Hello everyone!
My name is Anneke I am born and raised in a small village in northern Germany and currently doing a bachelor’s degree at Maastricht University. I am studying Economics and Business Economics and specialising in Emerging Markets.
I would consider myself a very curious person. I always want to extend my knowledge and I am always excited to try new things. I am curious to learn more about different cultures and people from different cultures. This is also why I decided to study at Maastricht University since it is a very international University, and I was able to do the Emerging Market specialisation. Especially in Emerging Markets, the cultures and the living circumstances differ a lot from the ones in Germany, where I grew up. Additionally, I am very excited to learn about the challenges and differences in these countries. However, at university, everything is still very theoretical, and I also have the urge to learn what things are like in practice. So, when finding FIN, I was extremely excited to see that this is an organisation where I could learn exactly this!
Another strong interest of mine that also helps to learn more about people from different cultures, is by learning new languages. This is because it helps to engage with people from other countries. In the future, I want to learn more languages and improve the languages that I already speak. One of the languages that I am already speaking but want to improve is Spanish. I learned Spanish last summer when I spent one month with a host family in Barcelona. Living in Barcelona with a host family taught me a lot and gave me great insight into their values and different traditions. Additionally, I got to try a lot of amazing food that I did not have before, such as traditional paella or patatas bravas (which I extremely love and would highly recommend!!). I was extremely excited about trying new food since I have a great passion for cooking and trying new types of food. This is also a great way to explore different cultures and traditions since food plays a huge role in all cultures.
Outside of University and my work at FIN, I love to spend my free time with my friends or doing something creative. I would consider myself a very creative person, which I probably inherited from my mom as she is a graphic designer and illustrator. I always loved to do some creative activities. I always drew a lot when I was a little kid and I used to do pottery. During the pandemic, when I spent a lot of time at home, I started crocheting, which my mom first taught me when I was a kid. I extremely like crocheting since it is a very calming, almost meditative, activity that is a great way to destress.
This internship at FIN gives me the chance to get to know more about India and pressing issues in India, such as the lack of basic sanitation. Also, it gives me the great opportunity to get to know people from India and work with these people here at FIN!