Monday, January 31, 2011
Romania?
Help! I am torn. For those that do not know, I have been accepted to an internship in Romania. I would be working with the children in the orphanages and hospitals. This would be an awesome experience, and I am pretty excited about it. However some family members are not thrilled that I am going to Romania. They have done a lot to convince me not to go, and some of their doubts have crept into my mind. I am not sure anymore if this is what would be best for me. It's true that it would be really difficult to work with the children, the majority of which have serious deformities and such. They say that at least one of the children you work with will die by the time you are done with the internship. That would be pretty hard for me. Also my mom is suggesting all of these vacations we could go on if I don't go to Romania. Like, London or Hawaii. Gosh, mom, way to make this decision even harder. Also Rosie keeps reminding me that I would miss her graduation. And to be completely honest if I had a choice between working in Romania or hanging out with my sisters, I would probably go with my sisters. But, Romania would be an awesome life experience for me. I don't know anymore. I feel like it would be stupid to pass up this opportunity. I'm already accepted, it's all laid out before me. I guess I just have to decide if I am going or not. What do you think?
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Any other reasons in the con category? Those don't sound terribly convincing to me. Going to Romania will be a completely life-changing experience. You will get to be immersed in a completely different culture, which will help you understand the breadth of human lifestyles and experiences. And working with ill and disabled children will help increase your perspective and the accuracy of your worldview. Taking a trip to Hawaii or London may be fun but they will not give you anything close to the same educational experience. Here are the only reasons I can think of for why you shouldn't go:
ReplyDelete1. If its way too expensive. You should try to use any means necessary to drum up the money (including coming up with an easy research project to do while you're there and applying for an Orca grant if you haven't already) but if you really can't get the money then I guess you shouldn't go.
2. If you really think that working with sick and dying children would be so traumatizing you would have a nervous breakdown. Of course it will be sad but unless it will permanently damage your psyche I think its a worthwhile experience to have. If it would help, I'd be happy to answer any questions about what it was like for me spending time in Ghanian orphanages and hospitals.
3. If you have other internship opportunities that might better position you for a job. If you are planning to start working soon than getting an internship in that field would be important. But if you're planning on getting a masters or something the romania internship would probably be better for your application.
4. If the people you would be going with are all jerks. Assuming you will be staying with other BYU students its probably important that you feel like you can at least somewhat get along with those people. If you get there and start all hating each other after a week then your experience may be miserable.
5. If the internship is too short. If its something like 2 weeks then the benefits would probably not be worth the cost. I'd say its got to be a month minimum but 2+ months would be much better.
6. If you have a boyfriend who will marry you if you stay but will throw you out like yesterday's jam if you go.
Those are really the only good reasons I can think of. Sorry to Rosie but none of us, including Rosie, will remember her high school graduation in 20 years but you would remember Romania for the rest of your life. How many people do you know that travel for internships like this abroad and later tell you they regretted it? Second to my mission, going to Ghana was the most life-altering experience of my life so far. Anyway, I could write more but that's enough for now. Keep us updated.
Ha ha, yesterday's jam...
ReplyDeleteI can't say much from my perspective, since I have never studied abroad, but from what Jeff has said, he thought it was worth it. I was pretty upset when we found out none of his credits went towards his middle eastern minor (though, because he fought the system, they are now counting them, of course after he graduates.) So that is one thing to consider, if it will help further your career. It is great that he has that experience to put on his resume. I think the main things to consider are the money, think about if you will regret not going/going 5 years from now, and all those other things Ryan said are good points.
"Go, go, go, go, go." That's my gut reaction. I remember hearing about the Romania internship in my child-development class and it really interested me. But great opportunities still need to be weighed carefully. What are your long term goals? Will the internship get you closer to them? Will you have the time or ability to do this in the future? Is it something you've always wanted to do?
ReplyDeleteOther questions I have are how long is the internship and is it worth the cost? You took some Anthropology classes, right? Did that make you more or less excited to experience a new culture? I can't say enough about how my life perspective was changed through my preparation for and time in Ghana. I consider it the highlight of my BYU education. Hands down. So I am all for new experiences that will push you and stretch you out of your comfort zone. But then again I had my husband with me and several close friends. Would I have done as well on my own? Not likely. But I don't think you'll feel alone out there. I'm sure you would make some wonderful new friendships through the experience and will have so much to share with your sisters when you return. :)
So good luck. Remember that we are also very supportive of you finding an internship in Sacramento. :)