Business Development Intern in Bangkok

Hi, I’m Jessica, and I’m from Indiana. I go to Cornell University and I study Applied Economics and Management. Right now I work at a blockchain technology company in Bangkok. A lot of the work I’m doing is client-facing, so we’re constantly pitching to different types of companies who might want to integrate blockchain into their business, and I’m creating the PowerPoints and meeting directly with the clients.

One of the biggest culture shocks for me was when I rolled up to work on the very first day in all my business clothes and business heels, and they just told me at the front door, you can take off your shoes, just put on these slippers. I was always surprised by that, but it also made me feel at home. Another part of the work culture that I don’t think I would have seen in the States is this huge emphasis on family, how it’s a collectivist culture here. During the company onboarding meeting they focused on how this company is truly like a family, and how we really have to respect, even love each other, which I thought was super special.

So far my time in Thailand has been fantastic. The first two weeks I spent entirely in Bangkok, so I was really exploring a lot of the different kinds of food places, and a bit of the nightlife. They also have a surprising amount of parks in Bangkok, so I’ve been sitting around [unclear] just kind of reading. And we finally got the chance to see some more of the islands and also go up north, so we were able to [unclear] with elephants and also saw a few other [unclear]. So I’m getting a bit of a taste of everything, and it’s a lot more exciting than my usual summers at home.

AIP has been extremely supportive. I remember in the months leading up to me actually coming to Thailand, Ken was very responsive to all my silly questions over email, and that really put me at ease about coming to this foreign country just to work. AIP has made it fairly easy to become friends with other interns, because they offered this Thai language and culture class, and nearly all of the AIP kids went to that, so we made some friends that way. They also offered a whole program dinner a few weekends ago. Socializing with other interns has been one of the best parts about being here, and AIP has made that really easy to do.

My biggest piece of advice is to really put yourself out there, because it’s a very short, special time of your life, and you’ll get the most out of it, you’ll grow, if you really are out there. Try new things, new foods, no matter how uncomfortable [unclear]. You really want to push yourself, and that’s how you’re gonna get the most out of this time here.

Transcript from YouTube’s automatic captions, lightly edited. Company name removed. [unclear] marks words the captions didn’t catch.