Introduction to Religion in Thailand

I am in a class called Thai Society and Culture taught by a mid 30-something English professor, with a doctorate in Thai History, who also has red hair (so I obviously like him even more). The teacher is very organized and knowledgeable, and lectures on Tuesday, and then on Thursday he lectures for the first hour and during the second hour we discuss our weekly assignment, which is a reading and worksheet related to that week’s topic. The best part about the class is that it is half Thai and half international kids (about 30 kids total) so I always get to hear the perspective of a young Thai adult, especially when we get in small groups (the Thai students get extremely nervous/quiet in full class discussions). This last week we talked about religion in Thailand: how it came to Thailand, spread, combined with other religions, and was influenced by the monarchy or government. 95% of the Thai population is Buddhist, but many people are Buddhist nominally and thus don’t really practice. Thai people typically practice Theravada Buddhism (as oppose to Mahayana), a more orthodox sect of Buddhism that focuses on the teachings of Buddha and meditation for the goal of reaching nirvana, but gives little instruction on how to live in this world and life. Simply, Buddhism teaches that life is suffering and impermanent- there is no permanent self and we shouldn’t get attached to anything (ourselves, things, desires, people) because attachment is the cause of suffering. Reaching ultimate enlightenment, nirvana, can only be achieved by freeing oneself of suffering and thus give up everything. It is extremely difficult to reach nirvana unless you are a monk, which only men can become. Since most Thais believe that it is unlikely that they will achieve nirvana in their lifetime, they instead focus on earning merit so they will be born into a better life in the next lifetime. This is a part of what’s called Karmic Buddhism, where a person acquires merit for doing “good things” and demerit for doing “bad things.” I don’t know enough about that to explain it well- I think it’s pretty complicated. However, the state of one’s present existence is a result of actions in the past life, so if you are wealthy it’s because you accumulated meritin the previous life. Likewise, if you are poor or handicap it is because you did bad things in your past life. Since the Thai government is Buddhist, I asked my teacher if this affects policies and social programs affecting the poor and disabled, because according to this line of thinking, being poor or mentally or physically disabled be the person’s own fault. He said that probably not because you earn merit for helping the poor. I still wonder if a Buddhist person born without arms or perhaps with downs or in extreme poverty feels like they deserve this, or if that’s the collective idea from those of a wealthy status, or if this is a facet of the religion that few still subscribe to.

There are two other aspects of Thai religion called Brahmanism and Animism. Brahmanism is grounded in Buddhism, but focuses on this world (as oppose to future lives) and was adopted from Khmer during the 14^th century, so it has a long history in Thai culture. Remember that Thailand was artificially and where present day Thailand is was once several different kingdoms and tribes and so its hard to look at the history of Thai religion collectively because it differs depending on what region you’re talking about. Brahmanism uses rituals and ceremonies to call to heavenly Buddhist beings, and if done correctly, are immediately effective. Animism is about communicating with spirits that reside in that particular region, but spirits are temperamental and unpredictable. There are people, typically women, in Thailand who are processed by spirits, called spirit mediums, and there are also spirit doctors, who can communicate with spirits. These people give advice, help people who are hoping for a job promotion, and even tell people what numbers they should pick in the lottery- all for a fee. It is very common to see small houses outside a building, called spirit houses, where people put offering like flowers, food, or drinks, to honor the spirits so they will be nice to you.

In the last 30 years, there has been an increase in people practicing animism and a decrease in people actively practicing Buddhism and entering monkhood in Thailand. Monks are at the highest social standing that you can be at in Thai society (they don’t have to do the wai, a bow of respect, to anyone including royals) and in the past have been a way to increase social status, especially for the poor. There has been corruption in the monkhood where monks are sleeping with women (monks are celibate and should have no contact with women), drinking and smoking, and buying things like cell phone- all clearly prohibited. Joining the monkhood is free and gives you free food and shelter, so some men join to avoid work while also offers asylum for criminals, so you can escape a criminal offense by joining the monkhood. Thus, men are becoming monks for the wrong reasons and aren’t fulfilling their duties properly. Becoming a monk slows you entering the workforce, so those who can afford an education don’t want to limit their opportunities by having to take a long break from working or school. When we talked about this in class and our teacher asked if any of the male students were going to join the monkhood, they laughed. Some said they hadn’t been to a temple in years. This was surprising to me- like I said 95% of the population is Buddhist so I assumed some of the students would practice. I was in a small group with 2 Thai girls and a Thai boy. None strongly believed in or practiced Buddhism, but both of the girls practiced animism, and one had very strong faith. Both of their parents had a medium come to the house to tell them what god to pray to, based on the spirit that was in their house, and had a spirit house on their property (but not in their house) that they frequently made offerings to. They believed that if you wronged the spirits they could seriously hurt you. I told them about a tv show that some of the Thai girls I lived with were watching (I couldn’t understand it but they translated) that centered around a medium that would talk to people that have disrespected spirits and communicate what they needed to do. In the show, a man was drunk and destroyed a spirit house and didn’t make amends because he didn’t believe in spirits. He had a young baby whose leg was soon shattered- the girls said that it just happened, that nothing caused it except the spirit. The girls in my group believed that spirits could do that and that disrespecting spirits in such a way could warrant harsh revenge. They said that, in short, that they got more out of animism, which affected their current life than Buddhism, which only affects them after this life’s death. After seeing all the statistics about the population being almost entirely Buddhist and the temples everywhere I never really questioned how the average person views religion and it was so interesting to meet a handful of young people who didn’t match my previous understanding and assumptions at all.

Skitos

So I have been very lax with the bug repellant and have gotten some pretty sick mosquito bites. I only had about 15 but they were a deep vibrant red, about the size of dimes, and some were blistering even though I wasn’t scratching them. After 1-2 weeks of little improvement I started taking Benadryl’s before I went to bed, which definitely chilled them out and lessened the color. Then I went to BKK Tuesday night to hang out and get dinner, and I ate at a street food place on the side of the road and then hung out outside for a while. The next day I counted 150 bites just from my knees down (because my dress was covering everywhere else). They surprisingly aren’t that itchy but totally freak everyone out and the nurse gave me some medicine and anti-itch cream so they won’t bother me as much. Today, still a little itchy but manageable but they have gotten much darker so I think they are headed for the blood blister look- but i do look cool.

Skitos the day after they happened

Bites today

I forgot!!!

The best part about the rose garden! So we were eating our first lunch of the day and the chair I was sitting on had metal legs that we sharp on the bottom. I was adjusting the chair and accidentally placed it on my big toe and sat on it and cut open my toe. It was bleeding quite a bit so I went to bathroom to clean it up. As I was sitting on the floor adding pressure and trying to clean it, one of the thai employees cleaning the bathroom squatted next to me. She had seen me and gone outside a picked of part of plant, and then brought it to me, cut it open, and was now applying goo to my toe and rubbing it in, eve, though she was getting blood on her! It kind of resembles an aloe vera plant, especially the way it was thick and had goo inside, but I’m pretty sure it was something different. Anyway, it looked so much better by the end of the day and was almost completely healed 2 days later!

comment on the students

There is a bit of a paradox I’ve noticed with the relationship between teachers and students. On the one hand, there is a clear social standing between a teacher and a student- the teacher is always superior and deserves the highest respect. Students have told me that they would never talk back to a teacher and questioning the teacher aloud is very rare. However, the thai students are always either talking in class, or on their phones. There is very little participation and I have yet to see any thai student really engage themselves with the class, professor or material (except in small discussions, sort of). My neo-marxist American professor is very eccentric and has a lot of criticism for the US and is just all around odd (but very interesting, I really enjoy his class), so I thought it was weird when he asked me to stay after class one day. He told me that he was going to be absent February 21^st and that he couldn’t find any colleagues to sub for him but he really wanted to show a movie. He said that he trusted me and thought I was responsible and was wondering if I would put in the movie and take roll. He acted like he was asking this huge favor from me and was so grateful when I said yes. He asked me how someone so good could come from a state with Jan Brewer as their government haha. I was just very surprised by how he thought he was really putting me out. I think it reflects the relationship the students and teachers have- the students don’t give anything to the classroom, and the teachers don’t trust them. Some of the kids in our class have been in 1+ classes with him before, but there was no relationship built, like there would be in a US college classroom after several semesters (especially when the classes are 15 people). I also wonder why the students act like they do in the classroom. I would imagine to be able to speak English at a college level as your second language, and to get in to Mahidol, would require the kids to be very focused in lower school and high school, so I wonder why that behavior doesn’t transfer and why the students seem to lack critical thinking skills. Malhar suggested that their previous education may have just required memorization and a very structured setting, so by removing the structure and the need to memorize and instead critically think, the students don’t know how to respond.

On an unrelated note...

Those of you who are UNC students have surely heard of the lawsuit filed by 67 students against the university for violating sexual assault survivor rights. If you haven’t: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/16/unc-sexual-assault_n_2488383.html

Although I am saddened that our university would allow such a painful and hostile environment for survivors, I am so proud of the men and women who are coming together to incite major changes in how UNC handles sexual assult cases. They have not only have faced among the worst experiences a person can have, but in an attempt to seek aid and justice, were not supported adequately, or at all, by their university. One of my friends is among those seeking reform, and I am so proud of her and her peers for taking measures to create a supportive and empowering environment for future survivors. I can’t imagine the pain that each one of those students faced, and I am so impressed by their courage to speak out about the violence enacted upon them and continue to seek justice among much resistance. A few hours before I heard about the lawsuit I stumbled upon a video of my good friend Madiha (a UNC student abroad in Thailand with me) doing spoken word. She’s a bio and English double major and pre-med and I thought it was awesome and kind of random when she told me she has written a few spoken word poems-I did not expect them to be so powerful. I think it relates well to the topic above, so for those interested, I encourage a view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogCbwU4KGEY

Chiang Mai

I cannot say enough great things about Chiang Mai! Chiang Mai is a city in northern Thailand. When thinking about countries in Southeast Asia, its important to remember that they have mostly been artificially created within the last 100 years. What is now Thailand was, in fairly recent history, a collection of kingdoms and tribes, each with their own cultural identity and practices. This is why when you travel around what is a fairly small country, you see differences in architecture, food, dialect, etc. Chiang Mai is just over 700 years old and in the center of current day Chiang Mai is the old city, surrounded by a moat and still showing remnants of the wall that also guarded the city. For being such a well-known Thai city, it is actually pretty small. If you had the time, you could easily walk the old city and the outskirts of town go no more than 3 km outside the old walls.

After we got to our hotel, napped, planned some things we tried to find this restaurant for lunch Beth’s (my friend travelling with us) Thai friend recommended called the Art Cafe. We found this cool looking building in the area we thought the restaurant was in with a sign that said The Meeting Room, Art Café. The front gate was locked but the lights were on inside with a sign on the door that said open so we went in the side door. Everything was set up- laptops out and on, key in the register, dishes out, but no one was there. The place was decorated with incredible local art- some placed randomly like canvases on the floor propped up to full collections- a large kitchen table, a giant bookshelf with books meant to be lent and read- the entire place was styled intentionally and so interesting. We were hungry though so finally moved on to look for somewhere to eat, and found several other galleries meet cafés or restaurants, each boasting their own collections of thai art. It was very refreshing to be in a city that seemed to retain some of its identity and personality. I contrast this is BKK which often feels like people on top of people and shady generic buildings that span on and on without distinction (except of course for Chinatown or little Korea, which is just an attempt to transplant another culture to the area). After lunch we took a certain kind of taxi, which we would rely on for the rest of the weekend, where you sit in the bed of the truck, but on benches, and windows and a roof has been added, but its open out the back. It was very convenient because they can hold 10 and there were 7 of us. We went to a nearby national forest and drove just a short walk away from an awesome waterfall. The group is not particularly sporty collectively, but there are a few of us that really enjoy being in nature and convinced the rest of the group to hike 7 km to another waterfall. We didn’t realized that the first 4 km would be on the side of a highway, which was pretty funny, especially since car after car would honk and laugh at us, but I’m not really sure why. Anyway, we got to the waterfall a little before the park closed at 5, and explored the 2 tiers. The jungle is really incredible and so alive with sounds and foliage- that hike convinced me that I would spend the few weeks I have after school ends to travel in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar (if things work out as planned). All 3 countries are much more rural and untouched and for a number of reasons, have preserved some of their original culture and are at least partially free from westernization, and much of the countries are not developed (especially so with Myanmar, which apparently is like entering a time machine to the 50s), which I would love to see and love to hike through. That night we went to a small traditional Northern Thailand styles restaurant and had the best meal I had ever tasted in Thailand, complete with apps and zerts.

THE NEXT DAY WAS AWESOME. We woke up at 5am to make the 30 min trip to Doi Suthep by sunrise, a very well known temple set up on a mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. When we got there there were just a few monks and a small number of other tourists. The temple is gold and glittery and in the daybreak, unbelievably majestic. I watched the sunrise over Chiang Mai with Malhar, Beth, Ivan and Madiha- it was such a lovely view and I felt so full and so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people, in a beautiful place, among a temple that is so alive. While there were a few other tourists who made it up there for sunrise, there were many thai men and women, and monks, who were circling the temple and praying, and after sunrise they left. There was a garden at one part of the temple with flowers and beautiful plants, but also very expressive figurines and gifts. This is what really struck me about Doi Suthep- it was not just an historical building, but was pulsing with life and engaged in a relationship with its devoted visitors. Afterward we went into town to have breakfast (a term used loosely since 3 of us ordered burgers despite that it was 9:30 am). Then we went to a “tiger reserve,” which is a place where several tigers are kept in captivity and you can play with them for about 15 minutes for a fairly reasonable price. However, there are a lot of moral concerns with these sort of places. Even though the reserve said they did not drug their tigers, the large tigers were extremely sedated, breathing very slowly and hardly moving, even as adult were rubbing them all over and taking pictures and I think that there is just no way those tigers are not drugged. Also, the cages that these massive, intelligent and active animals were kept in were painfully small. The floor was concrete, and some had a small plain concrete pool, and then each cage had a tree trunk or two and that’s it- no stimulation, no exercise. I decided not to participate and hung out with the others who didn’t want to either, but the ones that did had a great time (they played with very playful babies) and the pictures they took were stunning- tigers are such striking animals. Afterward we went to a snake show. There was a small circular ring and wooden stands on three sides of the ring- all of these pretty small and the stands were just a few feet from the ring. The men working the show would empty a burlap sack in the middle of the ring and the snakes would immediately race towards the stands, poised to attack, and the trainers would grab their tail right before they got out. These were not harmless snakes either- cobras, pythons, venomous really fast snakes- and would tease them and provoke the animals. It was pretty awesome to watch. The trainers were very playful and would mess with the audience by swinging the snake by the tail so its face was just inches from your own or would be holding a venomous, dangerous snake and drop it on us, but actually be holding on to the head and tail so nothing bad would happen but was sufficiently terrifying. They had a collection of dangerous snakes in cages, in addition to crocodiles and exotic birds, but all in very small cages that don’t offer any room for stimulation or exercise. After that we went to another excellent meal and had just enough time for a 20 minute nap before our cooking class!! The cooking class was all of us besides Ivan, and just us. They company picked us up at our hotel and then we went to an outdoor market where our teacher, a 20-something woman named Benz talked to us about different ingredients commonly used in thai cooking. Then we went to the owner’s home, where the bottom floor was designed for these classes and started cooking. There was a island in the center of the kitchen for chopping and then 6 stovetops. The other room was a big dinner table. Everybody picked out 6 dishes (appetizer, soup, curry, noodles, dessert, stir fry)- one from a choice of 3 for each dish, so we weren’t all cooking the same thing. The food turned out so great and the amount of food we consumed was unreal- I don’t think I have ever eaten that much in one day, even though I fancy myself a champion at marathon eating when necessary. Benz, and another teacher, Boom, were hilarious and it was just 5 hours of fun. They gave us ingrediants and I really think I could recreate the dishes. Each dish (except dessert) had the same three ingredients as a base: fish sauce, palm sugar (like a grainy paste) and tamarind juice, just in different proportions. I think in general, thai food is pretty low in fat, but you have a lot of sodium in everything. Afterward we went to the Saturday market, which was a giant outdoor market for shopping. Its crowded and I wasn’t interested in buying anything, and Malhar isn’t into these sort of things either so we just hung out while the others got done. Afterward, we went to a rooftop bar called THC. It wasn’t tall at all, maybe 4 stories, but it was decorated excellently. The walls on the staircase were covered with murals or graffiti of all different styles. You get to the third floor and have to take off your shoes and walked up a steep staircase to the bar, which is pretty small. The floor of the mats is all covered with straw mats and there are no chairs, just pillows and really low tables. It is lit by lanterns and looks out over downtown. There was an awesome dj- thai 20-something woman with dreads both blonde and brunette- mixing tracks and everybody was extremely friendly. People would just come up and start talking or invite the group to sit with them. The bar was full of backpackers (so many dreads in this room) from all over the world. They told us about where they’ve been, what they liked, where they can’t wait to go, why they came, etc. It was a lot of fun and got me more excited for my future travels, including what I am about to leave for- the (infamous) full moon party in Koh Phanang- every person I talked to was headed there. The full moon party is a 15,000 person all night beach party celebrating the full moon and thus happens every month, but it’s happening on a Saturday this month, which is more rare, so everyone is going. Comments on that will happen next week, but I’ve been told it will be like nothing I have ever seen before.

On Sunday, Malhar, Madiha, Ivan, Beth and I woke up early again to do a bike tour of the city. The tour guide was from North Carolina so he was pretty excited to have 3 tarheels on the tour and he was awesome to talk to. He told us about a over night hike on a mountain called Chiang Dao about 1.5 hours from Chiang Mai with incredible views- we are hoping to do that next weekend. Anyway, it was an easy bike ride and we went through the entire city- seeing markets, neighborhoods, parks and temples. I didn’t realize how many beautiful temples Chiang Mai had, and we got to hear the stories behind their construction. But mostly it was fun to navigate the city’s traffic and spend some time on a bike. Afterward we had lunch than went to the train station for our 15.5 hour train ride back to BKK. We got a sleeper train so we each had top bunks, which is definitely the most fun way to travel. I am so excited to take my parents and Katy and her bf John back to Chiang Mai when they visit in April and mostly so excited that I get to go back!!!

… wow that was very long. Pics come later 

Weekend in Bangkok

A group of us originally intended to go to Chiang Mai, a well-known historical city in the northern part of this country, this last weekend but decided to move it to this weekend to have more time to plan, and instead stick around Bangkok for the weekend. Every Friday the university has a market on school grounds. All I had heard about is to come ready to eat, so I didn’t really know what to expect, but it far exceeded expectations. There were rows of food stalls with typical eats like fresh papaya and mangosteen (a super sweet fruit that looks like a garlic on the inside), smoothies, chicken/pork/beef kabobs, to pad thai, soups, sushi, and lots of mystery food. I had got these doughy breaded balls stuff with octopus, crab, and tuna with a Japanese mayonnaise/basil topping and spring rolls that were both so good. Then there were rows and rows of stalls selling clothes, where I made my first Thailand clothing purchase of a crop top (obviously), but nail polish or pirated cds and two booths that were exclusively selling scrunchies- they’re still big here. We easily spent 2.5+ hours there just browsing and eating and chatting. 

We started the next day early to head to a rose garden a few locals at school suggested we checked out. It was this large park with a small market, hotel, restaurants, temples, a lake, and unbelievable botanical gardens. It was basically a collection of native species, and also had a huge rose and orchid garden, but neither were in bloom. There was a wedding taking place so the tree outside the building the wedding was held had strings of flowers hanging from it and inside the building (which we only saw briefly since it was a private event) there were elaborate carvings and flowers everywhere- very lovely. We would walk into these little sections of the park and find a river and ivy covered bridges, or wild flowers everywhere or big hanging trees- it was awesome. They also had a cultural center where they performed traditional dances and showcased traditional pottery and different crafts. Near there we ran into an elephant and Beth and I took a ride. Elephants are a huge tourist attraction in Thailand, and are often badly abused and/or drugged. Since this was a nature sanctuary, the animals seemed pretty well taken care of. Side note- when we were in Kho Samet the weirdest thing happened. We were standing on the side of the rode, just after the sunset, in front of our hotel which was pretty much in the middle of nowhere and a truck pulls over. They quickly pull two elephants out of the back and two guys hurry them on to the now dark beach and then the truck speeds away- super dicey. Anyway, we had a great late lunch, hung around taking fun pictures and hanging out and then founc a cab to take us home. That night Beth, Meghan, Ratchany and I went to a club in downtown Bangkok called Route 66, which was all of our first night out in bkk except Meghan who was here last semester. It was this row of huge clubs all connected, with hundreds of people sitting in tables out front. If you went into different rooms inside, all well decorated, you’d find live bands, dj’s with crazy lights, music videos and hundreds of people everywhere. I can definitely see how Bangkok has earned its reputation for Asia’s party city.

On Sunday, Beth and I went into the city to find massages (which Thailand is renowned for). We found this strange mall that was like a big Target, but with a huge food court, and a great place for a massage and then had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. I had papaya salad with pork’s neck- super spicy but probably my favorite dish I’ve had here except curry. Anyway, it was an awesome weekend and I’m really glad we stuck around, but I am more excited to go to Chiang Mai tomorrow! Except for the 10 hour bus ride to get there… 

Enacting their favorite animals

Chinatown

About 16 of us decided to go into China Town (located in bkk) late yesterday afternoon. We split up to take cabs, so I spent the evening with Beth and 3 of the UNC students, Madiha, Malhar, and Grace. We didn’t know each other at UNC but I find myself getting along very well with the UNC kids and planning my weekend travels with them. China Town was how I pictured it- crowded and dirty and full of delicious or exotic foods. There were food stands with a fully intact pig’s head for sale, and shark fin was advertised everywhere. We mostly went there for the food (there’s not much else to do or see) and found a sit down restaurant. The table had a big circular platter like thing that turned and we ordered several dishes and spun them around so everyone could eat them. We also had some sort of traditional house tea, which was excellent (but caffeinated enough to keep me up pretty late). On the menu was things like soft shell turtle, sea cucumber, shark fin, pigs ear and goat jelly, but we stuck with chicken, pork, and shrimp. The meal was probably the best I’ve had since I’ve been here and I’m sure I’ll make it back there again.

Some Initial Observations

• I’ve noticed a lot of adult woman wear braces- our coordinators at Mahidol, women at the malls, the singer in the band on the cruise- and apparently it’s a trend through out Asia. It has become popular enough that even woman who don’t need them are getting them and turning to sketchy means and serious infections are occurring and its become a public health issue.

• There are pictures everywhere of the King everywhere. Ann Dunn told me before I left that she had a UNC professor that is banned from Thailand for insulting the king and I didn’t believe that was possible because it’s a fairly modern country- definitely likely. Insulting the king is a huge deal and can result in legal punishment. I went into the international relations office at school and my advisor, Susie, who is in her mid-twenties, had a big laminated picture of the king next to her desk with dried flowers taped next to it. He is currently pretty sick (we drove by his hospital the other day and there were guards everywhere) and when he dies there will be a year of mourning and then his son will take over, so I might be here when that happens which would be interesting.

• Access to non-bottled water is pretty limited. It’s not exactly clear when the water is safe- some of my peers brush their teeth with bottled water only but the general consensus is tap water is okay to have in the mouth (like in the shower) but don’t drink it. You have to pay attention to the ice: if there’s a hole in it it’s safe, especially at vendors. For example, some places will use ice to keep the raw meat cold, and then re-use it for drinks, so I’ve been told that when ordering street food or at markets, and the place doesn’t exclusively specialize in drinks, definitely avoid ice in drinks. It’s initially a little unsettling to eat street food because you see the raw meat just sitting there in the open air but it’s cooked for you and its typically safe, just very different health standards. So far I haven’t gotten sick!

First Week of School

I am an exchange student at Mahidol University, which is in Salaya (west outer-Bangkok). I have been told that Mahidol is a top 3 university in all of Southeast Asia and being a student their can get you discounts at museums or movie theaters. It is based on an American model and all the classes are taught in English. The campus is pretty and large- it would probably take me 15 minutes to walk across it but I am part of Mahidol University International College (MUIC), which has its own very large building (really 3 joined together) with a cafeteria, library, and several cafes and eating places, and all my classes are there. A uniform is required- white blouse, pin, black knee length skirt, belt, and black shoes- but I think it’s actually loosely enforced. I’ve seen so many girls with itty bitty black skirts and slits all the way up the side (thai woman are so tiny!) and heels or cheetah print flats and most teachers don’t care. Almost nobody caries a backpack, just a little purse or side bag for the boys, and many girls just carry their phones and a pen. The teachers supply you with all the notes, study materials and reading you need, you just have to show up, but supposedly the tests are still challenging. I still haven’t made any Thai friends yet. My classes, except for one, are almost entirely Thai but it’s hard to get a conversation going. I tried chatting in the line to order lunch and got mostly confused stairs. Even though it’s an English speaking school, I think some are still uncomfortable speaking in a conversation. Today, Michelle and I sat down a seat down from some Thai kids at lunch and we said hello and they said hi back and then they moved. A lot of the students also stare at the international kids as we walk around, which takes a little getting used to. I think I just have to keep trying plus there’s some clubs I can join, like diving club! 
 

As an exchange student I have to take exactly 4 classes, each class is two hours long and takes place twice a week. I am taking History of SE Asia in the Modern State, Thai Language and Culture, Revolution and Terrorism and the Modern State, and I was taking Ecology of SE Asia but I am trying to switch it out with Thai Culture and Society. My history class is taught by a Finish professor, who is intense and a little harsh, but seems very well versed in the topic. We start with colonialism and continue to present times. The effects of colonialism are so deeply related to the current state of Thailand and the rest of Southeast Asia, as far as economy, cultural issues, politics, etc. and I am so excited to understand the history better!! My Thai language class is all international kids (obviously) and this section is a ton of Green Park, which makes it way more fun. Thai is a tonal language, with 5 different tones for each sound. We don’t learn the alphabet, but we learn the tones and useful phrases and basics about thai culture. I have only had 25 minutes of the revolution and terrorism class because he let us out early the first class but I can already tell it will be an interesting class. We talk about 2 classical revolutions (French and something else) and 2 modern revolutions, and then discuss what terrorism is (for example, the US government has 7 different definitions), and how terrorism can be used as a tool for revolution. I am most excited about our teacher, Eugene Jones, a self-proclaimed radical leftist and neo-Marxist. Apparently he is not allowed back in the US so I hope by the end of the trimester I figure out why that is. My ecology class was disappointing- it seems to focus more on environmental issues, but simplified and vague terms, than ecology of the region and would be a review of classes I have already taken for my major. I am hoping to get in to Thai Culture and Society tomorrow. Since all the classes I need to graduate can only be taken at UNC, I am hoping to use this opportunity to take classes that will teach me more about the region I am living in so that I can take more out of this experience and learn more from my travels. 

a little corner of campus

Weekend in Kho Samet

So on the dinner cruise, a group of us decided to spontaneously use the weekend to go to Kho Samet, which is the closest beach to Bangkok. If we had a car, we could just drive there in 1.5 hours probably, but by our means it took much longer. 13 of us decided to go: the 6 UNC kids (Malhar, Madiha, Grace, Trang, Ratchany and me) and Pooyang (German), Alex and Kelly (New Jersey), Beth (Hawaii/ Miami for college), Julia and Tiffany (San Francisco) and Ivan (Virginia). We don’t all live together so we took the 45 minute taxi to a metro station and met up there, and then took a 20 minutes skytrain ride to a bus station, where we took a 3.5 hour trip to the mainland (all of this only costing $8 max). It took us a while to figure things out since we did it as we went, so we got there about 5pm and decided to stay on the mainland at the place we booked that morning. We got in this taxi that pretty much turned it’s truck bed into two benches, so we could all fit, and went to the hotel which was right on the beach! We got there just in time from sunset, went for a swim, and then walked a bit up the road to a restaurant that advertised German-Thai food. The group is smart and intellectually curious and there was so much to talk about, especially since most of us had just met the day before. We slept 3 to a bed to save money (making it $6 per person) but were glad that we didn’t notice the ants in the sheets until we woke up! We woke up early, got back to the pier, and took a speed boat to the middle of the island, where we easily found housing right on the beach, although we did stick 9 people in my room with just 2 double beds… The island is green, but the sand is soft and white and the water bright blue and about 80 degrees! The whole day was spent eating great food at restaurants right on the sand, swimming, laying out, drinking beers, going to local markets, talking with each other, and chatting with Americans and Europeans who moved to Thailand for many different reasons. That night we ate at some restaurant that had several low tables on the beach with pillows as seats and lanterns adorning all the trees- it was a very enchanting setting. Fire dancers came up the beach- its not a super developed area (all dirt roads around us) but definitely tourists around- and there were throwing flamed batons to each other and making pyramids. We then went to a great bar across our hotel with lots of friendly people and great music. The trip was a great way to start my time here and to get to know a lot of people quickly- we spent about 3 days just chatting together- and I’m excited about the friendships to come. 

 

Arriving in Bangkok

I left Arizona for Thailand in the early morning of New Year's Eve and flew through LA, where I had a 5 hour lay over, then took a 12 hours flight to Tokyo, and after a brief layover took a 7 hours flight to Bangkok, where I landed around midnight. A driver from the school was there to pick up myself and two other girls (one from Connecticut and one from Raleigh!) and took us to our respective dorms. I live in Green Park, about 30 minutes without traffic from Bangkok, which consists of a girl dorm and a boy dorm, each with their own guards. Each dorm has a kitchen and common room on the bottom with computers, a couch and tv, dinner table and basic cooking gear. The 75 international students pretty much live in one of 4 dorms (none of which are walking distance from each other). Green Park is awesome because not all the dorms have common areas, so the group of us, like 40-50, hang all the time and plan activities together. 


On the first day I woke up early even though I went to bed after 3 and went downstairs to make some oatmeal. There were a couple of girls there and one of them, Juliana, offered to take me to Tesco so I could get the stuff I need (phone, towel, soap, some food etc). Tesco is an English version of walmart and it even carries soymilk and my choice of cereal I usually buy at Trader Joe's (pumpkin flax granola)!!! Juliana, who's from NY, and another girl, Michelle, from Boston, went into Bangkok (bkkBKK) for the afternoon. We intended to go see the Royal Grand Palace, but it closes at 3:30 so instead we walked through some markets till we hit the river (which goes through all of BKK) and met up with a friend of Michelle who grew up in bkk but went to boarding school and goes to college in the US to show us around. There are street vendors everywhere and the city is loud, constantly crowded, and dirty. Its hot- not terrible at about 85-90 degrees and 50% humidity, but its winter. We took a tuktuk, which is like an open air taxi to a metro station. Tuktuks are nuts- open-air cars, like a golf cart, and they drive so crazy. Driving anyway in Thailand is scary- lanes are more like suggestions and people are non-stop cutting each other off and traffic is absurd and there aren’t any seatbelts, even in taxis. We took the skytrain, a metro above ground, to Siam Square. We went to Siam Paragon, which is this huge high-end mall with movie theaters (and they are showing the Hobbit!) and an aquarium and stores like YSL, Marc Jacobs, D&G, and Versace. The prices in those stores are comparable to those stores anywhere else so I can’t figure out how they make money here. Thailand is very inexpensive- a 45 minute taxi ride is about $6 total and street food meals about $1, sit down places about $3, so the cost of living is very low compared to the US but salaries are also low. We hung around there and checked out the surrounding markets and found a thai place for a wonderful dinner.

 
The second day we had orientation all day at the university, Mahidol. Since I’m writing this a few days later, I’ll talk more about the school later. That night Mahidol set up a dinner cruise on the river that goes through all of Bangkok. We had such great food- two kinds of soup served on this dish with a flame in the middle with seafood, sea bass with the head still on it, squid and octopus stir fried vegetables, fried chicken (haha), pork skewers, rice, a fruit platter with exotics fruits plus mango and papaya. There was a band that mostly covered American pop songs (in thick thai accents) and we danced and watched them which was a lot of fun. Meeting people and making friends is so easy- the whole group is outgoing and excited. The far majority are the only ones from their school to come here and in many cases, they are the first to go to Thailand in years or ever. For a lot of the kids here, they had to find a 3^rd party program and figure out a way to get here, which I admire a lot because UNC makes it so easy.