Even at the beginning of my dual study program, I knew that I would go abroad for an internship during the three years. My permanent partner company – Vorwerk Autotec from Wuppertal – produces chassis bearings and special solutions for the automotive industry. As it also has sites in Poland, China and Mexico and I’m learning Spanish at the FHDW, I decided to do an internship abroad at the Mexican site in Lagos de Moreno in the state of Jalisco. But I was also very interested in the history, the culture and, above all, the long distance to Germany, as I had never been abroad outside Europe for a long time before.

I planned my stay together with the company’s HR department. I was able to choose the period and the department I wanted to support in Mexico myself. This gave me a lot of freedom in my planning, so I was able to decide on a period and the Supply Chain Management/Customer Service department myself. However, my stay was less than 180 days, so I didn’t need a visa. The organization went smoothly and I was able to set off for an eventful six months on the other side of the world.

In general, the journey and the start of my new everyday life were very easy and uncomplicated despite the long distance. Employees from my partner company picked me up from the airport and provided me with a nice apartment on site so that I could arrive and settle in in a relaxed manner.

The first few days at the company were great! The team in Mexico is very small (36 administrative employees), but all the more open. I received a very warm welcome. I was accepted into the team straight away and immediately felt at home. I shared my office with my line manager. Even the first few days showed me that the relationships between colleagues, the hierarchy and the way people work together in Mexico are very different to in Germany. The atmosphere is more relaxed, more open and not at all comparable. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had an incredibly exciting six months ahead of me – with lots of cultural differences, challenges and lots of fun.

I lived in Lagos de Moreno, a small town by Mexican standards. The city is located in the state of Jalisco and has just under 300,000 inhabitants. I lived alone, but very quickly made friends with a young colleague from Vorwerk Autotec . She integrated me directly into her family, so that I felt like an exchange sister and therefore like part of the family. I often took part in family celebrations and was able to gain an even deeper insight into Mexican family life and culture. In my free time, I went to yoga and boxing classes with her. We also often went out for dinner with friends or went out.

I quickly realized that the day in Mexico was far from over after work – we were invited to friends’ houses almost every day. The food in Mexico is also great. Of course, we often enjoyed it in the evenings at the many small street stalls; there really is everything from tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas to gorditas, burritos and chilaquiles. It is very cheap by European standards. Even if you order with a big appetite, you can get your dinner for the equivalent of less than two euros! But you really have to get used to all the meat in corn fritters with hot sauce, because that is the basis of almost everything there.

Mexico’s culture is really impressive. In the city where I lived, there were many public events, community meetings and festivals where people danced or historical and religious rituals took place. It was exciting to see how the inhabitants live the culture together.

As I have already mentioned, I quickly realized how open the Mexicans are. Their culture and values are very different from ours. I was welcomed so openly and warmly into the company, the family and my new circle of friends in a way I could never have imagined in Germany. This gave me the opportunity to get to know so many nice people who helped me have a wonderful time in Mexico. I learned an incredible amount, was invited to a temazcal (a healing steam bath, typical Aztec ceremony), concerts, a bullfight, a wedding and much more. Every day was eventful and varied, so after six months I have brought an incredible amount of experience back to Germany.

At work, I learned a lot about the international cooperation between the Vorwerk Autotec sites. Despite the many challenges we had to overcome on a daily basis, we were in constant contact with the sites in Germany, Poland and China. I liked being able to experience and participate in the work processes I was familiar with from Germany in a different environment and in a much smaller team.

My main tasks included customer support for Audi and BMW in Mexico and the USA as well as monitoring deliveries to customers. I planned the transportation and quantities of deliveries and was in daily contact with the contact persons. I was also responsible for the internal warehouse management of returnable packaging and therefore had a lot of contact with the warehouse and shipping staff.

Last but not least, the work, conversations and leisure activities with the locals helped me incredibly to improve my Spanish. At the beginning, I arrived in Mexico with a good knowledge of Spanish and was still barely able to tell people what the flight was like – the typical language barrier! But after a month I found speaking Spanish much easier and it got better with every week. I was lucky that my partner company provided me with a Spanish teacher twice a week. She helped me with my grammar, vocabulary and cultural topics.