A taste of Village life

 




The most amazing green I've ever seen. Corn, banana trees, cassava, papaya trees, and more covering the entire mountain tops.

The tractors about to ascend some steep terrain.

Mekong River & Laos in the background

 On "Community Scoping Day," we went out to Loei Province to meet with the community members that our unit will focus on. The theme of our unit is Mining & Natural Resources, and we learned that our community's lies very close to the area in which an Iron Mine may be built. We took a three-hour tractor ride up the mountain to see first hand the extent to which this mine will affect the community. The mountain is absolutely covered with crops that the village depends on for food and income. If the mine is built, they will need to use almost a hundred rais of this farmland. Our job as students is to listen to the villagers and work with them to come together as a community and defend their rights. We will be returning to Loei in October so stick around till then! 

A Few Memories so Far

 

 Some sights around Khon Kaen. The Center City Shrine & the 9-Story Wat (temple)

 

Views from Bung Kaen Nakhon Lake overlooking Wat Nongwan.

My roommate and I watching a movie at the Hospital (stay #2) Hoping this was my last visit all semester! A big shoutout to my roommate for sticking by me through it all!

    

Out to dessert with Mat-naw and Mint!

A little late with the update....

Sorry it's been a few weeks everyone!! It's been extremely busy with settling in, lectures, hospital visits, and learning Thai. With that said... so much has happened since I last posted! When we arrived to Khon Kaen University on August 21st, we spent the entire afternoon learning about life in and around campus. We were finally introduced to our roommates (after a questionable line-up of Thai vs. American students). It has been so much fun hanging out and getting to know the roommates who we have become our great friends! A few nights into our first week, a few of the girls and our roommates hit up a Karaoke bar for an hour filled of singing, dancing, and most importantly smiling! It was one of the highlights of my time here so far. We've also spent many nights getting dinner, dessert (a little too often), and so much more, while getting to know each other. The best times are those where we get to poke fun at our perspective language struggles. All in all the roommates have been an extremely important part of our transition into life as KKU students. 

First meal at KKU!

 

After a night of Karaoke

A night out making some Thai friends.