Hi guys!

My name is Denise, I am 21 years old and from Germany. Doing an internship is a mandatory part of my study program (I'm studying Business Psychology in Mainz by the way) and since I have been aspiring after an international career for a long time, I dreamed from the beginning of my studies of doing my internship abroad. After searching and applying for weeks without any good response, I almost gave up my dream but then I saw the SUNOVA  job ad and couldn't believe my eyes. I applied immediately, and after a short and funny job interview with Martin I got the position.

I am more than just lucky and grateful to be part of such a dope company like SUNOVA, where you will not only work on your professional career but also on your personal development! Of course, I can also not complain about working in Thailand right where other people make vacation. Due to my tight schedule, I'm only here for 2 months but I can already tell you that I wish I could stay longer here in paradise. 

Scroll down if you want to read more about my awesome time here!

My journey to Thailand started by saying goodbye to my family at the airport on Wednesday morning after a long night of packing. Even though it's always kinda sad to leave home I was still super excited and thrilled to finally take off and start my dream internship in Khao Lak. After a 14h hour flight with a stop-over in Doha, I landed safe and sound in Phuket on Thursday morning at 8 am local time. I got picked up by a super nice driver who drove me to the factory where I met Martin and the others for the first time. I only remembered Martin from my interview which I had had in February (it's May now) and he seriously turned out exactly how I  expected him to be: funny, full of power, visionary and chilled but most of all CRAZY (in a good way tho). 

After a quick tour through the factory, the office and the amazing outside area, we ate lunch together and already discussed some of my internship tasks. A little later, Martin showed me the neighborhood and drove me to my bungalow (which probably is the nicest accommodation I've ever stayed at abroad). I had time enough to unpack my stuff, relax and to acclimate myself before watching the breathtaking sunset from my balcony. I obviously didn't have a scooter during this time so luckily Dylan who is the "shit kicker" of SUNOVA (his own words lol) picked me up for dinner.

As I already said above, I spend a lot of with my boss, his family and Dylan in my free time but also with Rouven and Jasmine (the other interns). At this day, we all decided to go stand up paddling together in the morning before work. We got up at 6:00 am, drove with our scooter to the beach and prepared our SUP boards. It was my first time standing on a SUP but it was such an exciting and fun experience and I'm already totally obsessed with it!

Paddling down the river next to the Memories Bar while catching the first sunbeams of the day and enjoying the pure nature is really one of the best things to do before work! After the session, Rouven, Jasmine and I went swimming in the ocean before going back to our bungalow to get ready for work. Can't wait to do it again.

Last weekend, we (Dylan, Rouven, Jasmine and I) did a road trip together to Khanom, a town which is located on the East coast of Thailand. We started our trip on Friday afternoon after work without knowing where we would stay and sleep. Our main reason for this trip was to support our Co-workers on the SUP race that SUNOVA among others sponsored, but obviously also to have a fun time together . Luckily, Dylan has his own car and also usually drives not that bad (at least with some or rather many roadies). 

On our way to Khanom, we stopped at a platform with the most breathtaking view I have ever come across here in Thailand. After 4 hours of singing and making fun of each other, we finally reached the town which is known for pink dolphins (unfortunately, we didn't see any). We caught up with the other guys from the company to have dinner together and to figure out where we would stay. Fortunately, we found a super cheap hotel with a pool and spent the rest of the night together drinking and enjoying the water (wine coolers for life haha). 

On Saturday, we all went to the beach together to watch the SUP race and support our team riders. Rouven and Dylan also participated but I guess the nighties were not the best idea... right Dylan? Jasmine and I enjoyed our day at the beach with little tanning sessions, swimming and we got the best beach massage ever! We also went stand-up paddling in the ocean for the first time and  figured out how to balance on waves.  We all ate lunch together in a little restaurant right next to the beach and had a really  good time. Later that day, Martin and his family also arrived in Khanom and we all joined a huge get together BBQ at the beach before ending the day with a little pool party. I am seriously so grateful to have found so cool people to hang around with and I am excited to make more memories with them.

I already told you, Martin is the coolest boss you could ever ask for and therefore, instead of driving back to Khao Lak on Sunday to be ready for work on Monday, we decided to go to Khao Sok (a national park)  instead and stayed there for one night. No joke, this was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life! After driving through the park we got picked up by a boat and enjoyed an one hour trip on the Khao Sok lake. The scenery was breathtaking and even the rain couldn't stop us gazing at the beautiful cliffs and nature. The next stop was our hotel and it totally blew my mind. It was located right in the middle of the lake (so you could only reach it with a boat) and each of us shared a little wooden house. We had no service or internet connection during our stay and I honestly enjoyed this fact so much. 

We spend the rest of our day with swimming and  exploring our neighborhood with our stand up paddles. For dinner, we enjoyed super tasty Thai dishes and played some games after while listening to Jasmine's music. Unfortunately not everyone of us understood the game "never have I ever"... right Rouven? But that made the night even more fun! After a late night canoe session we went to sleep since we had planned exciting things for Monday.

Bangkok is definitely one of my favorite cities of all time and therefore, I was even more exited to finally go back there!              Jasmine, Dylan, Marie, Rouven, his mom and I started our trip on Friday early in the morning. Our taxi driver, btw the same that had drove me to the factory on my first day in Thailand, picked us up from the factory at 5.30 am and brought us safe and sound to Phuket airport. Our flight was at 8 am and it only took us around 1 hour to get to Bangkok. Luckily, we landed at Don Mueang International Airport (which is the closest to the city) and shared a cap to get to our hotel which  was right located on Khao San road (the best place for parties).

Since the most famous temples of Bangkok were pretty close to our hotel, we decided to explore our neighborhood and visit some of them at our first day. Even though I already had been pretty used to the hot and also humid weather in Thailand, Bangkok is a whole new level! It is definitely more humid there and since its a city, there is also less wind. We decided to go to  What Po and just drifted around while gazing at the beautiful architecture with all its little details. To our surprise, there was a festival during the day therefore, we decided to stay there for the rest of the day to enjoy the free food, the people and some ceremonies.