Thijs in Saint Lucia
Name
Thijs
How long did you do your internship?
15 weeks
Short biography
I am Thijs and I am 22 years old. In daily life I play a lot of football, work and I like to go to festivals. I study sports science at the Zeeland University of Applied Sciences and went to Saint Lucia for 15 weeks.
For anyone who is on the fence about going to Saint Lucia for an internship or volunteer, I absolutely recommend it!
How satisfied were you with the guidance in your home country?
The guidance was great. If you had a question, you could always reach someone. If you needed it, you could even approach a former intern before your adventure to ask about his or her experiences.
My Story
During my third year of sports science I got the chance to do an internship abroad for 15 weeks. I soon came across De Kracht van Sport and decided to go to Saint Lucia. And what a good choice that was!!!
On March 1st I left for Saint Lucia, from Amsterdam to London and from London to Vieux Fort. From the air I could already see the blue sea and the beautiful island.
During the 15 weeks that I spent in Saint Lucia I was able to teach many different children and help out at many different schools. For example, I taught gym classes at nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools. The gym classes were often in the mornings and for me football training in the afternoons or evenings.
Not all interns/volunteers do the same. For example, I am a goalkeeper and, in addition to the gym classes in the mornings, I mainly focused on giving goalkeeper training. Other housemates did cricket or rugby, for example, you can choose for yourself what you want to teach in the afternoon or evening!
I met a lot of nice new people during my internship. Because you spend a lot of time together, you quickly become a close group and do a lot of fun things together. For example, we did an excursion every Friday and we often went out on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
We were also able to use the beach of a luxury resort and this was really enjoyable. A must on Friday evening is the street party, this is a street party where all the locals party on the street.
For anyone who is doubting whether to go to Saint Lucia for an internship or volunteer work, I absolutely recommend it!
What advice would you give to future interns/volunteers?
The culture is very different from the Dutch. So prepare yourself well in advance haha. But above all enjoy it! Your time in Saint Lucia will fly by.
