Name: Maja Lodal Holmbjerg
Age: 22
Nationality: Danish
Education: Bachelor in Social Education – Early Childhood Education
Internship Period: December 2022 – May 2023

A uber man once quoted “Live life to the fullest” and that was how my 6 months Down Under were spent. But let´s recap and start from the beginning with this truly amazing story of mine.

Does it get any bigger than moving on the other side of the world with just one suitcase? Well, that’s what I did!

It´s the 25^th of November 2022, my suitcase is packed, I have said see you soon to family and was ready to fly. My stomach was filled with butterflies for all the things that were going to happen the next 6 months, after 32 hours I land in the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’. It was 5am but luckily I was picked up by Quinty (one of the supervisors) at the airport. She drove me to my house and gave me a with a little tour. The house was silent because my new roommates from the Netherlands were still sleeping. I ended up having the house for myself the first week since all the Dutch’s people had planned a trip together – it gave me good time to settle in.

Within the following week all the new interns had arrived in New Zealand and what a pleasure it was to meet so many lovely people. We were many interns who had moved in to WCI housing, and we thought ‘how we can get around to see all the houses and get to know each other’? Of course, nothing less than Tour de Chambre it was going to be! For the record if you´re coming as an intern in the future I hope and think it will still be a tradition for when new interns arrive!!

I completed my internship at Tiny Tuis Early Learning Centre where I started out being with the infant for a month before I moved into one of the toddler rooms, where I spent the following 5 months. It´s two very different age groups, and I knew I was more into the working with the toddlers, but I tried working with the youngest also. What I´m trying to say is, that it´s good to try out different/ new things. I really enjoyed my time at Tiny Tuis, I got to know so many amazing teachers with different cultures and all the inspiring children at Tiny Tuis. I got into a weekly routine working 4 days per week and then I had 3 off days. It gave me great opportunities to explore the beautiful country and when necessary doing my assignments for school.

Every day was a day embraced by learning! Learning about my profession, myself, and basics life skills. For example, the public transport is not great (now you know), so I went and bought my first car. I was so happy and so excited to be able to drive to my internships and do road-trips. Unfortunately, not everything always goes as planned…..A flat tire sucks but a broken car is on another level so not everything was a glossy image, however, I can ensure you it’s a learning opportunity of a lifetime and whatever happens, my advice is to make the most out of it.

I had Lexi as my White Cloud Supervisor during my internship at Tiny Tuis. She was a very big support during my internships. She created a safe space for me to develop my professional skills. A big thanks to Lexi and for the internship statement I received in the end of my internship period. Beside the single supervisions, White Cloud Internships facilitate every fortnightly group supervision with different types of professional topics. Thank you, Mia, for these very rewarding sessions.

In addition to my time at Tiny Tuis I have made use of all the people I have been surrounded by to reflect on the professional work. They have inspired me to think and navigate in different ways and exploring why we do what we do in a given situation. My time at Tiny Tuis has given me so many great experiences and new knowledge. I am thankful for the learning space I have been in and that I was allowed to be me.

It has been an unforgettable experience, and I would never have been without It. I have learnt so much about myself, which is priceless and the biggest gift for my own personal development as a professional. It has been so giving to get to know so many new people – Danes, Dutchies, and Kiwis – people I have been on adventures with and created beautiful memories with. New Zealand is offering endless number of waterfalls, beaches, landscapes, forest, and mountains. There is so much to discover! I started this story with a quote from a uber driver and I will end it off with another quote, since I have had some nice uber drivers giving good life advise at times HAHA. I will end it off with this one; “The more you sleep, the more you lose your life.”!

All the best

Maja