One student interned in the Philippines, working in international banking, living in the home of a mafia kingpin and unknowingly eating dog for the first time. Another student spent the summer in Turkey, applying classroom knowledge in his marketing job, enduring 110 degree heat and traveling to see two of the seven Wonders of the World.

Others work in Finland, Poland or Australia, choosing among the 69 countries available. Each of these well-traveled students is a member of AIESEC, a french acronym for the International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management, and participate in the traineeship exchange program.

AIESEC, a student-managed organization operating all over the globe, serves to increase international awareness and to develop leadership and management skills. According to chapter president Christine Johnson, NIU’s AIESEC boasts 55 members and is open to non-business majors. Besides sponsoring internships, AIESEC provides speakers, forums and other activities.

“It’s a really smart career move for people going into international business,” a junior marketing major said. “When students come back they say it was the most incredible experience they’ve ever had.”

Members interested in traveling to foreign countries have to go through an application process, Johnson said. Students fill out forms specifying their work experience, classes, major and what countries they would like to visit. An interview and a review of their participation in the organization follows. Once accepted, trainees only have to pay plane fare—all internships are paid.

Johnson said the AIESEC committee in the host country provides students with housing, often setting them up in apartments with other trainees. Internships last from six weeks to 18 months.

Since she joined AIESEC in 1987, Johnson said the organization has undergone a few changes. “When I first joined, there were eight members. We’ve grown quite considerably,” she added.

Although she hasn’t interned overseas yet, Johnson said she has learned a great deal from those students who have. “They go to get job experience, but come back realizing the most important thing was the cultural experience,” she explained. “It (international business) is a wide-open field.”

AIESEC member Pete Cholewinski agreed. “It’s a good opportunity for business students. If you have international experience it’s a plus for a resume and life in general,” he said, adding AIESEC also solicits participation by local businesses. According to Cholewinski, 40 DeKalb businesses have been approaced to host exchange students from foreign countries.

Senior Jim Roche traveled to Turkey last summer, where he spent nine weeks in a marketing internship. He worked in Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey.

Roche said he worked in a small corporation (15 employees), doing market research on a new baby food product and doing strategic planning.

“Some of the decisions I made will affect the company in the long term,” he said, adding the Turkish workday is more easy-going than its American counterpart. “Things are just a lot more relaxed and casual out there. It’s not unusual to sit around and drink tea for 45 minutes or come into work two hours late,” he said. “Here, things are more rigid and scheduled. What one person does in the United States, four people do the same job there.”

Roche also noted business attire is not the typical three-piece suit, but short-sleeve shirts and dress pants. The weather has something to do with it. “I did not see a cloud in the sky for over two months. It was sunny and 100 degrees every day,” Roche said.

Roche lived with 24 other interns from all over the world, including England, Spain and Japan. “I made friends out there that will be there forever,” he said, adding he has received 20 letters since he returned. Although English is the official language of AIESEC, only his boss and secretary spoke it at work, he said.

On weekends, the interns packed up and toured Turkey. “People don’t think it’s a good place to visit,” Roche said. “But it’s magnificent.” Two of the seven Wonders of the World—the great temple of Apollo and the ancient greek and roman ampitheatre Ephesus—are located in Turkey. Roche saw them both.

How was the food? Very spicy, according to Roche. “You have to get used to it. Your body eventually adjusts.” It’s also fairly cheap. “I had a filet mignon with all the trimmings and a huge mug of beer for under three American dollars,” he said.

oche, who plans to go into international marketing, said his experience was one he will never forget. “It was one of the most exciting things that’s ever happened in my college career,” he said.

Dave Husson is another student who recently returned from an AIESEC internship. Husson, a senior management major specializng in international business, traveled to the Philippines and worked in an international banking division.

His living arrangements were interesting, to say the least. “I lived with a provincial governor of the Philippines. He was also a mafia kingpin of the Philippine mafia,” he said, adding, “He had opposition. There were 30 thugs and bodyguards surrounding the house, with automatic machine guns and grenades.”

Was he a nice guy anyway? “He wasn’t too friendly when he was there,” Husson said, adding, “It didn’t make me too comfortable. But it was interesting.”

His work was also interesting. Husson said he enjoyed currency trading and realized how important the U.S. economy is to the rest of the world. “The whole world revolves around New York,” he added.

Like Roche, Husson also made friends with the other interns, and language was not a problem – nearly everyone could speak English. They also went on excursions every weekend.

Husson learned more than business on his trip, however. “The main thing I was impressed with was how much they (Filippinos) worship the United States. They just ask and ask and ask how it is here,” he said, adding, “Every day at 5:00 a.m. you could see the line at the U.S. embassy, trying to get visas and passports. It was two blocks long.”

He also discovered the Philippine class system, where only one percent of the population makes over 100,000 pesos ($5,000) a year. “It was humbling to see how people lived there,” he said. One trip made that painfully astute. “The village was established on top of a garbage dump. People’s houses were made out of garbage,” he said. “It makes you appreciate what you have in the U.S.”

Food was another culture shock. At one point, in an island restaurant, he unwittingly ate dog for the first time. “We could hear the dogs crying in the back, but thought the cook just kicked them. We didn’t know we’d have it for dinner.”

In addition, he munched on stew with cow stomach lining and steamed cow ligaments.

Overall, Husson was pleased he took the AIESEC internship. “I realized how important good relations among countries are,” he said. “It was definitely a learning experience.”