Rafael Bonaparte – Germany

Please give a brief introduction of yourself.

My name is Rafael. I am 26 years old and from Germany. I just finished by Bachelor’s degree in business and economics and recently started my Master’s degree.

How did you start interning at VANK? What were your duties as an intern?

I was an intern from August to October 2010. Frankly, I cannot remember the reasons for my decision anymore since it was three years ago. I think one of the main reasons was that no one else i knew was planning to go there…

My duties were to foster a social network to connect Korean students with other students around the world, participate in the Dokdo Island Festival, and present an overview of my experiences at VANK to the festival attendees. Additionally, I started to translate the website of VANK to proper German as the actual translation at the time was incorrect.

What have you gained from your experience as an intern?

I gained a lot of different experience during this internship. Korean culture was completely new to me and by the end I hope I understood the meaning of most things and culture.

My only difficulties were the lack of cheese (hahah).

The most rewarding moment was when I was given the opportunity to speak in front of approximately 800 people about my experiences with VANK. Also, the trip to the border to North Korea was fascinating.

Describe some of your short-term and long-term goals.

My short term goal is it to change my university from Gießen, a small city in Germany, to London, UK. My long term goals are to find a decent job somewhere in the UK, Germany, the Middle East, or Asia. My career goals lie in the financial sector, probably a mixture of financial knowledge and IT.