Ms. Noemi, from France, Marketing assistant 

Hi my name is Noemi, I am 28 years old and I am from Brittany in France. In my free time I like going to concerts and since I am an introvert I love going out in the forest or going hiking. I also like to travel and I have already been to the United Kingdom, Scotland, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.

1. Why did you decide to take the Erasmus + internship opportunity? Why did you choose Slovakia?

I decided to take part in the Erasmus + Internship program because I just graduated from school and I felt like I did not have any work experience and I could not see myself applying for jobs so I thought I need some work experience from the internship first. A friend of mine told me about this French project and I felt that it is my opportunity so I applied and luckily I got accepted.

I have to admit that Slovakia was not my first choice. I thought that this project is also an opportunity for me to discover a new country that I think I would never visit if I did not get accepted for this internship. But I am very happy that it ended like this because I love Slovakia and especially Bratislava.

2. What were your main responsibilities and tasks while you were on the traineeship?

Actually I did a little bit of everything but I was in charge of communication on social media. I had to help with planning events like sending invitations or creating the invitations. I also did a little bit of marketing because we had to find new clients to be members of the chamber and I also did some small administrative tasks.

3. Did you learn anything new in your field? Tell us a bit more about your acquired skills and competencies.

I think that I learned how to apply the things I learned in school in the practice, since I studied marketing and events it was really helpful for me. The administration was also new for me, which was a bit boring but now I am able to plan an event from the start to end.

4. What was the best part of your work? 

Honestly, the best part of my work was going to the office knowing that I will meet my co-workers because they were so adorable and nice to me. From the start they were welcoming and were there anytime to help. Knowing that I would do something else every day was so fun.

5. What was the most difficult part of your work life?

I would say not being able to work on certain parts, for example I wanted to help with some tasks but they were in Slovak so I was not able to understand. But it happened only a few times so I did not find any big problems.

6. What would you say about Slovakia? Have you noticed any cultural differences between Slovakia and your country?

I love it! Actually not that much but I realized that in the cinemas you have only salty popcorn and you do not have sweet popcorn. In France we spend the weekend with family or friends. Mostly on Sunday, it is like a family day. I also noticed that here in Slovakia you have lunch and dinner so early. Once we went out with my roommate at 9 PM and we wanted to eat but almost every restaurant was closed at that time. Other than that, I did not find any bug difficulties.

7. Would you like to recommend anything to the newcomers?

Especially for French people, I would say that I wish I knew before coming, Slovak people are really shy and introverted so it looks like they are not welcoming. So be prepared, they do not mean they are just shy. So it takes a little bit of effort to talk to them but it is worth it. The next advice is to take the most of what you can of the traineeship, meet new people, travel and enjoy your stay. What is the point of the internship if you do not take time to discover the country?

8. How would you evaluate overall support received from the Placement Slovakia team? 

I think that knowing that you have questions and situations to deal with and you can ask someone any time is really helpful. Also going to foreign country knowing that someone is always ready to help you with anything feels really nice. I always felt that when I was feeling like I needed your support, I could just text you.

9. Would you recommend our programme to other French students?If so, why?

Of course! It was such a great opportunity. I think that if someone wants to do it, he should not even think and come as soon as possible. As I mentioned, you are doing a great job and you are very welcoming so I would really recommend the others to come and take a part of the internship.

10. Did you make new friends here?  Was it hard for you to adapt in your company?

I consider my co-workers as my friends, so yes. I even went to the High Tatras for the weekend with one co-worker. I wanted to move there and stay there forever. I know that I would stay in touch with my co-workers even after the internship because I feel that we are more than co-workers. But also my roommate invited me to visit him in Turkey.

11. Do you consider visiting Slovakia again in the future?

I would love to do some kind of road trip in Slovakia. My friends had road trips like this before and they visited Prague, Budapest and Vienna but not Bratislava and that is my goal to take them here because it is so beautiful here.