Frederica in Curaçao
Participant
Frederica
Programme
Internship
Country
🇨🇼 Curaçao
Duration
6 weeks
Studies
CIOS
Age at the time
19 years old
Worked with
Primary schools, athletics, football
Short bio
I’m 19 years old. At the time I was studying at CIOS, which fitted in perfectly with this! I’ve now finished CIOS and look back on it with a good and satisfied feeling. I’m now studying physiotherapy and still often think back to my time in Curaçao. I met lots of lovely new people there. It’s a very rewarding and fun internship placement and I really learnt a lot there too.
How satisfied were you with the support before departure?
The support before departure was really good! I was helped straight away whenever something wasn’t clear. Communication was great and they made sure everything was well organised, so you could set off for Curaçao feeling good.
My story
“What has really stayed with me is how grateful people were for the times when we got together to do sport and exercise.”
Frederica · internship in Curaçao
I took the ‘Sport, Recreation and Tourism’ elective module during my CIOS course. This elective gave me the unique opportunity to go to Curaçao and gain practical experience there.
During my time in Curaçao, I organised sporting activities in various settings. For example, I taught PE lessons at primary schools, ran athletics and football training sessions, and led sports classes at an addiction treatment centre. This was quite challenging at first, as I found myself in a new environment and had to deal with different groups of people and situations. However, it was precisely this that taught me an enormous amount, both in terms of teaching and on a personal level.
What has stayed with me most of all is how grateful people were for the times we came together to play sport and exercise. It gave me a wonderful, heart-warming feeling to see what sport can mean to people. As a result, I felt more and more at home and realised just how much I enjoyed working with different groups of people.
I therefore look back on my time in Curaçao with a big smile. It was an incredibly wonderful and educational experience that I won’t forget in a hurry. Not only did I gain a lot of new experiences, but I also grew as a person and as a future sports professional.
I would definitely recommend this experience to everyone!
What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?
Above all, enjoy the time you have there and make unforgettable memories! It won’t always be easy, but remember that the people there are incredibly grateful to you.
Frederica’s photos
