Summer Intern Vlog Competition🎬｜With Sofia&Angie

Hi guys, this is Sophia from HR91 Group, and today I have such a pleasure to invite our Angie to be the first guest of our interview.

Thank you for having me. My name is Angie, I am 17 years old, I work with the marketing team for HR91, specifically with the Singapore team, and I'm from Bangkok, Thailand.

Welcome! So this is your first interview. I'm very curious, because you are 17 years old, currently still studying at high school.

Yeah.

And what makes you start looking for internship?

I've always wanted to use like my high school years wisely. I wanted to explore, and especially being in Shanghai right now, I think it's a great opportunity. There are so many different ventures and adventures I could take. Right now for university, I'm thinking of doing a marketing course. And I thought it would be a great opportunity to kind of explore into that field and see if it's really suitable for me. One of the things I do is make Instagram posts for Recruit First, and the most recent post is one of the posts that I've done. This was the first one that was published, so it was definitely like a big moment for me, and I was freaking out a bit.

You must be really proud of that moment.

Yeah, I took like so many screenshots and sent them to all my friends and family.

So MJ, you have been working here for almost half a month, and what is the biggest challenge so far?

The biggest challenge for me so far is definitely adapting myself to actually being in a company. Being a business student myself, I've learned things like what it is that the marketing function does and all that, but to actually work in a marketing function is totally different to what I learned in a textbook.

You have already exceeded what your peers are doing right now, right? What are they doing during summer?

Partying. You know what, I think it's great. Understandably. Yeah, yeah, I think it's great. It's good to work hard and play hard, so I'll definitely have a rest after this.

So Angie, after this internship, you will be returning to school.

Yeah.

And then after graduation of high school, you will be facing one of the most important choices. What is your plan?

Like for university?

Yeah, for university.

Oh, okay. So my plan for university is right now going to the UK.

Oh, you're going to UK?

I've lived there before for 3 years, so I feel like I've got like a sense of familiarity with that. And my dream like course is digital marketing as a bachelor's degree.

That is definitely a future.

Yeah, or just marketing in general. I think it would provide me with such a great path to, yeah, to a future career.

I think you're really, uh, like devoted to marketing career, and for that you started early as now as a high school student, but you already put yourself into marketing internship. We are going to move on into a little bit casual questions off work, off work. I am wondering, so you're from Thailand? Yes. Uh, which city specifically?

I am from Bangkok, Thailand. It's the capital. Yeah, the capital of Thailand.

How is the life in Bangkok?

It's very relaxed, I think, growing up. Like, it's a lot more slow-paced compared to Shanghai, I think. Okay, but it was like a mix of country and city, which I think that is the like dream life.

Yeah, like you can both enjoy the convenience brought by the city but also relaxing.

Yeah, you can drive a little bit and then you'll see the city city, which is— which I love. And then drive a little bit more and then you'll see the country.

Wow, invite me to your home.

Of course.

I was in Chiang Mai. Yeah, for 1.5 months, but we live really far from the city. We need to take 2 hours— not 2 hours, but 1.5-hour taxi into the city, the city of Chiang Mai. But I gotta say, the countryside life in Thailand or in Chiang Mai is really, really relaxing. Yes, they're not in a rush. Yeah, unlike people in Shanghai city or in other, you know, first-tier cities, people work for life. They live for work.

Yeah, you know what I mean? Thai people, I feel like, generally are very— this is from my experience at least, like in Thailand, you know, there isn't as much, as many people as in China. I think our lifestyle kind of is more relaxed, and we have this phrase in Thailand called "sabai sabai," which means chill out.

Chill out.

Yeah.

Wow, now we're turning into language lessons. Wait, what is that again?

Sabai sabai. Survive, survive. Survive is like comfortable.

Comfortable. How do you use that like in real context?

So you, let's say someone is really stressed out, you know, someone has been working a long day at work and you're just like, chill out, survive, survive. Oh really?

You just call someone like chill out, survive, survive, like that? Yeah, it's really useful one. I'm wondering if we have anything Chinese like that. Kind of weird. It's weird. Okay, I'll think about it. Speaking of language, I want to show off a little bit of my Thai.

Okay, let's go!

This is totally not prepared for us, but I'll give it a go. Okay, so basic one is like— Yeah, and also like— You can use that when you're bargaining with someone.

Oh, that's very smart. You compliment them, right?

Yeah, you just tell them like, you're so beautiful, please cheaper.

And I'm like, oh yeah, totally.

So for anyone who wants to travel in Thailand, you need to learn that.

Khun swa jing jing means you're so beautiful.

I found out Thai people are so nice. They like to use "kha" after every sentence, even English.

Yes, right? Yes, they add their own touch to any language they speak.

Could we have some examples?

You might say, oh, thank you. Anyone will say thank you. A Thai person will go Thank you, ka. Or thank you, ka.

That's actually so cute.

Yeah, it's just a polite way to put any phrase, to say any phrases basically.

Anything?

Yeah, you typically say ka or ka to older people or people who you respect. It shows respect and it just makes everything more polite. Hearing that around you just makes you feel like more positive. That's true.

Even though I don't speak Thai, but while you're saying thank you, ka, my heart is softer. So we should go back to the question.

Oh yeah, what were the questions?

Yeah, we actually made a list before we spent like a lot of time on language.

Thank you for your time. You're welcome.

You were talking about the lifestyle in Bangkok or in Thailand in general, but now you are in Shanghai city, and we all know Shanghai is— could we call like the fastest-paced city in China, right? What is the biggest difference between Bangkok and Shanghai?

Like I previously mentioned before, the work culture is very different. I've never worked in Thailand, but Because I left when I was like 9 years old. Oh, that's a very young age. But I know from my mom and from the people around me, I could see the way they work is so different to how Chinese people work. We take breaks very seriously, from my perspective at least. Like, we definitely, you know, know when to stop. Like lunchtime, no work.

You cannot stop Thai people from taking a break.

Yeah, they know how to work hard, but they also know how to take a break, which I think is It's a very balanced lifestyle. It is.

Yeah, you need to have a balance between work and life.

Yeah, so they're very surprised about it.

Oh, here it goes.

Yeah, I'm just gonna drop that in there. But yeah, they do work hard, but they also prioritize, you know, being with family and friends and spending time relaxing, which I really think is important. It is.

Yeah, family prioritizes.

And it's also like, just in general, schoolwork, it's more slower paced. Everything moves slower, and In China, I feel like there's a crowd and it's always bustling, which I love. Like, I love the vibrant city of Shanghai, but I think a mixture of those two would go perfectly. Like, the more slow-paced lifestyle in Shanghai— oh, in Bangkok, and then the fast-paced lifestyle in Shanghai here together, I think would just be the perfect mix.

You are going to school, high school, here in Shanghai, and I presume that it is international. Yes. And you must have a lot of international friends or classmates. Yeah, I'm not quite familiar— I'm not familiar at all actually with the international school life in Shanghai because, uh, growing up I went to like typical Chinese public schools. So may I ask, how is the life like in international schools here?

So it's definitely diverse. So many countries like all in one school. I think my school has like 175 like Are you serious?

175? I think globally we only have 186 countries.

Yeah, I'm not sure, like, I might need to fact-check that. I'm not totally sure, but yeah, like, if it's true, that's crazy. Yeah, that's like a whole village. Yeah, I don't think that's right.

We'll double-check that.

Yeah, we'll double-check that. Um, but let's just say there are a lot of, like, countries, like, nationalities, ethnicities, and I think it's great. Um, Because when I was living in Thailand, I went to like a Thai school. It was not an international school.

So a Thai school in Shanghai?

No, no, no, when I was living in Thailand. Oh yeah. So comparing that to right now, we're in like an international environment, it's very different. And to meet so many friends from so many countries, you learn about all their cultures, their accents. Yeah, accent, I think it's a big one. Um, when I think like the more I listen to my friends speak, the more I talk like them. So like No, you don't have accent. Really? Yeah, because one of my closest friends, she has like this really strong British accent. British? Yes, and some words— what I find myself when I say some words, it sounds a little bit British.

Um, like water.

Water. Water. Get a glass of water.

And it's so British.

So British. And I always make fun of her because it's like, it's just so different, like our accents, the way we grew up. And I think that is so interesting. I always talk to like my friends about how their families are and like what kind of food they eat back home. And like, um, I also, when I go traveling, when we could travel— when we— it was like really years ago, like 2 years ago or something— when I went back to Thailand, um, I bought like these like little gifts from Thailand back to Shanghai and I gave them all to my friends. And it was like little keychains that was made from like traditional Thai fabric, which you can't get here or anywhere. Traditional Thai? I think it's from Chiang Mai actually, like the really— and it came in like little keychains and they gave them all to them and they were like very confused. They were like, I've never seen this type of like fabric before. And I was like, yeah, that's Thailand. So I think it's great that we get to like exchange cultures. The diversity is cool.

You live in Shanghai and you have been traveling to other countries before. You lived in UK. And what is the most shocking moment? For you as a Thai local who lives overseas?

There is one thing that when I was talking to my British friend about, and when I was living in the UK, I saw that people were moving out of their houses when they were 18 years old. Gosh, we don't do that in Thailand. Like, my mom would like have me stay in her house until I'm old, you know what I mean? It's definitely different because she always says, no matter how old you are, you're always my little baby. And that's interesting. Yeah, and she definitely wants me to stay in her house. I think that's her mentality.

Oh my gosh, I hope you will not be there when you're 16.

Me too.

But definitely we should cherish the Asian parents, their unconditional love for us.

Yeah.

And I actually, I relate on that because I also, I go to school in Europe, so I have some European friends. They moved out, maybe not at the age of 18, but when they started college or after college graduation, they moved out as soon as they could. And I actually admire their courage because moving out, living by yourself is not easy at all. But also, I think the connection between them and their parents is gradually fading out.

Yeah, it's natural. Like, as the distance increases, it's more likely for you to not be as close anymore. When you're living together, you get to know each other every day. It definitely builds a stronger connection.

Thank you for the cultural sharing, and I think a lot of people can relate to that, especially people who have lived overseas, right? Okay, then here comes to our last, last question. As someone who have— how long have you been in Shanghai?

2 years. 2 years.

As someone who has been living in Shanghai for 2 years, what is the most fun place for you in Shanghai?

For me, I actually have 2. 2. Okay, so let's start with like a more common one. Okay, this one everyone kind of knows here in Shanghai, which is Nanjing Lu.

Ah, Nanjing Lu is a walking street.

Yeah, a lot of shops. What I used to do with my friends is go there, browse, go walk around. We didn't buy anything, but we would just walk. Like, do you not feel joy when you like touch things, look at clothes, and you're just like, wow? But no shopping, just, uh, if we saw something we liked, then we probably bought it. But like I think for me the joy was with walking around and looking, like window shopping, you know? Oh, there's the window shopping. And I love like how there were so many different stores and people were everywhere. It's like so vibrant.

Yeah, so many people.

So many, so many people. Every day. If you want to go there, you have to be prepared that there are going to be a lot of people, but I think it's worth it. Like the experience there is really cool.

So this is the first recommendation.

And what is that second one? It's quite a smaller place. It's actually where I live, which is Jingtiao. Jingtiao? Yeah. Jingtiao?

Which district is that?

Jingtiao? I don't know if it's— I've never—

sorry, but I've been here only for 2 months.

Maybe it's my pronunciation. I don't know.

Okay, so what is from there?

A supermarket. We have a Jell-O pool, which is really cool. And then there, inside of the Jell-O pool, there is So many, like, there's a food court with so many different food stalls, and we haven't eaten there. You would eat everywhere. Yeah, that one's special. That one's a special place in my heart. I'll have to check it out. There should be like a travel vlog, you know? There should be.

Maybe for the next episode.

Stay tuned!

Stay tuned to Office Sophia. But even though I don't want to, we have to wrap up the show. Not show, interview. This is still about the internship.

It is still. I feel like we've been talking about everything.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's so fun.

Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.

We're gonna say bye-bye and, uh, oh, can we do like, sabai sabai?

Yes!

Okay, 3, 2, 1.