Internship Feedback

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Jan Nguyen, CTU Prague,

ročník 3

About the country

Location of the place

Jordan is a country in Middle East comparable to Czech Republic with its size and population. Its former british colony and it shares borders with Palestine, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The country has no access to sea and oil, which makes this country atypical from the others in this region. Overall country is safe and has stable government with King Abdallah II as a head of the country.

City

My internship took place in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Its the biggest city in the country with 4 million inhabitants. The city is dirty and dusty, you can see garbage everywhere, but its just the reality of Middle East. Regarding public transportation, taxis and buses are your only option. Buses works pretty good with app and taxis are also cheap and commonly used.

Surroundings (possible trips, ...)

We went on trips basically every weekend. There are plenty of places to see. Close to Amman, there is an ancient city Jerash with a lot of Roman sights. But apart from the capital city, there are so many places to visit such as Aquaba, Dead Sea, Red Sea, Salt etc. One hour drive from Amman is border to Palestine, so I would recommend to visit this country also. We went with other interns for 4 days and visited Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron on our own.

Employer

I worked for company called Jordan Sadeen Contracting. They had 3 projects going on and I was assigned to work on new building for dentistry students of Jordan University.

Work description

I worked 5 days per week, from sunday to thursday. My work was to control masons and construction, so it wasnt hard work at all. I spent a lot of time with Jordanian interns and engineers there, so I had the opportunity to learn about life and culture in Jordan from them.

Salary (sufficient for local conditions?)

I got 45JOD per week, which was enough for food and maybe transportation, but surely it wasnt enough for all cost of living in there, especially if you want to travel and go out. On the other hand, we´ve got hotel provided buy IAESTE, so we didnt have to pay for that.

Language requirements

Most people can speak english so it was enough for basic communication almost everywhere, but at the construction site it was harder to communicate, because most of the workers couldnt speak english, or had lower proficiency, so it was useful for me to learn basic arabic. Also people really appreciate when you try and learn some words in their native language.

Accommodation (price, who provided it)

Accomodation was provided by IAESTE Jordan. All interns stayed in hotel Istanbul Suites. It was close to Jordan University, so we had great bus connections to city center. The room was for 2 people and it has its own kitchen, bathroom and air condition. Overall our hotel was really great with its own coffee place, and the stuff was also really kind and helpful.

Social life

Meeting IAESTE members (pick-up at the airport, organized events...)

My pickup from airport was provided by IAESTE and it went smooth without any problems. Local IAESTE members were really friendly and always helpfull when we needed something. They organized one 3-days trip to Aqaba, Wadi Rum and Petra for us, which was highlight of our internship.

Meeting other foreign students

I met so many new friends from all over the world. Meeting these people was most important part of my internship. Also I had the chance to meet a lot of local Jordanians, who were so welcoming and kind.

Sport and culture

We played football on thursday with other interns and hotel stuff. Most of the time we went to some coffee places or restaurants with other interns in the city center.

Food, local specialties

Most food in Jordan is fastfood. Restaurants are mainly shawarma places (similar to durum in Czech), so I ate that meal a lot during my stay. Muslims can´t eat pork, so we mostly had chicken in our meals. I would suggest to try Mansaf, which is national Jordanian meal. Apart from that, kofta or kebab are also good options. Jordaninans also really like sweets, so I would suggest to try baklava. Last but not least I recommend trying their hummus and falafel, its really good and cheap option for dinner.

Other information

Possibilites to communicate with the Czech Republic

I bought simcard with 40gb of internet and used wifi in hotel. So there is no problem with communication at all.

Recommendations for students who will go to the same place

Try to learn a bit about Middle East culture before going there, otherwise you will be surprised by some things. Definitely bring some long trousers, because wearing shorts is inappropriate in certain situations.

What not to forget with you

Alcohol, if you want to drink there, because its really expensive there, also sunscream, swimsuits and hat/cap.

Benefits of the internship

I met new friends from all parts of the world and also I had the opportunity to live in Middle East and learn a lot about culture and life there with locals. Apart from that I had chance to visit so many beautiful places.