Feeling the Warmth
By: Navmi Sharma, CAS ’23
Navmi making a presentation about her favorite Indian festival to her co-workers, while dressing the part in Indian traditional wear.
The Institute of Cultural Affairs – Japan
Travelling has been a part of my life ever since I first ventured out into the larger world as part of my national squash team. Hopping from one country to another for tournaments, meeting new people, and interacting with their cultures helped me realize just how much I valued every bit of international exposure I could get. It was what pushed me to attend university in the United States and decide to major in international relations here at Penn.
As a rising junior, still figuring out a possible career path, I knew that it would be important to begin exploring different options through internships or research this summer. Would it be an MNC? Maybe a research institution like a think tank? Or a non-profit organization? The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to do something that would allow me to work cross-borders and expand my cultural horizons, really allowing me to put all my theoretical IR knowledge from the classroom into practical use. Rather than taking up an internship in my home country, India, I wanted to make the most of the shift to virtual operations brought on by the pandemic and push to get global experience – and VIA was a perfect opportunity that allowed me to do so.
Having just finished my fourth semester of Japanese at Penn, I naturally chose Japan as my first choice. I was thrilled to be placed with the Institute of Cultural Affairs Japan, an international non-profit organization focusing on sustainability and human development because it not only allowed me to understand more about the non-profit sector but also practice my language skills and learn first-hand about Japanese culture.
The first week and a half have been very exciting and quite culturally immersive with my supervisors and co-workers introducing me to elements of the Japanese tea ceremony and promising a live demonstration of it so I can follow along in my bedroom. They encouraged me to share a bit of my culture with them too and so the first official presentation I gave for my internship ended up being one about my favorite Indian festival! I can’t wait to begin with my official responsibilities that will include teaching English to Japanese mothers and children and look forward to all that I can learn from them this summer.
The one thing that struck me most about my internship so far is just how warm and welcoming my co-workers have been. It has been hard, in the last year, to form meaningful relationships with people through solely virtual interactions. But when I met my team for the first time, even before my internship had officially started, this is what I was told – “If you ever come to Japan, don’t worry, we’ll take care of you. You have a family here now.”
And thousands of miles away from them, looking at their smiling faces through my cold laptop screen, my room – still dark in the early hours of the morning – felt so much warmer.
At the end of this experience, I look forward to walking away with a better understanding of my potential future career path, a better understanding of Japanese culture, and better language skills, but more importantly, with real relationships and people that I can rely on from across the world.
The Virtual Internships Abroad (VIA) program provides self-directed and motivated Penn undergraduate students the opportunity to gain a fully funded professional work experience over the summer with a global employer, with the added convenience of working remotely.