The planning of the trip to Chennai had begun 4 months in advance as I was motivated towards interning at UPAI (Ultimate player association of India). I had a word with the President during one of our tournaments and then later reached out to the organisation in the form of a formal email. The planning stage had begun from February and the trip was planned around the month of May. In the process of planning, I learned how organisations have a formal structure for taking interns in their organisation, as I closely know the people of the organisation the process work was something that I was not familiar with. IT was the first time I had to plan my entire trip from scratch and also be vigilant enough to manage my budget. I developed verbal communication skills while planning and initiating stage.
27th April was the first time in my life I saw Chennai’s airport and the city itself. I started my internship on the 29th of April. One day was taken as a buffer to figure out my locality and the areas near my PG (paying guest accommodation). This was the very first time that I was all by myself in a new city, around new people, managing my own expenses. It was not challenging to organize myself as I am usually a very organised person, very particular about my schedule and plans. However, communication with the locals was a barrier. I got a little lucky as I knew basic phrases in Tamil and was quick at learning a few more sentences till the trip came to an end.
I speak to my Chennai friends in Tamil till date, it makes me feel proud of myself as I learned a few basics of a completely new language.
The 7th learning outcome is something I would want to discuss as interning with an organisation which you are an active member of requires you to follow more rules and work ethics. By this I mean I know the community members well and the information passed on to the interns have to be kept confidential or if not kept confidential there is a certain manner in which it has to be delivered to the other people, the entire matter cannot be discussed in detail. The internship came with ethical responsibilities such as being professional while calling team captains and other members for work. It made me learn about how a balanced in maintained between work and fun.
This internship was an opportunity to more about UPAI. Along with which it was also an opportunity to play with one of the top teams in India that too on the beach. Hence I made sure I attended all practice sessions to grab as much knowledge and skills that I can which will help my personal growth. Be punctual and committed to working as well as sports made me feel great about my self-management skills.
This was also an opportunity to explore the city and culture.
Going around to temples, church and the beaches were a great adventure as it was planned and executed solely. I discovered that the god’s that I have known and the ones that the South Indians worship are similar. It is the names, offerings and prayer that differ. Everything else is the same.
This trip helped me explore my career options and most importantly I discovered myself through the solo trip. I learned that when is comes to planning things and managing budget I am good with it and I work well when planning is done beforehand.
Survival skills are essential to be learned and I think my solo trip to a new city helped me learn this essential skill.
