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I had accidentally visited the briefing session for an IAESTE* internship which was held at my university in the early summer, 2013. (*The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience) I was fascinated by its program which makes it possible to make lots of friends from worldwide as well as work and learn as an engineer in my field. My heart went a pit-a-pat and then I finally applied for an IAESTE internship in autumn, 2013. It was a long journey to get the job and it took almost a year from the application to the real start of the work. After the application, I was selected as a scholarship student from IAESTE Japan and they looked for a job offer which fits to me while considering the qualification; major, period, English level, etc. Then the best offer for me was the work position in semiconductor physics group in the department of physics at University of Oslo in Norway.
 After a long long flight, I arrived at Oslo, Norway in late July, 2014. I was half-excited and half-worrying before I reached Oslo because it was so far from my hometown that few people go there. Therefore, there weren’t much information possible to have. However, I realized that it was needless to worry after I arrived at Oslo. Oslo welcomed me with the perfect weather of the warm sunshine and the cool air. The summer in Oslo never let the sun set and it was just unforgettable experience to see the white night. I cannot ever forget the first night in Oslo. Two months in Oslo was the happiest moments in my life. I was just falling in love with Norway during my traineeship. Norway is still very far country physically, however, now I feel it is really close and special to me. 
 I was staying in an apartment owned by Ihna Stallemo, who was one of the member of IAESTE Norway during my internship period. It was located near the Oslo central station so that it was very convenient to get to my work place, go shopping and everything. I and Ihna, and four more trainees shared the house. We became good friends quite quickly since we were almost always together after work. We often cooked together, played board games, chatted and sometimes we threw a party with other trainees who didn’t live at our place. Also, we took turns to become a chef to cook every single national dishes. I also cooked Korean food and introduced it to other trainees. It was my first time to share the house so that I didn’t get used to for the first time, but later on, I was very happy to live there. It was because, of course, we had a lot of fun and it was very interesting to understand various cultures from other trainees.  I was supposed to work on new thin film deposition system (e-beam and thermal deposition system) which should have been installed before I arrived, however, the deposition system had not been delivered yet during my traineeship, so that I worked on Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) instead. Thanks to my supervisors, I could deeply understand how the system works and they always helped me very nicely whenever I have something I don’t understand.
 My life in Norway was not only the work but lots of cultural/social reception programs provided by IAESTE Norway, so that we never got bored. On some weekends, we went to other cities in Norway where other trainees had been staying and met those trainees and we all travelled together. The most impressive reception program for me was the ‘Stavanger weekend’. We climbed up to the Lyse fjord and I was totally amazed by the beauty of the earth. I was so surprised at its scenery that I just stood with my mouth gaping.
 Taking the internship through the IAESTE was the best decision which I’ve ever made in my life without any exaggeration. It was just perfect experience! I could make lots of friends from all over the world and have a global network while I could learn something more deeply on my study field at my work place. I bet everyone who has taken the IAESTE internship would completely recommend it to others as I do.
 
Myungeun (4^th year  Applied Chemistry)