I am going into week three out here in Thailand and the time is flying by oh so fast! It feels like I have been out here for more than three weeks though because of how adjusted I am to the culture. I truly am living developing country, and I LOVE it. It is crazy how much we take for granted by living in the States. If you have the opportunity to travel, travel to a non developed contry and take a step back and realize what most of the world is living with, it will make you appreciate life so much more. I LOVE Bangkok, and could not be happier to get to spend 3-4 more months out here. Here are just a couple of the differences between America and Thailand,
1) The driving: wholly smokes these people are CRAZY! Motorcycles going through traffic, cars going through interesctions without lights, everything. I rode on the back of my first motorbike the other day, I sure was scared, but afterwards I felt safe and knew that it would become a common form of transportation. I was one of the last people out here to test the waters with one, but now I take one every other day to get to the MRT (Subway) station back and forth (Sorry Mom!!). The people who drive them wear orange jackets and it means they are a registered motorcycle cab driver, yes, they're taxi scooters!!! The only other cars on the road are actual taxis, and the traffic out here sure can get bad! For example, a 40-minute taxi ride will only take 10 on a motorbike because they can go through all the traffic.
2) Sanitation: there is none here. Like none, all the street food and many other places just have large buckets of soapy water and hand wash everything. Here's a picture of some street washers. I have ate some street food, but not too much yet, you have to be careful to make sure it's safe and cooked just for you!3) Police: yea police aren't the same you get back home. If you have a problem, the police will prolly just make it a bigger problem and demand money. However, there are tourist police to help you with any problems or scams that you might encounter.
4) Friendliness: Everyone here is friendly. It's wild, these people work all day long, make no money, yet treat you as though you're best friends, lot better people than snobby Americans.
5) Water: You MUST drink from bottled water, tap is not an option. You got to wash fresh produce with bottled water to prevent sickness.
6) The HEAT: The heat is unreal, and this is the cool season, I can't imagine what it will be like come November, I have already broken out twice in large heat rashes from wearing my school uniform and having my backpack. Luckily I've got meds and an oitment for it that make it go away in no time.
7) Rain: ALWAYS have a raincoat or umbrella on you. Never leave with out one, you never know when the clouds are going to unleash an ocean on top of you.
These are just some differences, there's a LOT of them, but you will just have to come out here to experience them for youselfs!
Last week went out for the first time to Khao-san-road, it's the touristy backpacker road with a bunch of bars that all sell buckets of alcohol for not too much. Lets just say its a place you don't want to pregame too hard becuase there is no escaping the drinks out there! Street vendors and backpackers fill the streets. Will definetly have to check it out more with friends and enjoy the good music and dancing in the road!
On Friday night the College of Business had an event for the exchange students, we did not know what the event was going to be, but it was an iniation for us new folks! It's what the seniors do to the freshmen, it was a really cool experience. When we met outside on the field we were all given blindfolds and told to grab onto the persons shoulders in front of us who would lead the way. We walked up the stairs into a building and then walked into an air conditoned room, where drums began to play and something came across our faces. As the drums picked up they took off the blind folds and we were all covered in powder. The Thais then sang/danced to us for about 15 mins that was a welcoming ritual, it was pretty awesome! Afterwards we played team games and got to interact with the local students, they sure are cool. This is Mook, she studied abroad at Oregon State last term and got me hyped to study abroad to Thailand after speaking with her! After the event
we all went out for a delicous steak dinner, and then some of us went to a local Thai night club! They sure know how to party, it was a fun time and we danced past American bar closing time!School: School is going great! I really am enjoying my classes (except for 1) and love that I get to hear ideas from so many different perspectives. All the teachers have different backgrounds and have unique teaching styles! I enjoy participating and putting in my American ideas that other people would have never thought of. I hope to do well in all my classes, considering I only have to go twice a week!
Traveling: I have yet to truly travel, but I am going to be going on some fun adventures in the upcoming weeks so stay tuned for awesome pictures and even better stories!
Markets: The markets out here are pretty sweet, you can basically find (knock off) of anything you need! However, we went to one night market that was talked about pretty highly and found it to be terribly sad. All the clothing they were selling seemed as though it had came out of a goodwill from America and was shipped here to be sold as new. I even saw a Phi Delta Theta shirt for sale! LoL!
Bangkok is treating me well, this is the pool that you can find me at relaxing and reading a book 80% of my time, I look forward to sharing my stories with you all! Until next time,
Cheers!
Here are a couple of videos my friends have made if you're interested in seeing what Thailand is like, I'm the star in the first one, and right at the start of the 3rd hahaah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR2S9RlX6fg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5m9utSQwLk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzsZHBjSpyc&feature=youtu.be
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Telephone- +66 615-961-169
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