Category Archives: 2014 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog
Post #1 by Tom Lonergan
Post by Tom Lonergan
Thailand. What an incredible place. From the high rise buildings in Bangkok to the gorgeous views of the jungle on the train ride to Chiang Mai, this country has impressed me from the moment we touched down. The people are always smiling and friendly to all. I am shocked by how many people can speak English here and I’ve had very limited communication issues. Despite accidentally ordering chicken organs from a road side vendor, the food has otherwise been delicious. I haven’t spent more than 4 US dollars at any given place to eat and have always received generous portions. Despite looking almost the opposite of the local people, I feel like I fit in with many other European tourists that are all over the areas we have visited so far. The shopping has shown me better deals than I could ever dream of back in the states, the dollar goes incredibly far here. While sitting on the 9350 mile plane ride here unable to sleep with the passenger in front of me reclining into my knees, I couldn’t help but ask myself if it was really going to be worth it to travel this far to see Thailand. Now that I’m here, the answer is a resounding yes
Post by ~Mike. Kruger
Coming into winter break, it was difficult for me to think of much else besides my upcoming trip to Thailand. I would lie awake at night conjuring up images of what to expect and how I would react to different environments and situations. It turns out that most of these assumptions were wrong.
My first impression of Thailand by khadija
I have been in Thailand for four days and I have already learned so much about myself. It was very interesting to see how Buddhism influences the country, for example at message school they were really calm and they blessed the person which came from the Buddhism teachings. The monk chat was my favorite part of the trip and learning about the lives of monks and Buddhism, I always thought of Buddhism as a religion but from listening to the monk I now understand that it is a way of life it’s a philosophy that focuses on the individuals and bettering themselves so they can better their surroundings. It was interesting to compare and contrast Islam to Buddhism and how much similarities were there between them. The main thing I found interesting between the two of them was not planning anything and staying in the present, the reason behind this in Buddhism was to help the individual to avoid suffering and disappointment and the Islamic reason for not planning was to have faith and trust in God that He has a plan for you. I also found it interesting that being a monk was a way of cleansing one’s self and taking control of their mind through meditation and leading a simple life. The elders house Baan Thammapakorn was an amazing experience I really loved seeing the elders and how happy they were, the home was very different than American homes for elders but there was a sense if belonging in the Thai homes. They took care of each other before their caretakers there was one instance when we gave them lunch there was one table that one of the ladies didn’t receive a plate and before she said anything the ladies sitting with her said something to us, it was an amazing experience and I had a wonderful time with them. If this was only the first four days I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip will be like
Well after many days (I may be being a bit drastic) we are finally stationary for more than a day and does it feel good to not be moving. I think that I wasn’t in Bangkok long enough to really take a lot of things in, other than the smells that were constantly there. The city was very quiet because of the holiday that the Thai’s were observing. Coming into Chang Mai, there are no words for what I am experiencing. The Thai people are so kind and love to try and speak English with us and help us and are very curious as to what we are doing here. So far we have visited a Thai massage place, participated in a Thai cooking class, a monk chat, and then a visit to the elders’ home. The Thai massage was interesting how they looked differently at the body and how massage healed. The cooking class was a good introduction to the Thai food and gave me some ideas on what to eat and to order. It also showed me how spicy the Thai people like their food!! The monk chat and elder’s visit was so eye opening. How the monks view their happiness versus how I knew happiness was so different. The monks speak about living in total and complete happiness, but their happiness is only within themselves. They believe that if they are in a relationship, it can cause pain and suffering and they want to avoid that. For me, pain and suffering means personal growth and growing towards the future. The words future and past are not apart of the monk’s thoughts, like we, as American’s, are always thinking about. We are constantly reflecting, and writing, about how our past experiences affect us now, and have changed us. Visiting the elder’s house was so uplifting, so far one of the best things I have done here. It was so warming to feel how happy and excited they were to see us. Some even knew how to speak a good amount of English! It brought tears to my eyes more than once to see how happy they were to be living in the elder’s house, when all I could think about was how miserable my grandmother was to be living in the same situation, but it a much higher quality place. It was so different how the elders loved being with company and cherished their food, and my grandmother would pick apart her food and hated almost every meal. It was so miserable to watch her pass away in that setting a few months ago. Being with the elders made me think about my grandmother and her happier spirited self before she passed.
First impression- by Rachel
My first impression of Thailand was a little clouded at first. When we first got off the plane I was exhausted and the smell was intoxicating. After a good night sleep it finally set in, I was in Thailand! This was the farthest I had ever been from home, and I couldn’t wait to experience this country in its entirety. After walking around I kind of started to worry. The smell of the city was overpowering and I was worried I might not be able to handle it, but once we got on the train and headed to Chang Mai I started to feel better. Once we arrived in Chang Mai I was glad to see trees and more nature. Chang Mai is such a beautiful city, and I’m excited to go around the city.
Day 3 by Holly T.
Tonight I am going to go to the night market! I love all of their stuff here. This market is supposed to be a lot bigger than the Sunday market; I’m excited to see what it has!
First Post/Impression by Holly T.
Day One, Dec 28th 7:30pm- Today was my first day out in Bangkok. It was so cool. The buildings are so tall and the city is so big! It is truly amazing. It does smell though. I woke up to the sound of birds I think, but at first I thought it was people talking. I then went to breakfast and it was so yummy and the view was amazing. I am just trying taking everything in. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It kind of reminds me of Mexico because it is dirty and very compact. The cities back home are compact but they are clean so they seem bigger. After breakfast we walked around for awhile and then had lecture. After lecture we went to the mall and took the bus, but it was basically a light rail. The mall had 7 floors and all the stores were very close and small. They packed so much into their stores that it made is seem tiny. At home I think it would be a fire code. After the mall we went to the train station for an overnight ride to Chang Mai. The train is as well very compact. It was weird we didn’t have a ticket or anything just we got right on and no one checked anything. This city is so amazing. Can’t wait to experience more!
Day two, Dec 29th 7am- I’m on the train and have no idea where I am but I woke up to a jungle. It so awesome! I didn’t expect this! It reminds me of Hawaii so, beautiful even though it really doesn’t smell all that great right now. I can see villages, huts, and dirt roads. This area that I’m passing through must be poor. I’m not sure if they are hills or mountains but they are beautiful. The train ride is an experience. I’ve never been on a train before. Sleeping was okay but I woke up a few times thinking I was going fallout because it was moving from side to side. In the middle of the night I had to use the bathroom and that wasn’t fun; there was no light. I’ve also been really hungry since I’ve only really had a real meal since breakfast yesterday. I also woke up at about 5 in the morning and looked out the window. I saw this area almost like a park that had dinosaurs in it. The town/city we were going through also had decorations for New Years. This country from what I can see celebrates a lot for this holiday they take 5 days off for it and everywhere in Bangkok was decorated for it! Along with a lot of Christmas trees which I didn’t know they celebrated or maybe they don’t.
9pm– After we got off the train we went to the hotel and were able to freshen up and get something to eat. There was something right across the street. I got chicken and sticky rice. Some student got what they thought were chicken skewers. They were really chicken guts. It was kind of funny! After lunch we went to learn how tradition Thai massage is done. It was very interesting but I was so tired because I was still jet legged. When we got back from the lecture we went to the Sundaymarket. It was very cool and everything was so cheap. They had a performance going on which was interesting to watch. I brought a few items and I’m just hoping they all fit in my suitcase! For dinner I got spring rolls and rice. It was excellent. They only thing I didn’t like about the market was that it was packed and so hard to get around but they had some really cool things there! The time here is going by so fast and I’m enjoying every second of it. I love the “Thai time”. How it is laid back and not “go go go”. I really should think of that more when I go back home, just relax and be in the present time. There is so much that I want to do and explore! Chang Mai is a very cool city. I love how authentic it is. I can’t wait to experience more!
Holly
Welcome to Thailand
THAILAND!!!
I was so excited to land in Thailand after 20 plus hours on a cramped plane ride here. After going through immigration, we took a bus to the hotel. This was a great opportunity to see what Bangkok had to offer. The first thing I noticed was probably how close the buildings were to the highways. It’s like you can just jump off of it and land on the highway. Another thing is how there is a 7/11 everywhere. The smell has got to be something that sticks out the most. It’s not the best but there are far worse smells in the world. My favorite thing about what I’ve experienced so far in Thailand are the street vendors. You can find almost anything: fruits, vegetables, and cooked foods. It reminds me a little bit of home as its almost the same things you can find in the Hmong flea market.