Study Abroad in Thailand Summer 2014

http://www.longwood.edu/assets/studyabroad/Poster_2015-Thailand.pdf

Last year I decided to go on a study abroad trip before I left my college career, so I decided to go to Thailand with one of our Faculty in the Business School. Dr. Marks is the Study Abroad Coordinator for the University and she has gone on many trips such as Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Thailand. So I spoke with her about her trips and she recommended that I go on the two week trip to Thailand. I had never been out of the country before and she was excited just as much as I was. The closer the trip got the more excited I was getting, and I couldn't wait to get on that plane and explore a new territory. 

Once the time came, there was about 15 students that boarded a plane to Thailand for two weeks and we never looked back. This time was so exciting for me, but I couldn't wait to start this journey with people that I just met. For those two weeks, we did so much that I barely had time to sleep because we were always on to the next place. We toured the main capital of Thailand and many other cities on the out skirts of capital, which taught us the economic value and the way of life for these citizens. Life over in Thailand is completely different, we learned so much about the economic and industrial aspect of life that it was almost hard to see. We also were able to take a tour of many temples while we were there, so that way we could adapt to the culture and religion that people follow. 

The climate over in Thailand is drastically different than here in the US, when I first got off the plane everything was sticking to me because it was so humid. But we all soon learned that it would be a T-shirt and shorts weather for the rest of the trip. The food was absolutely delicious and I wish I could have brought it all back with me, but we did have cooking lessons one day. On that day we learned about five different classic dishes that Thai people make and we wrote all of the instructions down in a little cook book for us to take home. My favorite part about Thailand had to be the views everywhere we went there was something stunning to look at whether that be a building or a beautiful mountain in the background. My favorite place in Thailand that we visited had to be Krabi, because it was a beach area and the water was so beautiful. One day while we were in Krabi, we went canoeing through all of the islands and my breathe was blown away. 

Those two weeks flew by so fast and I met some great people while I was on that trip. I met some of my greatest friends and I will never forget the time I went to Thailand while I was in college. Going to Thailand was the best decision I ever made and it made me want to travel the world so much more.