PIH

My home for the semester
View from my room
Cows out front finishing someone's cereal
Paradornparp International House (PIH) is where I am living which houses many of the international students that study at Payap University. It houses both Thais who want to live with foreigners (farang) as well as people from many other countries. It's a great facility and everyone is very friendly. Thais are very laid back, always willing to help out and make new friends. Today I joined a local gym for the semester at 1700 baht (about $50 US). I definitely enjoy the prices here! Tonight was the first night our Thai Studies group met formally. We were brought to the local hospital to show us the procedure we would have to go through in the event of a medical problem, then we all headed off to the Sunday Night Market which is very popular in Chiang Mai. The market was gorgeous and was a lot of fun. I saw my first temples along the streets of the market which were immaculate. There were many Monks around them and they lead a chant throughout the evening inside one of the temples which a couple friends and I sat in on a portion of. It was great to experience the energy and calamity inside the temple while the chant was taking place. Tomorrow is our first full orientation day which we will use to discuss classes as well as begin our Thai Language class! There is a dinner planned at night and the following day I hear we will be staying out for a meditation retreat.

Almost There

Beijing airport
Coke & Yuan (thanks Pirreras for the money!)
Hey everyone! I am in Beijing sitting at the gate for my departure to Bangkok. My first two flights went well and I hope the same goes for the next two! Originally, I was scheduled to fly from Philadelphia to Beijing with a connection in Chicago but last night my flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Chicago. Thanks to my dad for calling me as soon as he heard about the cancellation! I called to reschedule my flight and they directed me through San Francisco to Beijing; a smart move!

I was talking with a girl before the flight to San Francisco and we were coincidentally seated next to each other. It turns out she has worked a number of jobs in the Hospitality field and we had a nice talk on the flight about the Hospitality industry since it is my major. Just before landing, the pilot and crew talked her into playing her acoustic guitar over the intercom on the plane. It was a lot of fun and helped the flight end on a nice note for everyone and I’m sure it was worth it for her to be able to say she played her guitar 40,000 feet in the air!

My flight from San Francisco to Beijing was the longest flight I have had, although, it didn’t feel that long. The twelve hour trip was sped up with quite a few hours of napping as well as a couple movies… can’t go wrong with Jason Statham! We were also served a few meals during the flight which were actually pretty yummy. It is difficult to get comfortable in those seats, so aside from being a wiggle worm, the flight was generally pleasing.

According to my luggage tags and an airline employee, my luggage is being transferred after each flight to my new destination which means I don’t have to pick it up after each flight (even though I am flying different airlines). Whether this is correct information or not may be a different story. I’m hoping that I will be greeted by my bright orange suitcases at the baggage claim in Chiang Mai!

Almost there…

Love,
Ashley

Counting Down

Rambo in my suitcase
Sawatdee ka! I am counting down the days until I depart for Chiang Mai... twelve to be exact! Packing has turned into an overwhelming process so I just had some help getting it started! I have to make sure my luggage meets requirements for all three airlines I will be flying on.

I am looking forward to living and attending school in Thailand so I can learn about an entirely different culture first hand. I hope to meet many great people and become more in touch with myself in the process. I will be taking four classes through Payap University and one online through Fairleigh Dickinson. I will also be writing a field research paper throughout the semester for Lexia which is the program I applied through. Through Payap I will be taking Thai Studies, Thai Language, Arts of Southeast Asia, and Intercultural Understanding and through FDU I will be taking Professional Communication. Through this blog I hope to update you on what is going on throughout my trip. I will post many pictures and hope to hear from you all!

Love,
Ashley