Panita is a former ICAE student from the south of Thailand. She used to be a beauty therapist, specialising in massage therapy.

Where are you from?
I am from the South of Thailand which is very close to Phuket, a popular tourist place in Thailand.

Do you have any hospitality or casino work experience?
I was a beauty therapist in Thailand and I also specialised in massage therapy. I guess that has been my experience in hospitality, somehow.

Why did you choose ICAE?
I wanted to have some real experience in hospitality and I decided to come to ICAE to get my career started.

The most interesting part of the hospitality industry?
Customer service, as I enjoy looking after people. I like meeting people too so customer service is really an interesting area for me.

Favorite part of the course?
I liked the excursion we took to Kakadu. It was a good experience for me. Kakadu is a very popular tourist place in the Northern Territory and going there really gave me a good chance to see this tourist haven.

What was your expectation of the course?
I wanted to go as far as possible with my hospitality career.

What were your first impressions about Darwin?
The people are generally friendly and kind. I feel very safe in Darwin. It’s not a dangerous place.

What sort of accommodation did you find during your study?
I lived with other people. The accommodation was generally on a shared basis. I liked it that way.

How did you improve your English?
I just kept using as much English as possible in my conversations with friends and other people. When I didn’t say something correctly, my friends gave me constructive feedback and that helped me improve. I also enrolled in ACL to learn conversational English. This was just part-time so I was able to attend my ICAE classes during day time.

Advice for future students?
Come to ICAE. It’s a great place to be!