Some More Adventures in Thailand

Hi Everyone!

Today was my first official day of classes and I really enjoyed them.  I had an Environmental Psychology class with one of the Cal Poly professors on the trip and today we talked about different factors that influence culture, particularly American and Thai cultures.  Then I had my first Thai class and where we began learning the basics of how to greet people and introduce ourselves.  The text book is written in the Thai language and also phonetics so that helps out a lot with learning how to pronounce words.  This is a picture of me next to the fountain near the canteen (that's what they call the cafeteria) and the university's book store.

This is a picture of Brittany and I eating at the canteen. The food has been really good, the first day I got fried rice and today I got this chicken noodle dish called Pad Se Ew (pad-sue-eee) and Pad Thai for dinner. 

Here we are going on a bus tour of Chiang Mai University (Darcy, me, Brittany and Sam).  We got to see all of the buildings for the different colleges, the student union, gym and pool, and there is even a lake on campus!

There are so many motor bikes every where!  I would say more people drive motor bikes than cars.  The other picture is the view from our Environmental Psychology class on the seventh floor.

This is a group of us walking to the entrance of one of the shopping malls in Chiang Mai.  It is more of a combination of mall and out door market because the halls are filled with vendors.  There is also a movie theater and bowling alley inside. 

Last night night Brittany, Kelly and I caved and got American food - Pizza Hut :]  To our surprise it wasn't a take out/fast food place, but an actual restaurant!  We were greeted by a hostess, seated by a waitress, given full menus to order from.  It was totally decorated and they were even playing soft rock music in the background.  It was so funny how different of an experience it was from the Pizza Huts at home that I had to get a picture.

That's all I have for now, talk to you later!

Michelle <3

Thailand Day 1!

This first few hours in Thailand have been a whirlwind!  I flew in on a 14 hour, red eye flight to Taiwan and it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I slept on and off for about nine hours and watched some movies and TV shows, it was so cool we each had our own personal TVs!  Dad let me borrow his noise-canceling headphones and it made all the difference, I never want to fly without some again! 

We had a three hour layover in Taiwan and then went on another four hour flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand.  The first thing I noticed when we were flying in was how green everything was and that there were many farms that seemed to be growing trees or large bushes, I'm not sure what those are yet.  I also noticed how oddly the buildings were spaced, there would be a condensed area of houses or stores then just open fields and farms.  I wish I could have gotten a picture but we weren’t allowed to have any electronics on during the landing.

Once we arrived in Chiang Mai we were greeted by our university correspondent and then rode in red truck taxis to our housing.  They were so fun and it was nice to have the open windows since it was so hot and humid out already.

From there I barely put my stuff down when we left to go get cell phones.  I didn’t buy one because my uncle had already bought me one and my aunt is shipping it up to me tomorrow, but I wanted to go where everyone else was going.  We ended up in this mall/department store place that had a grocery store, banks, clothing stores, and even a Dunkin' Donuts!  There was just about everything that you could need.  Once everyone got their phones we went into the grocery store and bought big containers of water since we can’t drink the tap water here, it’s not filtered enough.

When I got back I got on the internet to contact my family to let them know that I had arrived and right after that we left to go to the Chiang Mai night market.  It runs every Saturday and Sunday night and it is huge and I mean HUGE!  Streets and streets full of vendors and performers and food and people walking around, it felt like the whole city of Chiang Mai was there.  I saw a lot of interesting things but I waited on buying anything, we’ll go again next week.  Afterwards we took a taxi back to our place and I’ve been working on unpacking and getting settled in ever since.  Now I am going to go to bed and get a full night’s sleep before our orientation and first day of school tomorrow.  Goodnight!

Michelle <3

T-Minus One Day!

Twenty-four hours from now, I will be on a plane making my way to Thailand!  I can't believe it is already that close, time has gone by so quickly.  I have spent most of my spring break cleaning, packing, and getting ready for the trip.  This is a picture of the outfits I have planned out.  It was definitely a challenge to find cute collared shirts and skirts that were long enough, but eventually I pieced together a trendy yet modest wardrobe. 

During my time abroad I hope to become a more flexible, go-with-the-flow person, learn a lot about the Thai culture, and expand my views and perspectives on life in general.  Most of all I want to have a lot of fun and have the adventure of a lifetime!

Talk to you in Thailand!

Michelle <3

Winter Quarter is Coming to an End

Things have still been coming along well for Thailand trip since I last blogged.  Last Friday we had Thailand study abroad potluck which was really fun.  One of the girls going on the trip was kind enough to host it at her house and about 20 of us were able to come and we ate and got to know each other a little bit.  Everyone was really nice and I think we are going to have a really great time :)  It seems like most people are Business majors, a few Psychology majors, and then some random ones like I am a Liberal Studies major and I remember another girl was a Nutrition major.  I am a little nervous because there is no one going on the trip that I know really well, but I am also kind of excited about it because I think it will be a great opportunity to get to know a lot of new people and force myself out of my comfort zone.

I also picked up my passport with my Thailand visa from the trip coordinator earlier this week and I have an appointment this Friday to get my Typhoid fever immunization.   I am still looking into getting some noise-canceling headphones, a weather-proof backpack, a Klean Kanteen water bottle, and a light water-proof jacket before going on the trip but other than that I think I have everything.  However the other night I dreamed that I hung out with my friend for too long and only had ten minutes to pack for the trip!  haha so I am glad that that was just a dream. 

 
 This week I have said goodbye to my Homework Lab students, used the last of my Plus Dollars on lunch, and spent the rest of the money on my laundry card.  I have six more assignments to do, three more class sessions, and two finals and then winter quarter will be over.  Everything is happening so quickly it doesn't even feel like it's real.   I am just trying to take everything one day at a time and not get too ahead of myself and stressed out.  There are still a lot of wonderful things to come before I even leave for Thailand!

Michelle