International Work Experience - My Trip to Charleston, SC

Résumé du document

The second year of Marketing and European Management, within the international school of management IDRAC Lyon, begins with a cultural trip of two months, named International Work Experience. This stay, is not in a French-speaking country, and enables the students, on one hand, to discover a foreign culture thanks to the contact with the local population and, on the other hand, to practice a foreign language. In order to use that opportunity to go to discover a foreign culture I decided to not stay in Europe. I made my IWE in the United States, in Charleston, South Carolina. This journey, counted for the validation of my second year, and took place from 20/06/07 till 27/08/07. During these two months, I had the opportunity to work in a restaurant, as dishwasher and cooking assistant, in order to be self-financed. Parallel to this, I used to visit museums and landscapes in Charleston and New-York. I've been integrated into the American youth, and borrowed their lifestyle. The first step, which was to find a place to live, was rather stressful but was less hard than I thought. A contact that lived in Charleston advised me and spoke about my situation to those around him. At first, I did not get too many responses, and the search for a flat via the internet turned out to be really difficult since the beginning. Many times I was about to find an accommodation but the problem of the transport was generally a hindrance, as I don't have a driving license. A financial problem also existed because Charleston is a "VIP" city, and the rents was close to 1000$ per month, for a small flat.