The Joys of Foreign Computing

PCI went overseas to open my eyes and broaden my horizons. You know, how you’re supposed to when you’re in your early twenties and feeling single and…ready to mingle? I mean mingle with other cultures, obviously. So I took a trip to Albajeria. Interesting place. On my first day at the hotel, I was offered a local delicacy: a squid ink sundae. That was just the start of a chain of weird experiences…though nothing managed to trump the squid ink sundae, fortunately. And to think, all of this was caused by an IT course. Melbourne has actually never felt more like home.

Oh, go and do some real work experience in another country, the posters said! You’ll love it and gain valuable insight, they said! I guess I gained valuable insight and experience in work. The whole reason the trip was organised was because my Mum’s relatives (who I have never met) were trying to set up a business in the capital city, and they needed an IT expert. I’m not exactly that, strictly speaking…I mean, I’m still studying. But they heard ‘IT course’ and apparently they were clamouring to get me over and help out. Well, I got to meet my family, which is…nice. They’re interesting people. People who knew nothing about computers, so I basically got IT experience by setting up their entire cash management system, installing their security cameras and even doing a bit of web development, which is not my area but I still knew more about it than the guy making their website. All the while, I sampled their country’s delicacies.

I actually did go on a camping trip with some Aussie students up to the mountains, and that was five days of incredible scenery and fascinating culture. Also, none of them needed someone doing an IT course, because they were monks who didn’t need electricity. I’m really starting to think that they had the right idea about things.

-Ian