Things that I’ve learned about/from Thailand so far: 1. The boba milk tea is really good and it’s going to take a lot to restrain myself. 2. I don’t like durian all that much. It’s good, and it’s actually kinda sweet, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over the creamier-than-avocado texture or the weird aftertaste that it leaves 3. High humidity is to be expected! Yes, this is kind of well known. But I’d like to mention it anyways. 4. Bugs and small animals are not uncommon. There was a gecko just kinda chilling by my face this morning, which was terrifying. Also, on Saturday I reached up to touch some leaves on a tree and ended up grabbing a gigantic beetle or bug of some sort that flew into my face. It wasn’t pleasant, but I wasn’t hurt. Still though, I will be more wary of suspicious trees. 5. Rain is also to be expected! Again, this is well known, but I’d just like to point out that there is a lot of rain. It has rained every single day that I’ve been here. It’s not constant, and it’s not always torrential, but it’s definitely always there. There has been a total of two (2) days here that I have actually seen the sun. This isn’t a complaint, by the way, I’m just saying so. Also, when the sky does decide to crack open and unleash its watery demons instead of giving us a gentle drizzle, it really comes down hard. If you’re inside, you just hear this roaring outside from the water hitting the metal ceilings. Everything outside gets wet, nothing is safe, and the noise drowns out the teachers who, by the way, are using microphones in the classroom. If you’re outside… good luck to your poor soul. I happened to be outside under a bridge today when it started really coming down, and even though the bridge was about ten feet wide and I was in the middle of it, I was still sprayed head to toe with the mist that was created when the water hit the ground. It really rains here. And finally… 6. Mosquitoes. Are. Everywhere. You know those horror movies where there’s this creepy thing following the main characters wherever they go? Yeah, that’s what mosquitoes are like here. Everywhere you go- bam, there it is. Outside? Definitely. In the classroom? Still there. In the living room or dining room? Right there with you. In your own private room with the windows and doors shut? They’ll be there. In the shower or on the toilet? You bet they’re gonna go for the places that’ll be the most embarrassing to scratch. I’m not joking in the slightest. Mosquito repellent is my best friend right now.

Anyways. I’ve actually done some really cool stuff in the past week or two, and I wanted to acknowledge those as well.

Last week (I think it was Tuesday but I’m not sure) I went to visit my second host mom again. Not sure if I mentioned her before, but she’s fluent in several languages and is actually an English teacher, and she lives alone near the school. She was really sweet and helped me learn several new words before my current host mom came to pick me up.

On Thursday, my host brother (His name is Pattarapon but he goes by Stamp, don’t ask me how he got from one to the other because I don’t know) and I went to a group tutor. The tutor has been teaching Stamp for several years now, and while she helped several students with their homework, I worked on my speech for the school that was to be recited the next day. After everyone was done, Stamp and I went with the tutor to go see a movie. The movie was “Fast and Furious,” and I understood absolutely nothing from what they said. I could kind of make out the plot based on English signs in the movie and from the characters’ actions, but in all honesty I was still confused throughout the whole thing. Also, we rode a motorcycle to get there and back, and it was honestly really fun. I was terrified at first, not to mention I didn’t keep my feet up high enough and scraped one of my shoes on the asphalt. But once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it.

In all honesty, that’s how most things seem to be for me right now. It’s intimidating, but there are people to help me along the way and then I enjoy it. For example, in class, there are so many classmates of mine who are more than willing to help me. They’re usually a little nervous because they don’t want to butcher the English language, but they all speak it really well. Actually, they speak English a little too well, which makes it hard for me to learn Thai, but they also help me by giving me direct translations, which I write down in my notebook. As of now I have about four pages of translated words. My level of speaking right now is basically the equivalent of a toddler (and people kind of treat me like one which is fair), and I can’t imagine how I sound to anyone passing by. I mean, imagine passing by some confused teenager on the street in America and hearing them say, “Cloak? Clack? Click?… Oh! Clock! Clock!” and pointing excitedly at their wristwatch. Because that’s probably how I look. When my friends aren’t there, I just have to tell people I don’t speak Thai, and a lot of them kind of give me this look of “oh, pity the poor monolingual American” before giving me hand motions or speaking in English.

The only time I’m really confused is during class lectures. All of them except for Biology and English are just really, really long segments of time where there’s just a bunch of Thai going over my head and I can pick out maybe a dozen words. Physics and Chemistry are actually the worst right now, because the classes are above what I’ve learned so far and also because they’re in Thai. They’re the most frustrating, because I can interpret the numbers and equations but can’t make the connections between those and the solutions given. I’ve been looking into finding old lessons on those subjects in English in hopes that I can help myself understand, but it hasn’t worked yet.

Luckily, I’m not going to those classes tomorrow. (Actually, it’s not a good thing because school is where I learn Thai the most but that’s not my point.) Instead, I get to enjoy an eight hour car ride to Khon Kaen, where the first Rotary orientation is being held. The orientation starts the day after tomorrow, and I’ll be meeting a bunch of other inbounds from several different countries while also reuniting with my travel buddy, Josie, whom I flew here with. The orientation will last two days, and then I’ll get to enjoy another eight hours back to Chanthaburi.

I’ll write all about that in a week or two, but it’ll be on https://alisonthailand.blogspot.com/ because people have been having trouble seeing the pictures I’m posting here. As for the orientation, I’m looking forward to it!

One thing that I forgot to mention last time was that a former exchange student came in to visit. I didn’t mention her because I thought she was only staying for a night and just stopping by, but it turns out she stayed with this family two or three years ago. (She left a note saying so but I didn’t see it I’m soRRY) Her name is Christine, she’s from Germany and she was visiting us for several days before leaving with my host brother, Stim, for his year abroad. She was incredibly sweet and funny, just really enthusiastic over all and made things more fun (we played so many card games and it was great). She was happy to explain things to me and give pointers based on her experience. She also speaks several languages fluently (including English) and helped me out quite a bit, especially when I went to give a speech for Rotary on Friday night.

On Saturday, we went and visited the grandparents about an hour away from the house in Chanthaburi. We went there so that Stim could visit his grandparents before departing, and afterward we took a trip into the plantation they owned. We got to ride in the back of the pickup truck (we were going maybe 20 miles an hour max but it was still really cool) and then took a walk on this elevated irrigation pipe. Afterwards we headed back, got dinner, and then got some ice cream and watched a movie before going to bed.

Sunday was Christine and Stim’s last day, and I decided to make it the best possible last day in Thailand for them.

Just kidding, I didn’t, I dragged the entire family to the hospital because I had to get my Japanese Encephalitis shots because the vaccine was ridiculously expensive in the United States. The wait took way longer than it should’ve, and we were just kind of hanging out there waiting for the doctor who didn’t speak English and so I had to make a ton of gestures to explain why I didn’t get the vaccine earlier. She was really sweet, but I think she was also really confused until I whipped out my old buddy Google Translate.

Once that was done, we spent a few hours at the house before driving Christine and Stim to the airport. I know I gave my blog link to Christine, so… if you’re reading this, please don’t get mad at me if I forgot any important details from the last few days. I’m tired.

Mother’s day was yesterday, and the stuff that happened here is pretty different from what happens in the U.S. and in all honesty I’m still not entirely sure what happened. We went to some rotary sponsored gathering, where a bunch of monks were chanting something (I still don’t know what) and then we went and hiked to a waterfall before getting my school uniform. I wore it for my first day of school today, and honestly the thing is stiff enough to kind of feel like cardboard but over all it’s not that bad. My host brother (Stamp) and I went in to visit the school’s director, who welcomed me very nicely (and told me that I had two days to prepare a speech) before sending us off to class. They just gave me the same schedule as Stamp (for now) to avoid confusion. There was biology, followed by something concerning college in the U.S., then math, lunch, English, and a free period. A lot of the people I met were actually pretty fluent in English, and every single one of them was insanely nice to me.

Most of the classes went by in a storm of gibberish, and I could hardly make out any words that were being said. But the biology class made sense because apparently, scientific terms are mostly universal, and also because there were pictures and some English words. The math class was the same as the Calculus class that I just finished taking, and while I’m grateful to know the material a bit already, I was also hoping to not endure Calculus a second time. Oh well. And as for the English class, I figure I should just mention that other countries are really nailing it with their foreign language classes and America kind of sucks in comparison.

And before I talk about the free period, I’d like to talk about the school lunch first. Because it was insane. There was this huge cafeteria (in Thai it’s called the canteen) and it was basically a food court. You could go to a bunch of different stations and choose what dish you wanted, and they would make it for you on the spot. And it wasn’t some greasy ham sandwich or a pre-packaged PB&J, it was an actual lunch. I got some noodle dish, I don’t know what it was because I was panicking but it was really good. Some other kids got rice bowls, and others got other dishes and I have no idea what they’re called. But either way, everything was well prepared and put together, and it puts the American school lunch program to shame.

After lunch and English was the free period, and it was honestly a little bit insane. About half the kids were studious and doing their work, and the other half was playing soccer and volleyball in the classroom. I am not exaggerating, we were keeping score. And anyone reading this might think, ‘hey! That seems a little dangerous, playing volleyball and soccer in the classroom! Some kid could get hit in the head!’

And if you’re thinking that, you’re right. Because it happened, and we just kept playing.

I think I like it here.

Not a lot to this entry, I just wanted an excuse to put in a bunch of pictures. But I was able to go to a shopping center yesterday with my host brother and my host mom, which was pretty fun and also very overwhelming. My host brother is getting ready for his exchange trip to Germany, and after shopping for his supplies, we went out to lunch at a restaurant pretty similar to a bunch of American hot pot places. I actually tried some of the spicy sauces and it wasn’t bad, which gave me a false sense of confidence… and my throat burned, so now I know not to be stupid while trying Thai spices. I also have a good amount of mosquito bites despite spending most of my time indoors, so… I guess I’ll get used to that. After getting back I met a Rotex (former exchange) student. Her name is Christine, she went from Germany to Thailand and stayed with the same family two years ago. She taught me some of the basics and what to look out for, and after dinner we played a bunch of card games with the younger two brothers.

Overall I’m still really confused but people are super nice and I’m loving it here.

Where to start…

Well, I woke up around 2:30 A.M. this morning, which is just about as pleasant as anyone would imagine it to be. We loaded everything up and drove over to the Sacramento Airport, got everything checked in and got all of my boarding tickets. I was done saying goodbye by four in the morning.

I went through security just fine, then ended up just sitting around and waiting at the gate waiting for the flight from Sacramento to LA. I was actually pretty hungry and bored, but I was too paranoid to actually leave the gate area. I actually kept asking other people around me for confirmation that I was in the right place, but as it turns out, everything was fine.

The plane ride to LA was pretty short, and once I got there, I was able to find the shuttle to the right terminal. Terminal B (The International terminal) is ridiculously huge for whatever reason and looks like a high end mall. It’s enormous, there are shops everywhere, and it seemed like a mile long trek just to get to my gate. The main hallway just kept going. But I eventually got there, and I got to wait at the gate for a wonderful five hours. I also stopped at Starbucks for food, and somehow refrained from getting a coffee. I met the other exchange student, Josey, maybe two or three hours after landing. She’s also heading to my district, and she came in from Oregon. We waited together at the layover, then got onto the Korean Air flight.

So apparently, Korean Air actually has facial recognition scanners to let you get on the plane. Which is both kind of creepy but also really cool. It’s nothing new, but it wasn’t something I’d run into at airports before. Korean air flights are a lot more spacious than the domestic ones, which I appreciated since it was an eleven hour flight. The plane was also double decker, which was new for me. They also had cameras on the front and tail of the plane, as well as one facing downwards. I was able to see a lot of Korea as we flew over it, and from above, it looked absolutely beautiful. At first I thought I could handle the eleven hours, but now… needless to say, it sucks. My legs got tired, I couldn’t stretch, the space is too cramped to really do a lot. It could’ve been worse, but either way I still didn’t enjoy it. The meals were nice though.

The Korean airport in Incheon was also ridiculously large and more like a mall than an airport, similar to LAX. But it was way more beautiful than any other airport I had ever been to. There was so much vegetation inside, at least in comparison to most other (American) airports I’ve been to. There were these amazing children’s play areas as well as some really cute shops. It was tempting to buy a lot of the things there, but I also had a very limited amount of money so I wasn’t able to get anything.

The final flight to Bangkok was uneventful, to say the least. I thought we would be flying over populated parts of China and I wanted to see the city lights, but we ended up going over mostly just oceans. We also passed through a thunderstorm, which was… terrifying. At some point we were given entry cards, but the other exchange student and I had no idea how to fill out several parts of it and ended up having to ask a stewardess for help. But on that topic, the stewardesses on the Korean Air flights are insanely kind. They’re always nice, they’re super polite, and they’re willing to assist you with just about anything. I found it funny earlier to have one of the stewardesses address me in Korean- I guess I look Asian enough, but the blank look on my face afterwards probably clued her in that I have absolutely zero experience with Korean. It was interesting, having English be the second language on both the L.A. to Seoul flight and on the Seoul to Bangkok flight. Now I can kind of see how other people live their lives in the U.S. if they don’t speak a lot of English. It’s kind of terrifying, to hear important announcements going off and to not know what’s actually happening. It makes you feel clueless and powerless, like there’s nothing you can actually do. And that’s just a taste of what I’ll be feeling for the next year. Hopefully I pick up the language quickly enough. 

After that, we were off the plane and finally in Bangkok. My first thoughts were that the airport by itself was interesting, even from the outside. They had everything decorated in colorful lights, mostly purple, and overall I just liked the look of it. My first thoughts after stepping off the plane were just a mixture of “man, I am so confused,” and “It’s midnight here and still this hot??” Because I was just hit by a wave of heat as soon as I stepped off. I was still wearing long pants and my rotary blazer, so the heat wasn’t really appreciated but it’s definitely something I’ll have to get used to.

Josey and I made our way through the airport, and although she was younger, she was the one helping me navigate. I was just kind of following her, since I’d never been on international flights or had to go through customs before. We made it to customs, then waited in an insanely long and slow line to get to the passport checks. Nothing really went wrong there, but I couldn’t read the instructions and the guy behind the counter had to say “look at the camera” about four or five times before I understood what he was actually saying. 

We picked up our bags afterwards and met our host families, and the only thing I can say about that experience is that it was very, very overwhelming. They had a bunch of signs for us, we were swarmed with greetings that we didn’t understand (the only greeting I know is ‘sa-wat-dii’ and that is not what they were all saying), and they gave us both a bunch of flowers and I took a ton of pictures with people that I didn’t know. They were all super nice and polite, then brought me out to a van and helped load my things up for the four hour drive. We got to the host family’s house without a hitch, and I proceeded to lie awake in bed for a good several hours because while it was near 4 A.M. there, it was 10:00 in the morning back at home.

So between the five hours of driving, eighteen hours of flights, and the eight or nine hours of layovers, I think it’s safe to say that I was traveling for about 30 hours. It was confusing, and overwhelming, and kind of stressful, not to mention I was so tired and loopy that everything just seemed funny after a while. 

And I loved it.

So… here’s the thing.

I don’t know how to even write a blog, so this isn’t exactly going to be all that professional. I don’t know a lot about web design, either, but the good thing is that I really don’t need to. This is just someplace for my family and friends to know what I’m doing.

Today was my last full day in the U.S., and I won’t be coming back here for a good ten months (if all goes according to plan). I had the privilege to meet up with a lot of my friends before leaving, but I also got a feel for how hard the goodbyes can be. After knowing these people for five, six, or even seven years, it’s really odd to think that I’ll be so far away and it’ll be so long before I’ll see them again. But as cliche as it sounds, this is also a big step towards a ton of new beginnings, and not just for me. To all of my U.S. friends reading this, I wish you the best!

As for me, I just finished packing a while ago. I got my vaccinations (for the most part, some are just too expensive so I’ll just get them in Thailand), I got my visa, my flights are booked, and I’m incredibly nervous and excited. I feel like the weight of the situation hasn’t fully set in yet, but it probably will within the next couple of hours. It’s almost 10:30 P.M., and my flight is at 6:15 in the morning, meaning I need to go to sleep wake up in about four hours.

Hopefully this’ll go well.