you first decide to volunteer, you might have big dreams about bringing about a revolutionary change with your work. However, when you actually start working, the realities of the situation begin to creep in. Not everything moves as quickly as you’d like and more often than not, things don’t fall into place as easily as you’d expect. But if you’re serious about bringing about change as a volunteer, you need to be patient and stick it out. If things don’t go your way (and most times, they won’t), never stop persisting. This is the only way young people can contribute to changing the world.

3. They Can Think Creatively

A good volunteer takes instructions and executes them. A great volunteer doesn’t just do their work perfectly, but also finds newer, better ways of getting it done. As a volunteer, there will be many times where you are faced with complex situations, which require novel solutions to maneuver through. In non-profit organisations, there is usually a scarcity of resources due to lack of funds. In these situations, volunteers need to be resourceful and overcome these obstacles. An ability to think creatively and bring innovative ideas to the table will make you more valuable as a volunteer.

4. They Are Eager to Take Initiative

Most non-profit organisations have too much work and too few people to handle it. Your supervisors will probably be too busy to guide you every single day. This is why, once you familiarise yourself with the work, it’s important that you start taking initiative and become more proactive about your duties. Instead of looking to your supervisor for direction, identify what needs to be done and start working on it yourself. This way, volunteering will help you develop a strong work ethic which can become extremely useful later.

5. They Stay Humble About Their Work

When you begin volunteering, it’s important that you remember you’re there to help, not to prove yourself. Volunteering requires you to be selfless and focus only on how you can create a meaningful impact. Great volunteers understand this and are eager to do everything possible to bring about a positive change. When you are working as a volunteer, it’s important to stay humble about your past accomplishments and skills. Having too much pride can hold you back as a volunteer because it prevents you from learning and making meaningful contributions.

6. They Are Driven by Passion

When nothing seems to be going well and the situation looks dire, the one thing that keeps a great volunteer going is genuine passion for their work. If you’re volunteering just for college credit, you might not be able to make the most out of your volunteering experience. Many of the duties you will be carrying out when you’re volunteering will be day-to-day admin tasks. Passion can help you stop looking at this work as drudgery and instead, as important duties that keep the organisation running smoothly. Volunteers across the globe are making a huge difference fuelled by their passion to create an impact.

7. They Can Work In Teams

Volunteering is about working towards something bigger than yourself. Great volunteers distance themselves from petty fights and politics because they’re focused on more important things. When you start volunteering, there will be many projects where you will have to work with a team. Even if personal differences arise, you need to recognise that every member brings a special set of skills to the table and is important. What you can accomplish as part of a team will always be greater than what you would be able to on your own. Learning the art of teamwork will be one of the biggest lessons you can learn from volunteering.

If you believe you have many of these prized skills of a volunteer and are eager transform the world, take your first step with AIESEC. As part of our Global Volunteer Program, you can travel to over 25 countries for unique, fulfilling volunteering opportunities. Become an AIESEC volunteer and help countries around the world move closer to achieving the UN development goals.

Chasing new footprints

How many times have you thought of making a difference in the world? Or how often have you pondered over your purpose on this planet?

We spend almost our entire lives trying to do something worthwhile; to be remembered once we’re gone; and to make an impact. Believe it or not, volunteering makes it all happen.

1. Contribute to the bigger picture

It is important to realise that when you volunteer, you automatically become a part of a big change which improves the condition of the world and its people. By volunteering you not only become an agent of change but you also become the change yourself as your actions bring about a difference in the world around you.

2. Breaking Stereotypes

When you volunteer, you not only change your mindset and perspective but also that of others. You facilitate and become that change where you can successfully break stereotype and common, fixed notions.

Volunteering abroad, especially helps in breaking stereotypes as you engage and interact with people from different cultures and nationalities and actually understand their culture and ethics than just jump onto baseless conclusions, forming stereotypes.

3. Personal Transformation

Volunteering is not a destination, but a journey where you witness all aspects of your personality and rediscover yourself. You tend to become more aware of yourself and sensitive towards the world around you as you push yourself beyond your comfort zone. By the end of it, you are a changed individual; a better version of yourself.

4. Leave your mark

Benjamin Franklin rightly said, ‘Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.’

Volunteering makes that happen as you tend to affect more lives than just yours. You not only touch lives but also change them. It is a process where you manage to leave an impression everywhere you go.

5. Find your purpose

When you volunteer, you allow yourself to be exposed to different situations and circumstances; and it is only then that you start viewing things in a different light. Volunteering allows you to try out new things and look for your purpose in life; it provides you with clarity.

It is not an easy task to do something for others without an ounce of selfishness, but once you do, you see the difference. So, imagine changing and impacting the lives of others, as you do so for yourself; one impact leading to another.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
–Mahatma Gandhi

Take a step ahead today. Volunteer abroad and be the change that you wish to see in the world. Signup here and start looking for opportunities: www.aiesec.org

Blog by- Mehak Narang

How to Prepare for an Internship Interview

Interviews are always tricky. You need to strike the right balance between being humble about the opportunity and being confident that you are the right candidate for the job.

There’s a lot you can do to prepare for an interview, but every process is a different process and may require a different preparation.

However, there are some ‘Must Dos” which are common in any interview. Here are some of these:

Be prepared

This is the first of the many baby steps. Research on the company and note the questions that you would like to ask them. If it is an overseas internship that you are applying for, it would be helpful if you research on the country, their culture and business practices, as well.

Dress well and opt for formal wear. A well-groomed look is always a big plus. Customise your resumé and cover letter to the company and profile you are applying for.

Keep copies of your resumé handy along with other documents and certificates that may be required. Do carry a notepad and a pen with you at all times.

Give out good vibes

It is often said, first impressions are the last impressions. Make the most of the chance and appear confident in front of your interviewers. Speak with a firm voice and make sure you maintain eye contact when you shake hands and during conversations.

Wear a smile if it helps you get comfortable and exude a positive appearance.

Be comfortable

It is alright to take your time to answer the queries put forward to you. You can always ask the interviewer for clarifications before answering them in a hurry. It is all the more awkward going in a wrong direction just because you thought they might mark you down for not having active listening skills.

Also, it is always better to keep the answers smart and crisp rather than starting off with a backstory around it.

Highlight your strengths and achievements

This is where you get to showcase your substance and wow your interviewers. Your skill sets are what will tilt the scales in your favour. You can give instances of when you had undertaken a leadership position while in college.

You can even emphasise your problem solving and analytical abilities and bring forth your soft skills.

Cite prior work scenarios

If you have prior work or internship experience, then make sure you use it to your advantage. For example, you can cite occasions where you had helped complete a project ahead of schedule or brought down the overall cost.

If you are in the creative field, you can carry work samples or better still, mail their soft copies before the interview so that they can have a look and bring it up during the discussion.

Send a mail post interview

Once the interview is over and contact details have been exchanged you must make it a point to send a thank you mail. Begin by appreciating the time they spent with you and for giving the opportunity to hear you out.

ou can sign off saying you are looking forward to a positive response from their end and how much you would like to be a part of their team. This will help you come across as a sincere candidate and bring you a step closer to being selected for a valuable internship.

Now that you know how to prepare for an internship interview, go ahead and give your best.

It will surely open new doors for you and help build a network and gather a wealth of experience.

If you like this article, you may also like to read about “How an Internship in Malaysia can Help Your Career“.