Traveling in groups

After a very filling lunch in Na Samai Village

After our exchange with NGO P'Ubon in Yasathon City

Typical Lunch, in Baw Kaew Village

This program structure allows for plenty of group bonding. In Khon Kaen, we spend our entire days together whether in Thai class, lecture, or discussion. On home-stays, we do get a fair amount of time with our families during the day and at night, but the majority of time is spent together eating and holding "exchanges" with various people. Emphasis on the eating part. "Exchanges" are informal interviews we hold with villagers, governmental officials, district offices, NGOs, and village leaders to name a few. As a student group we frame our interviews to gain deeper understandings about the issues in each unit. To give you a better understanding, our units are split up as follows: Unit 1: Food and Agriculture; Unit 2: Land Rights; Unit 3: Water and Dams; Unit 4: Mining and Natural Resources; and Unit 5: Comparative Study.. We learn so much in our 4 days on these home stays, and are able to connect the issues as we move into each unit. We have learned so much from each other and from our connections made in the villages. Stay tuned to hear more about home-stays, vacations, and life overall!

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.

The Grand Palace of Bangkok. Absolutely stunning architecture! This site used to house the Kings, and their elephants.  

First Thai beer, and around Bangkok!

Once we arrived into Thailand, we spent a very memorable but short-lasting two nights in Bangkok. Needless to say we will definitely be back there. On Saturday we left Bangkok and headed north to Khao Yai National Park, where we embarked on a muddy, sweaty, and leech-filled hike. A few more hours in the van and we arrived at  a small resort in the Northeast Region (known as the Isan Region), where we would spend the next five days. The 43 of us on the program spent long hours getting to know each other, and of course practicing Thai! Over four days we accomplished 16 hours of (very intensive) Thai instruction. Our Thai instructors are awesome! Many of of them graduated from Khon Kaen University (KKU) with an English Major. On Wednesday we finally made our way over to Khon Kaen University, where we will be spending the next four months! More to come about KKU in the next post! Miss you all!

One flight down!

13 hours, 6 TV episodes, 3 movies, and less than 2 hours of sleep later, I made it to Tokyo! The flight was very uneventful but it went by so quickly which I'm extremely grateful for. Flying over Japan was breathtaking; everything looked so green, spacious, and healthy, and I even flew over a small windpower farm! I'm looking forward to meeting a couple of other students from my program who will be on the flight to Bangkok; wish me luck in finding them! Upon arrival we will spend a total of 6 nights, 7 days getting to know one another and learning about Thai culture and the language. We spend two nights in Bangkok, and 4 nights in a resort way outside of Bangkok. I cannot wait to meet the people I will be spending the next four months with, and to share everything with you! Bye for now and talk to you in Thailand. ลาก่อน (Goodbye in Thai... I think)

The last days

Last Sunday night dinner!

My last few nights with family and friends were more than I could have asked for! Everyone has been encouraging and supportive in just the right ways, and it has made my traveling much easier than I expected! Catching up with school friends was the best way to spend my last night. These girls are all incredible , and they gave me the best advice. I will truly miss all my friends and family this semester, but I can't wait to share my experiences with everyone!