Hi everyone!
My name is Helen and I’m from the UK. I arrived a few days ago and I am looking forward to the 6 months ahead as part of the InternChina team in Chengdu.

I have actually been to Chengdu before, so it’s very familiar to me. I first came in 2011 to study Mandarin. Initially a plan of just staying one semester turned into three semesters! I decided to stay longer when my friend came to visit me after the first semester, I was her tour guide for the week and I must admit I sometimes struggled with the language barrier which made me feel as though I hadn’t learned enough! Nevertheless we still had a great time and almost freezed ourselves to death visiting Emei Mountain during the Spring Festival period.

I started to grow more attached to Chengdu the longer I stayed. The culture, the food and the lifestyle. So, why did I leave Chengdu? Simple. I had used all the money I had saved, so it was time to return home. When I saw that InternChina had opened an office in Chengdu and were looking for an intern, I just had to apply, so now I am here again having on left earlier this year!

From the very first day, I have received a very warm welcome from everyone at InternChina (including lots of welcome messages from the other two offices based in Qingdao and Zhuhai). They have already made me feel at home and as part of the team! A very special thanks to Brigitte and Paul who waited at the airport until 2am with snacks and water at hand! Surprisingly, we all still managed to get into the office for an early start the next day. 🙂

I had a spot of a trouble with my luggage, it didn’t arrive in Chengdu as it was suppose to but it finally made it’s way back to me within a couple of days. InternChina have been extremely helpful and it’s only my third day here! If you’re a new intern coming to work at InternChina or even through them, don’t worry, if you have any problems just ask someone and they will provide support for whatever your needs may be.

I will be spending Christmas here again, and it will actually be my third one away from home and I know that it will probably be like my first but with the interns in Chengdu.