Internship in Thailand

Follow me on my internship in Thailand

[m7-leanash]

Time is flying!

This day marks my first three months at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Today was supposed to be my last day, but as I mentioned last time, lucky me got an extension of four more weeks, so I still have some time to go. Time is flying and I don’t feel like leaving this amazing office, so I will make the most of it for the time I have left. 

The view of the water from my desk is something that I will definitely miss...  (sorry for my bad photography skills)

Due to confidentiality reasons, I am still not allowed to disclose detailed information about the activities I am involved in, so I will try to give you an idea without saying too much...

Something that has occupied most of my time lately, has been a project related to adolescent health, that I am working in together with a consultant and another intern. Within this project I have had the chance to practice my skills in making and analyzing questionnaires, as we are developing one which is being reviewed by other healthy professionals as we speak. This is one of my learning objectives and I can definitely say that I have indeed learned a lot. A challenge we faced when designing it, was to phrase the questions in a way that allows the answers to reflect what the person really wants to say. The issues of validity and reliability are so important to consider... Therefore the questionnaire will be pilot tested and revised before sending it to its final target group ;) 

In this picture you can see some of the people I have been working with. It was taken on one of the Friday breakfasts that I like so much. On the far left is my amazing supervisor, on the far right is the other intern I am working with, and the beautiful blond woman in the middle is the consultant who is running the project I am involved in. I feel very lucky to be able to work with such knowledgeable, but most importantly friendly and approachable people. 

Apart from my internship tasks, I am part of the executive board of interns. Check out the website! http://copenhageninterns.wix.com/home

Here is the whole board posing for some group pictures :)

The most interesting aspect of being part of the board, is meeting interns from all the other UN agencies. In case you didn’t know, UN City hosts 10 different agencies including WFP, UNDP, UNOPS and of course WHO. The board regularly arranges social and career-oriented events (my favorite ones). So far we have had a Brown Bag Lunch with a JPO from UNDP, a Competency Based interview (the method they use for interviewing in the UN) crash course with someone from HR, a presentation by the Regional Director of the World Food Program, and just next week we have another lunch with the office director of UN Women. Exciting things indeed!

Here you can see a group of interns after the Competency-Based interview workshop (you can find my smiling on the back row).

I’m looking forward to telling you more about my incredible experience as an intern at the WHO and describing a few more of my learning objectives and how I am reaching them. 

Stay in touch!

[m7-leanash]

Goodbye Phuket Cleanse and Survival tips

My internship period is officially over! it has been a journey filled with learning, new faces, a new country and two different internship places.

I thank Phuket Cleanse for receiving me with only a couple of days notice and welcoming me with open arms <3 

My last task at PC was to gather the recipes for all their juices and raw soups and find the nutrient content in all of them. Supertracker, the website we used a couple of modules ago was super useful in this case. 

I will miss PC and will surely come back in the future! 

(Here I am holding a delicious raw pizza with the sweetest woman I’ve met: Nich)

Based on my experience, here are some survival tips for when you go on your internship:

Many will probably tell you this and it’s probably the most important one: Start looking for your internship place early! I personally started looking during the summer, so about 6 months before my internship started and I was happy that I did, because later on I could concentrate on the demanding modules that came. 

Be a little picky when choosing your internship place, especially regarding your tasks and objectives! I found an amazing place in an amazing country, so at the moment I didn't care that most of my tasks were quite theoretical. I thought I would have a great time anyway, but I ended up having to find another internship place, because the first one did not meet my needs or expectations. 

Ps: you can give yourself the luxury of being picky if you start looking with time ;)

Go with someone! especially if you are going to a foreign country. I had the opportunity of trying both; one month by my self and one month with my classmate Bryndis, and honestly I had so much more fun when I was with her. It’s really valuable to have someone to share your experience and your tasks with, both during and after the internship. 

Be proactive: your internship host will for sure love you even more if you do :) and you can start up activities that you find relevant and interesting. I did this in my two internship places, and it really made my stay a lot more interesting, so if you feel like you are not challenged enough or you want to try something different, suggest it! the worse that can happen is that they say no, or give you an alternative. 

Have fun! yes you are there to learn, but remember to enjoy; socialise, travel if you can, try new things and foods... get the most out of this wonderful experience! 

I leave you with a taste of one of the classes I loved the most at Phuket Cleanse: Functional Training. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypQAQgLsWnU

[m7-leanash]

Challenge accepted!

Over the course of my internship, what has challenged me the most has been to engage in tasks that I find exciting and challenging.

Back in Chiva-som I had planned to write some articles and assist one of the naturopaths with her reports on clients. This quickly turned into a lot of research and I felt like I needed something more challenging, so I talked to my supervisor about having more activities and I suggested that I could help out the kitchen by finding nutritional facts about some of the most used ingredients. He immediately said that they actually needed information about almost 20 dishes that they would present in a promotional event in Australia. I happily took on the task and wrote a few lines about different spa-cuisine dishes and how the ingredients work in synergy to improve our health. They actually used what I wrote and were very grateful about it :D

Here in Phuket Cleanse I have been faced with a similar situation. My first two weeks were really interesting and fun but my tasks were mostly guest service related, so again I felt like I needed to challenge myself a little more. Coincidentally they want to gather all their recipes for juices, soups and shakes, so all the staff can have access to it, and to ensure that they are always made in the same way, so I suggested that I could find the nutritional information for all these foods and also write a few lines about the health benefits. This is very relevant for them, because now they will be able to tell their guests about the nutrient content in their dishes, and guide them better if they have special needs. I am immersed with that right now and will probably be until the end of the week, as it is quite a few recipes and the kitchen doesn't always have time to provide the ingredients, but I think it’s a great task and I’m enjoying it a lot.

So overall, my lesson has been: if you are not happy, do something about it, find a way to make it work! 

Completely unrelated, here we are today at lunch learning how to make a healthy and delicious papaya salad!

[m7-leanash]

Interview with internship host!

Here it is guys, the promised interview with the sweet owner of Phuket Cleanse, Melanie Procter.

m7-bryndisskarp and I asked her a few questions about PC, rawfood and much more. 

We hope you like it! 

[m7-leanash]

Objectives and achievements

My learning objectives have change during my internship, as I changed my internship place, so I will talk about all the things that I wanted to learn and that I achieved in both places. 

I had several learning objectives in Chiva-som. One of them was to practice my coaching skills on people from different cultural backgrounds and goals. I achieved this by doing coaching sessions with five different people from the staff, and gained a lot of knowledge about how culture and language can be barriers when coaching someone, but also how important it is to have background knowledge about conditions and medications, since these can affect the way a person feels and also how realistic it is for them to reach their goals. An example is if a person wants to lose weight, but is also taking antidepressants, which are known to increase people’s weight. 

Another objective was to expand my experience of different modalities to promote health and wellness, which I did by trying different therapies like Rolfing, Acupunture, Chi Nei Tsang belly massage and by assisting a Naturopath with her reports, learning how they address conditions and diseases in a very holistic way. 

My last objective was to write two articles for Chiva-som’s internal news letter. Unfortunately I only got to write one of them, as I left one month earlier. 

Here you can see part of the article I wrote about social interactions and health. 

Apart from the objectives that I planned, I suggested that I could help out the kitchen by writing some health information about some of the dishes that they make, which they used for a promotional event in Australia, and were very thankful for. 

Here is an example of what I wrote!  

As mentioned in a past post, I also did a presentation about human trafficking, for the local rotary club. This was super exciting!

Now in Phuket Cleanse!

One of my objectives here is to learn about raw-food cooking, which I definitely have, as you can see from my previous posts. Apart from the time I spend helping in the kitchen, I get to participate in the “uncooking” classes they offer for the guests. Today we are learning how to make raw protein bars and vegan protein shakes! (pictures of this will follow)

Another objective here has been to continue to practice my coaching, but in a more unofficial way, with the guests. I have been doing this during my costumer service hours, where I ask them about their goals, how they are feeling with the program, the food etc. It is super interesting to hear how people react to a low carb diet combined with a lot of physical activity! 

A bonus activity that I have been so lucky to participate on a few times already, are the master-classes with the Nutritionist and trainer Dave Catudal. He has taught us a lot about low carb diets and fat loss, among many other things.

Here is a link to his web page, he’s super cool and has a lot of knowledge!

  http://traintotransform.com/

To make this long and awesome story not too long, I will continue posting about my achievements in Phuket Cleanse over the next couple of days. 

For now I will keep learning and enjoying the last week and a half that I have here! 

[m7-aytenhasan]

A circuit we do as part of the activities we prepare for the guests! They enjoy exercising outside, especially when the weather is nice! :)

We always go through each exercise before starting the circuit, and we assist them while they are doing it, correcting their technique if necessary.

[m7-leanash]

Here’s my awesome classmate Ayten showing a good circuit workout during her internship in Shanti som in Spain. I’m definitely trying it!

[m7-leanash]

Crackers!

This guy is Mukesh, the head chef at Phuket Cleanse, who makes delicious foods every day. He has taught me a lot about raw-vegan cooking. 

As I mentioned on my previous post, I am a big fan of the veggie crackers, made from flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and vegetables.

Here they are in the dehydrator waiting to become crispy, together with some nut balls for dinner.

If you don't have a dehydrator you can make them in the oven at the lowest temperature for about 15-20 min or until crispy :)

I’m definitely making them at home!

[m7-leanash]

One of my tasks at Phuket Cleanse is to help out in the kitchen and learn more about raw-vegan cooking.

I have learned a lot about the ingredients that they use, especially how they substitute animal products in the vegan diet. Some examples are soaked flax seeds instead of eggs, coconut milk and yogurt instead of dairy and soaked cashew nuts for making cheese and cream cheese (delicious!). 

They also make their own peanut and cashew butter, which turned out to be super simple if you have a good grinder (only put in the nuts and wait until it has reached the right consistency!). 

The food here is delicious and I’m definitely making some of the recipes at home. 

One of my favourites are the vegetable crackers. They are a great substitute of normal crackers as they are low in carbs and very high in fiber and minerals. These are made of whatever salad, veggie or nuts you have around, blended into a paste and made in the dehydrator (for raw) or in the oven. I will post some pictures of these next time!

[m7-leanash]

Get ready!

@m7-bryndisskarp Bryndis and I had a video interview made with Melanie, the awesome and sweet owner of Phuket Cleanse, so you can hear more about this place and what we do.

It’s coming your way very soon!

[m7-leanash]

First week at Phuket Cleanse!

Today is my first day off since I got to PC and I am so lucky that I get to enjoy all the activities, classes and the nice pool area :)

At PC they serve the guests only vegan and mostly raw food and honestly it’s some of the most delicious food that I have ever had! the chefs are amazing and always prepare colourful, flavourful and very healthy dishes that all the guests (and myself) love.

The pic below is from Mexican night a couple of days ago :)

My experience in Phuket Cleanse has so far been amazing. I was received with open arms by everyone and I’m meeting a lot of really nice people, all in their journey to become healthier through exercise and nutrition. 

My role here has been very active and hands on, which is exactly what I felt I needed for my internship experience to be excellent! I have been doing some costumer service, helping people with whatever they may need, where I also receive many nutrition and health related questions, which I am happy to answer or look up if I don't know the answer to.

In my next posts I will describe my activities here more in depth, but I will leave you with this picture of the amazing sea here in the south of Thailand. 

[m7-leanash]

A new beginning... 

I have arrived in Phuket and tomorrow morning I will start my first day as an intern in Phuket Cleanse, together with my classmate Bryndis, who has been here for about a month and is already doing super great and knows everything there is to know about the place, so I'm sure I will have a great first day and I'm already looking forward to the classes that I will participate in after work. 

People here are super friendly and open and I'm really excited to become part of the team for the next four weeks! 

Check out Phuket Cleanse's website to see what they are all about, and visit my blog again soon, to see how it went!

[m7-leanash]

Goodbye Chiva-som Big news from here... After a month in Chiva-som and a lot of thinking, I decided that I really want to experience a more hands on internship. I was so lucky to get the opportunity to do the last half of my internship at Phuket Cleanse in the south of Thailand, where my friend and classmate Bryndis is doing her internship. Check out her blog if you want to get an idea of what I will be doing! m7-bryndisskarp I have learned a lot in this beautiful health resort, and who knows? I might come back one day, but for now I have said goodbye to this lovely team of holistic therapists and two awesome Naturopaths. The man on the left was my supervisor Jason Culp, very smart and knowledgeable guy, who taught me many many valuable things about coaching, counseling, natural supplements and much more. The woman to my right is the sweet naturopath Yinhsu, who spent many hours talking with me about real life cases and health in general. I thank all of them for the opportunity of leaning from them, and I will surely miss them. I start my new adventure in Phuket on the 9th of March and stay there for 4 weeks, but for now I will take some days to enjoy this beautiful country together with my boyfriend. The trip starts in the crazy city of Bangkok. Wish me luck!

[m7-leanash]

Hi Lea :) I hope the trip went well to Thailand and that you are settling in :) I look forward to following your internship blog. Check out in Module 7 Filesharing, How to place descriptions underneath each picture. All the best, Charlotte

Hey Charlotte,

About the description in the pictures, the problem is that I don't have my computer here, so I always post from my phone or Ipad and I don't think I can to that from there, but my bf is bringing my computer at the end of the month. 

[m7-leanash]

What kind of natural medecines do the DRs. use in the wellness center. Also chinese herbs?Is there a well asorted organic garden? luck with your learning.

Hello! The Naturopathic Doctors here use herbs as Rhodiola, which helps for stress and tiredness. They have chinese herbs but they don't use them that much.

They also use homeopathic remedies, but mostly lifestyle changes/recommendations and some psychological support. 

The organic garden is not that well assorted I would say. It's mostly herbs that they use in the kitchen and some fruits like melons. 

Thanks for your interest :)

[m7-leanash]

Presentation on Human Trafficking for the Rotary Club

So this week my highlight was the presentation for the rotary club. I talked to about 30 people about human trafficking in Asia and the world. This type of slavery is growing at about 800 000 new slaves per year, in total about 35 million people in 2014. They are used for sex trade, farming, fishing, domestic work etc. it’s terrifying!

The presentation went well, I was even asked to do it again for a group back in Denmark and I got offered a job as an English teacher in Cambodia :)

Something else I talked about is how to contribute to stopping human trafficking. One way is do donate or volunteer in NGOs like the Sao Sary foundation www.ssf.org.kh or to check how your favorite brands scored on worker rights, policies and support against human trafficking. You can do that at www.free2work.org you will be surprised about some brands…

Stay tuned for some exciting news about my internship in Thailand!

[m7-leanash]

Second week - reality check Another week has passed in my internship... This week I have been preparing a presentation about human trafficking that I will make for the local Rotary club (https://www.rotary.org). I also started writing some nutritional facts about some of the recipes from the restaurant, which has a strong focus on healthy, tasty and nutritious foods. I did some coaching for different members of the staff, which has been quite interesting and hopefully I will soon start teaching yoga. I call this post "reality check" because this week probably reflects how the rest of my internship will be like. I am learning a lot of valuable things, but similar to a few of my classmates, I spend quite a lot of time in front of the computer. This is something that I do not particularly enjoy since I am more of a hands on and active type of person. So honestly it has been challenging and I am learning to accept my reality and leave my expectations behind. On the positive side, I received a nice reiki session and healing with crystals and everyday after lunch I get to sit for a while and just stare at the ocean, which reminds me to look beyond what is just in front of me.

[m7-leanash]

A typical day at the office…

A full week has passed since I started my internship. 6 days of work, 9 hours each day is quite intense when you are used to the Danish working hours and the flexibility of studying and teaching yoga… So it has been intense and today I am really enjoying my day off by the beach!

A typical day at Chiva Som starts at the staff house, where I take the staff transport to the resort at 8 am, have breakfast and start at 9. So far each day has been a little different; I’ve read several articles and studies related to naturopathic work, coaching and health, attended a CPR course taught by my supervisor and received several treatments, from a nice and relaxing stomach massage, to painful but effective acupuncture (2 times) to counseling and hypnotic therapy! Being exposed to different health and wellness treatments is part of my learning objectives (probably the nicest part) and I’m lucky to be surrounded by many great therapists, doctors and health professionals.

Next week I will start doing some coaching sessions and teaching yoga to the staff and we will continue using Heart Rate Variability but in a more practical way. Next week you can hear all about that!

Btw, dragon fruit is now part of my daily diet :-) and the hand gesture that you see in Ronald Mc Donald part of my greeting.