EF Educational Tours

Placement organization

Name of organization: EF Educational Tours
Town/city: Rome
Country: Italië
Website: https://www.ef-italia.it/pg/corsi-di-lingua/

Student

Name of student: Olivia van Heel

Specialist area: Associate degree
Placement period: 2019-2020

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Tour operator
Organization’s activities: EF Educational Tours provide educational experiences for High School students from North America and Canada. Their mission is to open the world through education! Educational Tours help prepare students for the future by teaching them more about the world, themselves and their place in the world. The regional office in Rome assigns tours to tour directors who have the Rome office as their home base. They also offer tour directors on tour assistance and support.
Target group of the organization: North American and Canadian High School students
Company culture: Informal
Number of employees: 6
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I am working in the Educational Tours department.

Brief description of your daily activities: – Scheduling performance reviews with tour directors
– Preparing TDlinks (tablets)
– Updating criminal background checks
– Managing airport transfers
– Distributing DHL packages
– Sending GL history and TEM links
– Preparing selection days
Brief description of your company assignment: The customer engagement of EF Educational Tours.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: At the regional office in Rome, they expect you to work on your tasks independently. However, if you need any information or have questions, they will help you anytime.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Sociable, independent, easy-going, enthusiastic and initiative
Additional company requirements for this placement? Decent knowledge of MS Office
English: Advanced
Italian: Basic

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? I arranged my accommodation myself.
How did you go to work every day? By bus or tram

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Erasmus Scolarship
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? You should apply as soon as possible
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? In the office, everyone speaks English. However, basic or intermediate Italian would be nice, especially for your social life outside of your internship.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € € 200
Accommodation (monthly): € € 550
Local transport (monthly): € € 35
General costs of living (monthly): € I would say around € 400
Costs of visa: € € 0
Costs of work permit: € € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? EF paid for both of my flights (to Italy and back home), €5 for lunch every workday and a monthly transportation card.

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I did prepare for the county’s culture by looking into their culture, customs and etiquette. The mentality of Italian people is quite different than the mentality of Dutch people, so it was nice to know a little about that in advance. The work atmophere is also different, everything is more laid back.

Information on Italian language, culture, customs and etiquette:
https://www.commisceo-global.com/resources/country-guides/italy-guide

Try to find a room close to the office. Public trasportation is very unreliable and insanely busy every morning and afternoon.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 182109@buas.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: DO:
– I highly recommend traveling within Italy during your internship, it is a great way to see other parts of Italy and it can be very cheap (go by Flixbus).
– Try to learn Italian during your stay, all the locals will very much appreciate it and it is nice for outside the office.
– Make a list of all the things you want to visit during your time in Italy, because believe me it can be very overwelming. Rome has a lot to offer and you do want to make sure you end up seeing al the things you want to see.

DON’T:
– Rely on public transporation to much, everything is busy. The tram and metro do show up on time, but busses (often) don’t. Download the app: Citymapper. I think this one is the best to find your way around in Rome.
– Feel bad if you aren’t feeling at home in the beginning. You are in a foreign country without your family and friends. Give yourself some time to make friends and to find your place in this big city.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: EF Educational Tours is located in the heart of Rome. The Pantheon and Piazza Navona are less then 5 minutes walking. Furthermore, Trastevere is very nice. It has a lot of great restaurants. For example, Ombre Rosso (Roman pizza) or Mimi e Coco (melanzane alla parmigiana). If you want to go out, I really liked Circolo degli Illuminati, a club in Ostiense), but in the city center there is an amazing bar (Scolars Lounge Irish Pub).

Buona fortuna e buon divertimento!

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