Anne in Taiwan #3

How my adventure started and why showering can also be an experience

Dear people interested in Taiwan and internships abroad,

today it is going to be a bit more formal, organizational and... to tell you the truth, it's going to be really useful to you today. This time, I'm not going to rave about the Taiwanese and their country or about the wonderful working atmosphere in the Taipei Office of Evonik Taiwan Ltd., but I'm going to give you a few important tips on how to actually plan such an internship abroad, and what to look out for. For me, it all started with an inquiry to Evonik in Germany, telling them that I would like to do an internship abroad and if possible in Taiwan. I had already been influenced by friends who were enthusiastic about Taiwan, including a friend who had already completed an internship in another department at Evonik Taiwan. My friendly contact person at Evonik in Germany finally arranged a telephone interview with a colleague from Taiwan. It was quite relaxed and included questions about my motivation and my previous career. After a short time, I had the confirmation in my inbox and the preparation phase could begin. It should not be underestimated that the preparation takes a few weeks. This starts with (multiple) vaccinations that need to be carried out at a certain time distance and ends (not yet) when applying for the visa. For this visa, my colleagues in Taiwan first applied for a work permit for me, for which they needed a few documents, that I had to provide. After the work permit approved by the Taiwanese authorities was in my mailbox, I was able to apply for a visa at the Taipei representation in Berlin. It only took a few working days until I could pick it up.

I was really lucky, because my colleagues from Evonik Taiwan Ltd. organized and paid for a room in an apartment house in the center of Taipei. It was a very small room without any kitchen niche or utensils, but the center of Taipei is full of restaurants and food stands, so that was not bad in the short time. I lovingly called my bathroom a bath box: Due to the high density of the population in Taiwan, space must be saved so that, as in my case, the shower is directly connected to the washbasin and is as large as the bathroom, since you stand directly in it when showering. 

Not only this leads me to my personal advice from me to you: Stay open minded, always be interested in the new and the unknown. Try everything!  Don't be prejudiced. I learned so much by just asking questions, listening and trying so much over and over again. The Taiwanese I have met are polite, respectful and they value their country very much. They will thank you for openly showing their enthusiasm for the history, culture and landscape of their country.

So jump into the adventure!

Yours, Anne

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On the students@Evonik blog students working at Evonik share their experiences about life in the company. 

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