by Kelsey Stauffenberg
Thammasat University, Thailand
As I am coming to the end of my journey I am getting very nervous. So, I thought that I would share some insight I have found through my experience here. When you fall in love with a new country, it is hard to say good bye. You start to have thoughts like "What if I just never go home?" or "I cannot live in my country anymore, I have to keep traveling". I have struggled with these thoughts for the length of my trip and I have come to a conclusion. Though, a new experience is fun, you cannot forget about your home and your friends and family. How easily you forget the people you left back home who are missing you so very much and worry about you every day. I do not know if I could give up everything to go live across the world; I know it would hurt my family and put a lot of stress on them from worry. I went out with my friend from back home who now lives in Bangkok and works for jewelry television here. He told me all about his new life here, he has been here for a year. I was so proud of him when I got to see him speak the Thai language and navigate us around the city with ease. And he told me I should come teach English here and we could live together. I immediately said yes I would love to do that. But, after thinking about it, I realize that is a huge decision. And no matter how many thoughts and desires I have had to live some where else in the world, I just do not think I am ready for that big of a commitment. Yeah, I feel like when I get home I will struggle with the fact that I now know how great the experience is to see another part of the world and will now crave traveling. But, I know deep down I could not leave my friends and family, not at this point in my life. The lesson I learned was that no matter how alluring a new experience might be, you need to take time to think over such a huge decision like moving across the world. Because, once you have done it, it would be awfully hard to change your mind and undo it. My friend, Justin, loves it here and says he would not change it for the world. But, he was ready to start a good job and start his life on his own. I do not think I am quite so ready for all of that. Not to mention, Bangkok is a city. A city with crowded streets and large building and weird smells and public transportation that is a must to get around. I love nature and being outdoors in a field, in the mountains, in a river. In Bangkok, there just is not that much green space. I would miss just being outside, laying in the grass or climbing a tree too much to spend my life in a city I think. I also have had to get used to public transportation. In Knoxville, I use my car to get around and that is it. I do not take the bus, I rarely walk, and a bike is a fun way to pass the time, not a mode of transportation. Here they have buses that do not run a schedule and do not have designated stops. You get on the what ever bus you can find that goes toward the area you want to go and you tell the bus driver where you need to be dropped off. The taxis are a good way to get around but they can intentionally "get lost" so they can charge you more money; this usually happens to tourists new to the area. The sky tram is pretty cool, it will take you a long distance in a short time but there are no stations near my place so I have to take a taxi to the sky tram. It makes me laugh at how you have to get around; it is never just one quick ride or walk. You have to take a taxi to the sky tram then walk 4 blocks or take a bus to the train to the ferry and so on. And, one thing that I have had to get used to is the traffic rules. These are more like suggestions really. The motor bikes swerve in and out of traffic. The cars get into on coming traffic to get around slower cars. Absolutely no one stays in their lane. This same idea is applied to the side walk. YOu have to pay attention while walking because anything can come at you. A motor bike from behind or head on. A cart attached to a bike. Stray dogs they you absolutely do not want to come into contact with. That is another thing about the city here, there are many many stray animals. I am an animal lover myself so it is hard to see these poor creatures and not be able to do anything for them. Most of them are hurt, diseased, starving, and near death. It really saddens my heart but I have had to come to terms with it. I have had to get used to a lot of things here: the heat, the homeless begging for money, small children selling things to make a living for their family, all the walking while in extreme humidity, the slow pace of most Thai people, bargaining for about everything, and much much more. But, I it was not hard to get used to things things, it was a process that taught me a lot and I love that I have gotten to experience such a different culture. I am definitely scared about having to leave in just one short week.
Thammasat University, Thailand
As I am coming to the end of my journey I am getting very nervous. So, I thought that I would share some insight I have found through my experience here. When you fall in love with a new country, it is hard to say good bye. You start to have thoughts like "What if I just never go home?" or "I cannot live in my country anymore, I have to keep traveling". I have struggled with these thoughts for the length of my trip and I have come to a conclusion. Though, a new experience is fun, you cannot forget about your home and your friends and family. How easily you forget the people you left back home who are missing you so very much and worry about you every day. I do not know if I could give up everything to go live across the world; I know it would hurt my family and put a lot of stress on them from worry. I went out with my friend from back home who now lives in Bangkok and works for jewelry television here. He told me all about his new life here, he has been here for a year. I was so proud of him when I got to see him speak the Thai language and navigate us around the city with ease. And he told me I should come teach English here and we could live together. I immediately said yes I would love to do that. But, after thinking about it, I realize that is a huge decision. And no matter how many thoughts and desires I have had to live some where else in the world, I just do not think I am ready for that big of a commitment. Yeah, I feel like when I get home I will struggle with the fact that I now know how great the experience is to see another part of the world and will now crave traveling. But, I know deep down I could not leave my friends and family, not at this point in my life. The lesson I learned was that no matter how alluring a new experience might be, you need to take time to think over such a huge decision like moving across the world. Because, once you have done it, it would be awfully hard to change your mind and undo it. My friend, Justin, loves it here and says he would not change it for the world. But, he was ready to start a good job and start his life on his own. I do not think I am quite so ready for all of that. Not to mention, Bangkok is a city. A city with crowded streets and large building and weird smells and public transportation that is a must to get around. I love nature and being outdoors in a field, in the mountains, in a river. In Bangkok, there just is not that much green space. I would miss just being outside, laying in the grass or climbing a tree too much to spend my life in a city I think. I also have had to get used to public transportation. In Knoxville, I use my car to get around and that is it. I do not take the bus, I rarely walk, and a bike is a fun way to pass the time, not a mode of transportation. Here they have buses that do not run a schedule and do not have designated stops. You get on the what ever bus you can find that goes toward the area you want to go and you tell the bus driver where you need to be dropped off. The taxis are a good way to get around but they can intentionally "get lost" so they can charge you more money; this usually happens to tourists new to the area. The sky tram is pretty cool, it will take you a long distance in a short time but there are no stations near my place so I have to take a taxi to the sky tram. It makes me laugh at how you have to get around; it is never just one quick ride or walk. You have to take a taxi to the sky tram then walk 4 blocks or take a bus to the train to the ferry and so on. And, one thing that I have had to get used to is the traffic rules. These are more like suggestions really. The motor bikes swerve in and out of traffic. The cars get into on coming traffic to get around slower cars. Absolutely no one stays in their lane. This same idea is applied to the side walk. YOu have to pay attention while walking because anything can come at you. A motor bike from behind or head on. A cart attached to a bike. Stray dogs they you absolutely do not want to come into contact with. That is another thing about the city here, there are many many stray animals. I am an animal lover myself so it is hard to see these poor creatures and not be able to do anything for them. Most of them are hurt, diseased, starving, and near death. It really saddens my heart but I have had to come to terms with it. I have had to get used to a lot of things here: the heat, the homeless begging for money, small children selling things to make a living for their family, all the walking while in extreme humidity, the slow pace of most Thai people, bargaining for about everything, and much much more. But, I it was not hard to get used to things things, it was a process that taught me a lot and I love that I have gotten to experience such a different culture. I am definitely scared about having to leave in just one short week.