Lotte during her internship in Hawaii!

I am doing an internship at a Hawaiian bikini brand that has its headquarters in Honolulu. Together with the marketing manager from Hawaii, I help wherever needed. Currently, I do a lot of social media planning. But we also plan things like sales, events, pop-up shops, and photoshoots.

Super long flight

The flight from Amsterdam to Honolulu was very long. Due to delays, I even had to stay a night in Houston. When I flew from Houston to Honolulu, I had a good window seat. When we got close to Hawaii, the flight attendant started telling us all about the different islands and what we could see from the window at that moment! That was really fun! The first time I saw Waikiki Beach was from the plane.

I stepped off the plane and immediately noticed the heat. The airport was just a normal airport, nothing Hawaiian about it.

Enjoying the weather

In Hawaii, it’s ALWAYS summer! And the beach is never far away. You can basically go to the beach every day and enjoy the weather. Besides the beach, there are so many other things to do. There are mountains, craters, rainforests, everything! Plus, there are lots of hikes to do, so you’ll never get bored.

I never really get homesick. I talk a lot with everyone back home via FaceTime and WhatsApp. I’ve made plenty of friends, the weather is great, and I love going outside every day to do things.

A typical internship day in Hawaii

At work, I have so many different tasks! Sometimes the marketing manager and I have to drive to all our stores on the island to deliver materials or take photos. Then it’s a bit like a road trip. But on many days, I’m also at the office managing the social media schedule or an upcoming event. After work, I often go to the beach to watch the sunset or have a barbecue with friends.

I’ve learned a lot during my internship. While I was here, we set up a new store on Big Island for the first time, and this was a very educational experience. I definitely recommend students to go abroad somewhere where you don’t know anyone and no one speaks your language. I went all alone to Hawaii, and I think that’s pretty impressive. I now know I can handle almost anything on my own.

Must-dos

I love going to the beach! There are so many beautiful beaches here... I recommend everyone visit the west coast. Huge beaches and much quieter than North Shore or Waikiki.

I also love hiking! There are many different hiking trails. I think the Haiku Stairs (Stairway to Heaven) was the most beautiful trail I have ever walked!

Everyone is a mix

Before I moved here, I didn’t realize there are so many Asians in Hawaii. There are especially a lot of people from Japan, who live here or are on vacation. On Oahu, there aren’t many real Hawaiians left — everyone is a mix of something. I have made many friends from all kinds of different countries! I have American friends, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, and French friends. It’s really fun to hang out with real Hawaiians too and learn words from their language!

Hawaiians in 3 words:

Beachy, family-oriented, and tan! The real Hawaiians are often at the beach; they just park their huge trucks in the sand and set up big party tents to chill with family all day long. Appearance-wise, Hawaiians have a beautiful tan! You can immediately tell the difference between tourists and someone who has lived here for a while.

Food

Poke, a Hawaiian raw fish dish, I can’t handle. I don’t like raw fish and this dish is made up of huge chunks of raw fish that you can get almost everywhere here.

Hawaii = outdoor living

Hawaii is not a party place! If you like partying and going out, this is not the best place to go. You have to love the outdoors and enjoy the nature in Hawaii, because there is so much to see that is absolutely breathtaking! It’s almost a shame if you decide to spend a day inside while you’re here.

Another tip: swimming with sharks on North Shore. There are many different companies to do this through, but I recommend doing it with One Ocean Diving. You can even go in without a cage and swim calmly around. I swam with 22 sharks and it was one of the best experiences in Hawaii. One Ocean Diving is a team of biologists studying shark behavior to protect them from extinction.

I’m almost done with my internship, but I’m staying here another month. In that month, I want to see and do many things. I made a to-do list, like swimming with dolphins, so that’s what I’ll do this month!