chiang mai internship
By Joanna Tan (Class of 2022)
Fresh out of my first year in university, having just completed Thai 3, and having never done any internship in my life, I was presented with the opportunity to go for a one-month-long internship-cum-study programme in Chiang Mai in June 2019. Imagining myself to be extremely out of my depth linguistically, socially, and work-wise, I was unsure whether it was a good choice to go; I eventually packed my bags and went after being egged on by Ajarn Sasiwimol and my fellow Thai class classmate, Jun Ying, who also signed up. Needless to say, it turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences in my (university) life.
In Chiang Mai, I was attached to One Nimman, a hip community mall in the heart of the city, as a social media marketing intern. I was to help translate content between any combination of the languages of English, Mandarin and Thai, and craft social media posts for brands that the mall wanted to promote on its Mandarin social media accounts (e.g. Weibo, Wechat). On one level, I was confronted with an office working environment – daunting for an internship-less me – while on another, I had to feel my way around the unfamiliar cultural environment I was placed in. Thankfully, my friendly supervisor and another student from Chiang Mai University who happened to be interning there at the same time provided a forgiving environment for me to adapt, and after comically stumbling through several grammatical and social blunders, I sharpened my knowledge of Thai language and culture, and got an inkling of how working (overseas) was like.
Apart from working, Jun Ying and I attended Thai lessons in Chiang Mai University as well – we had lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then worked on the other 3 weekdays. Under the guidance of two ajarns, Ajarn Kik and Ajarn Da, we expanded our Thai vocabulary both inside and outside of the classroom. More than just giving us lessons in the university, they brought us out to local markets and cafes to point out new and novel things to us so that we could learn through our five senses, first-hand. Their warm hospitality meant that they were easy-going and kind; we were even gifted with the experience of riding “double pillion” with one of the teachers (three of us on one motorcycle), and the feeling of the wind in one’s face while zipping through little alleys full of cafes, something unlikely to happen in Singapore, has stayed with me until now.
But what of the weekday evenings after work and class, and what of the weekends? Cue adventures with Jun Ying and our exchange buddies from Chiang Mai University. They brought us to many places such as Tha Pae Walking Street, the Chiang Mai Zoo, and even Huay Tung Tao Lake, which was a little far from the city centre. Yet, the best experiences for me were not visits to these well-known tourist attractions but the everyday spots – I mean this not as a cliché where we went to “locals-only” areas with “the locals”, but more by virtue of the large amount of time that we spent there, which allowed us to have almost-nightly dinners at a night market along the street, rain or shine, creating a comfortable daily routine without the state of mind of a tourist… who usually rushes from one place to another, knowing that s/he has limited time.
Chiang Mai has left an indelible mark on my heart – working, learning, and having fun there for a full month has created an inevitable attachment to the people and the place, and a sense of easy familiarity whenever I return there. And so, for anyone who longs for a deep social, cultural, and linguistic experience in Thailand – this internship experience is for you.
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Joanna