Switzerland was well worth the aching behind, having sat on an aeroplane for what felt like a day, I was thankful to be greeted with such a warm welcome. Upon arrival we had a man help my friend with directions on which bus to take to his student housing, and a warm welcome from my hostess who came to greet me at Lausanne train station. The kind gestures always seemed to come my way, my neighbour in my apartment offering me slices of cake upon my first meeting with her.
I was fortunate to live just 10mins away from Lake Leman, and the view from my apartment verandah was tremendously beautiful. Unexpectedly, the summer in Switzerland was very, very humid, unlike anything I would have expected from what I had assumed was a cold country.This sadly meant having to take myself to swim in the local pool beside the lake, it was a tough existence. If I didn’t go swimming, my friends and I would have picnics in the park at Ouchy Olympique, and often treat ourselves with some tasty ice-creams. The parks had such a friendly atmosphere, with families setting up portable BBQs and stereos next to the lake. One afternoon, I happened to see a group of people swing dancing, something that seemed unlikely to occur out in public in my parks back home, but seemed to sum up the care-free, relaxed nature of the Swiss French people during the summer holidays.
The people I met in my language course came from all around the world, Russia, Syria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Argentina, Italy, Ethiopia, England, and much more. I was fortunate to befriend a couple of guys who had lived in Lausanne for some time and took me around the city one day as tour guides. It was great to witness the Notre Dame Cathedral and visit the natural history museum. Here is a photo of me posing next to the jaw of a whale, a size I couldn’t quite believe! Then one of my friends shouted us lunch at the Chinese restaurant where he works. All the while they speaking very good French, and me trying very hard to understand them, but very good practice nonetheless.
I couldn’t quite get over the sheer beauty of Switzerland, for anywhere you looked you would see flowers blooming. It occurred in boxes sitting upon windowsills in apartment blocks, at the railway station or along my walk to the university. The vineyards, near Pully were particularly spectacular, but tobogganing at Oeschinensee surrounded by the snow-capped mountains was one of my favourite experiences.
Ending my trip trying fondue and raclette, particular cheese delicacies of the Swiss, was the best way to complete my overseas adventure. Delectable, and a few kilos heavier but a very content soul, I sadly returned to the airport, prepared for the aches, but second time not so bad. Perhaps it was a result of the extra padding!
My journey with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) started about 6 months out from my actual travels when I applied to be accepted into the subject ‘Cyberlaw’ as part of their intensive Summer School program. Knowing LSE was in the top 10 law schools worldwide, it was a nervous few weeks waiting for the confirmation email offering me a place on the course.
It did not take long for July to roll around and I was on my way to London. As I set off on my (long) flight, I felt a combination of nerves and excitement – how would I cope with an intensive law subject at one of the world’s most prestigious universities 17,000km from home?
On arrival in London, I was greeted with a typical summer day – cool, wet and cloudy 🙂 It did not take long to suss out the underground Tube network and I was on my way to meet with my friend and roommate (who was also undertaking a subject at LSE) at our Airbnb accommodation in the West London suburb of White City.
The day before classes started, we attended registration at the LSE campus, which is located in the heart of London at Holborn – right next door to the Royal Courts of Justice. It was only a 15 minute tube ride from our accommodation, and very easy to find. The location itself is quite law-focused, with many lawyers and law firms close by due to the proximity of the Courts.
The LSE campus is spread out over a few blocks and borders the beautiful Lincoln’s Inn Fields – a great little park to join locals in for lunch. My classroom was located in the New Academic Building, which was modern and well-equipped.
As I made my way into my first day of class, I saw about 50 other nervous, yet smiling faces. It wasn’t long before I was chatting with law students from around the world, including Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Italy, Canada and Ecuador (just to name a few). All were at a similar stage of their law degrees and all were just as nervous about undertaking a subject at LSE. In addition to everybody’s friendliness, I was particularly impressed with the ability of many of the students who were undertaking the course with English as their second language.
Our lecturer, Professor Andrew Murray, greeted the class with his cheerful Scottish accent, and it did not take long to see why he is regarded a world leader in the field of cyber law. He was engaging, knowledgeable and experienced in the subject area and presented the topics in a manner which was easy to understand and able to be applied to real-life scenarios.
The format for the Cyberlaw subject was Monday – Thursday, with a lecture each morning for 3 hours and a tutorial in the afternoon for 1.5 hours. The morning lecture was conducted with the entire Cyberlaw cohort (about 50 people), which was then broken into smaller groups for the tutorials – consisting of about 15 students. My tutor was Mark Lieser, a PhD candidate who was a wealth of knowledge and engaged the class in insightful discussions, activities and debates. Tutorials were also a great opportunity to get to know my classmates better and discuss the similarities/differences between the legal jurisdictions around the world.
Living in London was an amazing experience. I found that staying in an Airbnb accommodation gave me the opportunity and freedom to live like a local and truly experience what it is like to be a Londoner – even if only for a few weeks.
The one (and only) ‘heatwave’ of the summer (32 degrees) lasted only a few days and it was good to have some sunshine in between London’s grey skies.
The diverse cultures that populate London make it a great place for sampling amazing food from around the world. Their pub culture also allowed for some fun times getting to know your classmates after we had finished classes for the week.
London also has a great suburban scene and each area has its own feel. I really enjoyed Notting Hill, Soho and Shoreditch. London is also jam-packed with historical tourist sites such as Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Big Ben and the London Eye – all of which are amazing to see in real-life.
While time for social activities was somewhat limited with the intense workload, being so close to Europe was an amazing advantage. I was lucky enough to find time to get away to Edinburgh, Scotland for the weekend, which was a great experience. Other students found time to duck over to Europe to places such as France and Spain for the weekend – some even taking in the final stage of the Tour de France.
While the study was intense, and knocking out a 2000 word essay by the second week and a closed-book exam in the third week was challenging, it was achievable and rewarding. The subject content was interesting and well-taught, and has allowed me to bring back knowledge to Australia in an emerging area of law.
Overall, travelling to London and attending LSE was an extremely rewarding and worthwhile experience. I have no doubt that attending this course has placed me in a better position to tackle the tough legal job market next year and has given me an experience that I will remember for a lifetime.
My decision to do the summer school program at the London School of Economics and Political Science was one of a personal challenge. Doing a three-week intensive course on the laws and functioning of the European Union on a semester break probably wouldn’t be on most university students list of things to do and I did underestimate how much work would be actually involved. Normally, my contact hours for my double degree at UTS are around 10 hours per week however at LSE it was 4 and a half hours per day: a 1.5 hour tutorial in the morning followed by a 3 hour lecture in the afternoon, accompanied with required readings every day, 2 assignments and an exam to finish the course. Automatically I thought to myself, Sarah you are way in over your head especially since I hadn’t done a written exam since the HSC. Unlike a lot of the other programs BUiLD ran this break, I was the single representative of UTS at LSE – I have done a lot of travelling alone so I wasn’t nervous going into the course. But as the course progressed and probably not to the surprise of those who know my Swiss ‘do everything early’ work ethic it turned out to be a month of, to quote Kylie Jenner ‘realising things’.
The London School of Economics is situated in the heart of London; a five-minute walk to the theatre district, Soho and Piccadilly Circus. It was a 20 minute ride on the infamous London tube from where I was staying in West Kensington. My days began this way, learning to always get the second train as it wouldn’t be as full as the first. Followed by training every morning in the LSE student unions gym – besides the usual confused male gaze of a girl lifting heavy weights, it was my routine to prepare myself for the long day of learning.
Having only three weeks to scratch the surface of the EU was intense. My usual work ethic is that I start an assignment 4-6 weeks before its due and have it done minimum 1 week before its due date. Having only a week to do an essay worth 20% and a week to study for an exam that was worth 80% was something that made me realise how much I am actually capable of.
It wasn’t all work though, I made sure I had time to do things that had always made my time in London before so much fun. Going to see Phantom of the Opera, eating at a multitude of Vegan restaurants, spending hours at Camden markets and even training with some British powerlifters made my time even more enjoyable than I imagined.
In terms of studying, I couldn’t have chosen a more perfect time to study the EU in London because right in the middle of the course was the UK’s referendum on whether to remain in EU. Being actually in the capital city of a country divided on whether or not to stay within the EU and learning from academics involved with the EU was unparalleled to any learning experience I have had. To wake up the morning of the results in complete shock at the decision and gathering around the radio to listen to David Cameron’s resignation speech due to the leave vote was being part of history.
Within 24 hours London dramatically changed; with the people of London’s constituency voting remain, the shock of the decision was felt immediately. As the day progressed so much was happening; the multitude of resignations from the Labor party, calls for a second referendum as well as the overall concern for the future of the United Kingdom itself with calls for London itself as well as Scotland to leave the UK. There wasn’t the same rushed vibe on the tube, no one was talking or reading the papers. The city was in disbelief and our lecturer himself said that ‘academics now need to do soul searching’.
I received an overall A for my work and that is something I am so proud of. My time in London was something I won’t forget; whether it be from what I achieved in terms of education or just for my overall well-being, it was an experience that will stick with me
China. It’s not the first place you think of when asked “Where would you like to go for an internship about human rights protection?”
Although the Chinese government does not have an outstanding reputation when it comes to protecting its citizens human rights, Chinese lawyers are the exact opposite. Working within the system to enforce the rule of law, often at the risk of their own liberty, made me decide that a 4 week internship in Beijing would be an unmissable opportunity to learn about human rights protection in a foreign context. And I was right!
I had the great privilege of interning at Zhicheng Public Interest Law, the largest non-government provider of legal aid in China. Established in 1999 by Tong Lihua, a lawyer and alumni of UTS, it is also the oldest local, Chinese NGO that focuses on children’s rights protection.
Working in the Zhicheng office somewhat mirrored the experiences I have on Beijing’s streets. It’s slightly chaotic and everyone is doing something, but you can also somehow weave through it all. Working with interns from across Australia, USA, France and China added to the fun and the different things you’d learn while working. In between researching child protection measures in different jurisdictions, conversations would veer into discussions of the intricacies of US laws on gun ownership and abortion like a modified Chinese scooter – risky to an outsider, but all part of the experience.
At the office, we overcame language barriers over shared meals and office spaces, making after work plans to get delicious dumplings and snag bargains at the markets.
The internship held an additional meaning for me, as an international studies student currently completing my in-country study in China. While I’m already accustomed to the language and culture here, the internship provided me with an opportunity to get to know another side of China – the professional, legal side. Not only did it help me get back in touch with my other – law student – side, but I also had the chance to practice my language skills in a range of contexts, from translating case notes for my fellow interns, to chairing our presentation forum in Mandarin!
Completing the internship not only helped me improve my legal research, writing and presentation skills, but it also helped me understand the challenges of running a non-governmental organisation. Zhicheng relies mostly on grants and sponsorship to operate, and like most legal aid centres around the world, is underfunded and understaffed for the work it does. Most of the lawyers do not speak English, and the poor internet service becomes the least of your worries when trying to overcome communication barriers. It’s crazy to imagine these problems on a daily basis, while making sure that you’re still abiding by Party policy!
I am incredibly grateful for my time in Zhicheng, for both the fantastic colleagues and friends I’ve met, and the skills I’ve learned. I feel very privileged to also be able to share these experiences, and be able to criticise the problems and challenges I’ve found the legal profession faces in China – something that I’ve taken for granted in Australia. I encourage other students considering a trip overseas to chose an unconventional and challenging site like Zhicheng in China – where just because the country doesn’t have a reputation for friendliness or a great human rights record, doesn’t mean that there aren’t dedicated people working to improve it!
It was a challenging decision to join the program, wasn’t sure how it will turn out. There were so many questions in my head, I was worried till the moment I have arrived to the airport.
For the first day, we went to explore the night markets around the KMUTT. I loved the fruit, freshly served and affordable. The food was great too, but I preferred the fruit and ice Thai milk Tea, most of us would drink two or three cups a day.
We learned about Nano technology, which was very interesting topic as it can be used in different fields of science even in food science. Khao Mak is a Thai dessert that uses fermentation process, and we had so much fun making it.
The grand palace was huge and beautiful, the building’s architectural design was linking the past to the present it was fascinating, even the smallest details was beautifully designed. The whole place was surrounded with walls full of paintings, these paintings was a story consisting of 300 episodes, a tale of war and love, a tale of good and bad, these tales are taught in the schools. The museum was great too, containing all these beautiful statuses of Buddha and the history of the royal family, most of the royal family belongings were made of pure gold.
We also visited the ‘All Green learning Center’ (AGLC), which was one of the most interesting places I visited. The place was built from natural and organic ingredients, some form the local practice and some using science, it’s a beautiful creation from Science and nature, the place has its own harmony, peacefulness and relaxing vibe. The founder is an Engineer, who put so much effort and done so much research to make this center, he showed us the harmony that a human can live with nature. He made what is thought as difficult, possible, using his research and understanding of nature and science.
During this trip I had the chance to meet an elephant for the first time and the experience was amazing, to be so close and be able to feed and touch him was wonderful. The elephants we saw were part of an organisation, the founder of the organisation was explaining how the people use to live with elephants and what it meant to Thai people in the past and how now some have become so greedy to end the life of an animal only for its Ivory, which creates a big threat and risk for the future of the elephants.
This trip gave me some of the best experiences and memories, that I will cherish forever and remember it was a journey of a life time.
From the moment we stepped beyond the threshold of the boeing’s cabin doors, we were greeted with relentless, incessant humidity that clung like a second skin. Over the successive 2 weeks, I grew to ardently love the dampness so unfamiliar from the dry oven-like climate that I had only ever known in Australia’s summers. I assume the change in weather was without a doubt the very first characteristic of this foreign land everyone noticed upon arrival.
Unfamiliarity was rampant for the majority of the former half of our Thailand experience. Unknowns strewn and embedded down to the smallest of notions around us. Unfamiliar faces, Unfamiliar sounds, when even the people we had flown over with were still somewhat of an enigma to us. And with the unknown, fear inevitably threatens to come hand in hand. It was all very new, shiny and by 8pm, clustered into the back of a taxi with all of our bulk and luggage, we were already immersed knee-deep in so much culture. How do I even begin to describe such an experience?
I am no stranger to Asia and it’s diversity in cultures, having flown back and forth since I was a child, visiting relatives and going on exchanges. Buddhism is always a welcome constant across the majority of Asia, and visiting the temples and paying my respects always evokes a familiarity like I’m closer to home, closer to my culture no matter where I am.
That isn’t to say I wasn’t absolutely enthralled by the Thai design. Temples were lined in gold and coloured stones and truly reminded you that you were standing in highly revered, royal, sacred ground.
KMUTT was a truly enjoyable experience. I loved how welcome and warm everyone was, how lovely the accommodation was, how accessible culture was, just outside the main entrance; we were in a perfect location surrounded by what only could have been the inspiration for “the land of smiles”.
Making friends has never been so easy. The bonding experience began immediately and the days that followed were spent in bliss as everyone got used to each other with cooperative planning with every night we went out, navigating around the city, playing group games on buses between excursion sites and looking out for each other in a foreign country with foreign laws and customs.
I will never forget the endless mass of land that surrounded us sitting in the steamy heat on a country train up north of Bangkok to see the Buddha ruins, how many hawkers and street vendors lined nearly every path, the majesty of elephants, the utter ecstatic excitement that came with talking a mere stroll down Koh San Road or even just how beautiful the city of Bangkok looked from my balcony at night.
A truly valuable opportunity, which landed me with some very good friends, a widened perspective on Asia, immersion into Thai culture, real world experience, gorgeous polaroids and wonderful memories.
From the moment that I stepped out of Suvarnabhumi Airport and the wave of humidity hit me, I knew I was home. I haven’t been to Thailand in at least 5 years and when the email came through to study abroad for two weeks with BUILD, I jumped on the opportunity!
The entire experience was incredibly different from every other time I had been to Thailand because I relied on my relatives to translate for me, however, this time others were relying on me. My knowledge of the Thai language was definitely tested on a daily basis. On the first night a group of us went out for dinner and when it came to ordering that’s when I realised I didn’t actually know the word for vegetarian, so I just resorted to saying no beef, chicken, pork, fish and prawns, but yes to salad. I managed to get the message through, but it was a struggle to say the least!
Personally I felt like classes on nano materials weren’t very relevant to me and would’ve been more beneficial to the engineering students, however, it was interesting to learn something new. These classes started early in the morning, but that didn’t stop us from exploring the wonders of Bangkok.
Over the two weeks I’m pretty sure I went shopping 12 out of the 14 days; the only 2 days I didn’t go shopping were because we went on a field trip. Luckily after all that shopping I just managed to stay under my 30kg baggage limit on the way back to Sydney!
Attending a Thai cooking class with 9 other UTS students was honestly one of the highlights of my trip. The chef was so engaging that we were just hanging off her every word as she explained the different ingredients and methods involved in Thai cuisine. A few of us may have misjudged our spice tolerance, or lack of really.
One of my favourite activities organised for us was the Muay Thai class, I mean it’s very therapeutic to punch and kick until you’re completely exhausted. Also I truly believe that elephants are my spirit animal and being able to interact with them at Khao Yai National Park was truly amazing.
I was lucky to make some amazing friends on this trip and because of all of our adventures together, I will cherish the memories made in Thailand forever.
I’m walking onto the UTS campus for the start of a new spring semester still riding my holiday high. One look at the UTS library and my dream finally comes to an ends. Thailand was a good dream, not the kind where it’s all fluffy clouds and candy flowers, but more like a fast paced dream with late night racing and strange noises. A kind of dream with aged women in pointed striped hats selling riddles in the shape of bracelets. Skinny men that speak in pops to lure you towards plush red drapes hiding a magical act. Somber people selling tarantulas and scorpions on a stick, do you dare to eat? I’m saying yes you should.
Studying in Thailand was such a great experience for me. The start of the trip was the only hard part. It was stressful having to worry about studying for my final exams and scrambling to get things in order to fly overseas.
Once we landed in the thick humidity of Bangkok I forgot all of my worries. It was mesmerizing at every turn, starting with the taxis, they have no rules on the road and it seems like everyone has somewhere to be and NOW. I traveled from Sydney with a group and no one I was with had ever been to Thailand or spoke the language so we bumbled our way through the city, but thankfully ended up on the doorstep of a nice hotel.
The next day we made way to the Heliconia House on KMUTT campus. It was way better than the dorm rooms I was expecting. We had everything we needed like linens and toiletries at our disposal, and a nice view of the city.
The actual class experience was ok, much better than sitting in a lecture here. Physics and Nanotechnology are not my thing, but who cares I’m in Thailand. The lecturers that instructed us during our study were all so nice and the kind of people who are enthralled with what they teach and their projects. It wasn’t just us studying either, we had many Thai students in our group who helped us figure things out. I loved meeting the Thai students, they were genuinely nice people and I’m pretty sure they got a kick out of us saying Thai phrases totally wrong. I felt that because we had local people to help guide us around and tell us about thing to do we really got to experience Bangkok. I felt like a local by the end of the trip and was proud of my new KMUTT student ID.
My favorite part was the field trips we took to the All Green Learning Centre and the Elephant Conservation Centre. I was able to learn about green architecture and how some people are really fighting the fight for nature to be revered like it should be. Seeing the elephants up close and personal was something I will cherish forever. If you’ve never seen an elephant up close, let me tell you, they are much bigger than you think. Their main focus was the corn we were feeding them, but they happily had us pet their noses and sit on their backs to pose for pictures.
The best thing about this trip is the food and the friends you make. I ate like a king while in Bangkok, having a main meal and an entrée, all for the cost of 4$ Australian. If you get a chance dine on the wacky delicacies too. The peppered crickets are pretty good if you can get past them staring at you, and scorpion claws taste like BBQ potato chips. The people on this trip were fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to experience Thailand with.
My advice for you is to extend your plane ticket and stay to do some more traveling after the studying period. At this point you honestly feel like you have a good grasp of Thai culture and it is really amazing to get outside of the big city of Bangkok to see rural life.
I find myself now, back in Australia, thinking about and reflecting on my experience. At first, a few memorable moments come to mind; sitting by Lake Geneva, enjoying the sun with friends and food; enjoying the view from a cable car, as it slowly ascends a mountain; dipping my feet into an icy lake, well deserved after a long hike. The memories I’ve made, and the things I have experience have left me with this sense of completion. The trip was whole, nothing was left unfinished, and nothing left to regret not doing.
I remember feeling anxious on my first day at the University of Lausanne. I scanned the room, taking in the colourful detail of the other students around me as I wondered which ones I would become close to. We had a language assessment that day, it was engaging and highly interactive. Once classes had begun on the second day, friendships were quickly made. After class we would grab our things and hurry off on the metro into town to quickly buy the necessary items for a picnic. Each would bring something and as we shared what we had brought, and laughed in the setting sun.
The classes weren’t like regular classes. They weren’t stand and deliver but instead were very focussed on developing communication skills rather than memorising grammatical structures and vocabulary. There was a lot of opportunity for students to express themselves and develop a degree of comfort and fluidity to their speech. My class had students from all over the world. This provided an unparalleled insight into the lives and cultures of other students like myself. Some were older, with children that were sometimes brought into class, and others were younger, still in high school. The diversity of the classroom was one of my favourite aspects of the course. It encouraged us to go beyond in regards to communication, there was an increased emphasis on how to communicate rather than what we are communicating.
Of course this trip wasn’t just picnics and classes. I did take some time for myself to explore Switzerland and its culture. One weekend I left Lausanne and got the train to Geneva to stay for the weekend. There I went to see the UN at the Palais des Nations, the headquarters of the World Health Organisation and Doctors without borders, as well as the International Museum of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. This was all in one day as these locations are all close by, Geneva is a small city with a big global story. On the second day, I explored Geneva old town, saw the location where the Geneva Convention was signed, and enjoyed the landscape by the shore of Lake Geneva. Closer to Lausanne, I went to the Montreux Jazz Festival with some friends one weekend as well. After class one day, some friend and I got the train to Bern where we then got another train to Kandersteg. Here we went on some toboggans at the top of a mountain. This was a good day.
My experiences in Switzerland will stay with me forever, the friendships I made are strong and I hope I stay in regular contact with them. This BUiLD abroad experiences has broadened my horizons and opened my eyes to the wider world out there. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity and I hope the skills I have picked up stay with me for life.
31st July 2016. This marks the end of probably the most adventurous month that I have experienced to date. I wasn’t in Thailand for too long, in fact, it has only been two weeks. It still doesn’t seem like it though, because it felt like I was there for an entire semester. Within the short two weeks that I was there, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, none of which related to being homesick though. In fact, I was enjoying myself so much that it felt like I just belonged there (well, apart from the language barrier).
I arrived on the Saturday night. More precisely, on the 2nd July. That was the first night that I, along with a few others, experienced the feeling of being ‘stranded’. Reason being that our accommodation site was a 30 minute taxi ride from the city, and there were no train stations nearby. So pretty much, most of the taxi drivers wouldn’t drive us back unless we paid twice the amount of the usual price. Sounds a lot doesn’t it? But it only adds up to a total amount of $8-10 and that’s considered DOUBLE the price of the original!
Most of the fun started on the Sunday though. We went on a little journey to the Floating Markets, and as its name says, consisted of many boats on the side of the dock where people would cook their food on. As soon as we entered the vicinity, we were greeted by the sight of many stalls and lots of people, but the smell of the food immediately attracted our attention and so we tried a great range of Thai food.
Monday was the official orientation where we were welcomed by really friendly Tutors and Thai students. At first, I wasn’t sure how everything would turn out because people were in their own groups due to the cultural barrier, however, it wasn’t long until everyone began mingling with each other and the vibe was just great!
From the next day onwards, the real work began. The surprising thing is that, also most of us were studying either Environmental Science, Biomedical Sciences, and Marine Biology, we were given a syllabus which consisted only of physics! At first I was pretty shocked, as I thought this would have been based of environmental science subjects, however, the physics subjects ended up being quite practical, enabling us to understand concepts more easily.
In between some days, we would have the Thai cultural classes. The first one consisted of a Muay Thai class. I remember that day being extremely humid! And to top it off, it was pouring once our class ended! The lesson was actually pretty fun, some people seemed to have a talent in this field as we watch each other spar against the instructors towards the end of the class, even though it was their first time doing this form of art! I met a really nice Thai girl that day. Apparently, people said that we kind of looked like each other, and throughout the trip, there were even some who even said we looked like sisters. Guess I was already starting to fit right in!
We also had two Thai language classes. The first one consisted of a few greeting phrases. It was a bit concerning when they didn’t teach us about the Hongnam. I thought that was one of the first things that people learn when in a foreign country. In that same lesson, we also had a competition and separated into three teams. We had to create a basket of Thai sticky rice pudding. The main part of this activity was the wrapping of the rice using banana leaves. Unfortunately, we did not win. The second day of the language class, we learnt to count numbers! I think I nailed that one, but only because I had a Thai friend who taught me how to count numbers on the bus just the day before because we had nothing better to do. We were also given the opportunity to make Thai dessert !
The field trips that we went on were more than amazing, and I really could not have asked for more. It was everything and beyond my expectations! It consisted of visiting the Grand Palace to eating local food around the area, visiting a winery as well as canning factory for fish. It was unfortunate that we were unable to take pictures on site because it was pretty fascinating seeing everything being done in front of you. But if there’s one thing to know about the canning factory, cats get a bigger portion than humans.
During our study period, two days consisted of going to an urban part of the country, approximately 3 hours away from the university. On those days, we studied at the All Green Learning Centre (AGLC), a place where they conduct research on using natural and biodegradable products as an alternative to using exhaustible material and non-biodegradable products. On that day, we were provided statistics and the estimation of how many ‘worlds’ it would take to sustain a country. We also learnt a little about construction engineering. This was because both the Engineering students and Science students were together for these two days. The instructor told us that all the accommodation buildings were made in a slightly different way, for experimental purposes. This including using Magnesium oxide as a material in one of the buildings and comparing it to using Calcium carbonate in the other building. Can you guess which building had a lower temperature? Buildings were also faced in different directions for some, also to compare temperature purposes. One of the other things which I had learnt which would probably be very beneficial in their climate is the lining of aluminium foil on the roofs of the buildings as a form of reflective insulation. According to the instructor, this would decrease the temperature of the building by a significant amount during hot days (which is pretty much almost everyday).
On our journey back to the university, we stopped by the Elephants Research and Conservation site, a place where they conduct research on elephant population as well as ways to stop elephants from becoming a victim to poaching. They also hold education centres for youth in hopes for them to take on the role of helping endangered elephants and repopulation.
I probably missed out on quite a few chunks of information, but that was mainly what happened during the two weeks.
As for the time we had outside of lectures which was about 4pm+, I would generally spend my days going to various night markets with the help of a few locals. In fact, one of them was kind enough to take us to a nearby shopping centre! How lucky were we! That day was one of my highlights because I had the best pad thai. Literally. The best. That day I met a few other people, and I must say, was the start of many more adventures throughout the two weeks because they took us out on quite a few nights.
From going to the Floating markets for food, to the Chatuchak markets for shopping it was definitely a great market experience, especially with all the haggling. I loved going to Asiatique, definitely worth going to ! The tuktuks were really fun as a means to get from suburb to suburb. It’s like fast and furious for some of those crazy drivers. Imagine being on the back of a mini truck with tied plastic ropes for you to support yourself on and going faster than a car on a highway ! That’s how we managed to get to a sky bar from one of the markets !
Without the help of BUiLD and UTS and their partnership with KMUTT, I would not have had the amazing experience like I did this month. I have learnt much not only academically but also gained lifelong personal experiences, which will stick to me for as long as I can remember. Having met the many people who were once strangers to me, and knowing for a fact that I have made some lifelong friends, I am forever grateful of this opportunity. Throughout this entire journey, I was able to discover things that I did and did not know about myself, and for that, I thank you, and to everyone else who has created such a memorable experience for me.
