The Education Abroad Network (TEAN)

Do your research. If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. There are many tourist attractions that seem cool and would make for a great Instagram photo. However, they might not always be ethical, especially ones involving animals. Research cultures other than your own, and learn how to be a sensitive traveler, especially in how you dress in northern Thailand.

On a different note, if you are abroad for an extended period of time, or traveling within a country, rest stop bathrooms are minimal. Bring toilet paper along with you or packaged wipes. Feminine hygiene products are harder to find so bring them with you on any weekend trip or longer. Birth control that limits periods is a great option as well.

On Monday-Thursday, we went to class in the day. Breakfast was usually a muffin and coffee from 7-11. Lunch would be from the canteen. Dinner would be street food with friends, or on special nights, we'd take a grab to the old city, and sit down for a fancier meal.

The weekends are what you make of them. Staying in Chiang Mai usually involved going to the club, Zoe, at night, and finding a coffee shop or body of water to hang out at in the day. It was easy to travel, and for three days, you could go anywhere easily.

I was afraid of making new friends in my program. I went in not knowing anybody. The best advice I received was to be a yes man for a few weeks at first. You can catch up on sleep in December. Meet people and see who you vibe with. Many Thai people are reserved when it comes to speaking to westerners because they are not confident in their English. Starting a conversation can go a long way.

Every day things are so much scarier when you're abroad. The first time I got sick, I went to the hospital. I was talking to my brother and he told me not to worry because everything's funnier when you're abroad. I'd be laughing about it in no time. It wasn't the advice I wanted to hear when I felt so sick and scared.

He was right, though.

At the moment, things can be scarier, but after they pass, they're that much funnier. My go-to story is when I was in the hospital one time (I got sick a lot; I was an anomaly, not the norm), I asked a nurse, who seemed to speak English very well, for the results of my blood-work. She told me that I had bacteria in my blood. I freaked out, thinking I had blood poisoning. I called her back to confirm and she calmly told me the same thing - bacteria in my blood. My mom was about to book a flight over.

The next morning, I asked the doctor, and he explained it was only a bacterial infection, seen through my blood-work. It's nearly impossible to remember at the moment, but the scariest times make for the best stories.

I have grown substantially since working for TEAN, both personally and in my career. I started out at TEAN managing both the Australia & New Zealand Internship Program and am now managing the Internship Programs across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kyoto, Shanghai & Bangkok.

My TEAN journey has developed quickly yet I am continuing to love and grow my role within this organization more and more every day. Personally, I have changed in terms of some of the approaches I have adopted due to TEAN’s sustainable ethos – for example, I no longer use plastic bags at the grocery store and am taking more and more steps each day to contribute to helping save our planet.

I have also developed even more of a bucket list of travel locations, which is almost impossible not to do when you work in this industry.

Just recently, one of my return students shared the extremely exciting news with me that he had been accepted into the internship program for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States!

The work that he completed during his TEAN internship in Australia allowed him to be published in multiple national media platforms and I am so excited that his experiences in Australia are now able to take him to such exciting places to now learn from the best of the best in the United States.

Films from Sundance include Boyhood, Donnie Darko, Saw, Little Miss Sunshine, Napoleon Dynamite, The Blair Witch Project, and more. I couldn’t be more proud and delighted for him that his experience in Australia has got him to this place in his career and I can’t wait to see some of the films that he will be responsible for in years to come.

If I could go on any program that TEAN offers I would go to Massey University in Wellington to study Visual Arts & Design. I fell in love with Wellington and its atmosphere earlier this year and it felt like home to me.

For anyone who is artistic, there is so much inspiration in every street that it’s not surprising some of the world’s most famous cinematography, film crews, fashion designers, and costumers have stemmed from this location.

Having been fortunate enough to work closely with Massey University throughout my career, I have seen the outstanding facilities that they have on offer for their students. If I could turn back the clock, I would have told myself to study abroad in this location.

TEAN is like a family to me. TEAN is unique in its approach to so many different things such as its sustainable ethos and choosing the earth to the unique student approach. Being a part of the TEAN family has encouraged me to make lifestyle changes to ensure we are taking care of this planet and it’s wonderful to know that everyone shares these same values.

Everyone in the organization is so passionate about what they do that we achieve some incredible & innovative results for our students. I love that our students are a name and not a number at TEAN and that we can get to know them on a personal level and establish what they want to achieve from their time studying or interning abroad from the outset.

My team is consistently making me proud and on a daily basis are accepting new challenges and striving towards having the best possible opportunities available for our students.

I believe that the biggest factor in being a successful company is in the staff that are a part of that company. When your employer invests in your development and your growth as an employee, it speaks volumes and allows staff to excel. Peer support is essential to growth and success of a company and opportunities for staff to explore your creativity as well as your skillset to complete tasks can be very inspiring and can lead to new and exciting developments.

This is one of the main reasons I find internships to be of such value to our students as well – by being able to grow with a company, you contribute to their success and learn a lot along that journey as well as taking away essential strategies for your future career.

I also think that company success stems from staff success which can be seen through passion and dedication to a role whilst having & developing expertise in the work that you are doing.