Okay since the last update a lot has happened. Actually I had 1 and a half amazing weeks. There was only one small thing which I will start with as I prefer to end on a positive note.
So starting with the small flaw: my coordinator would like for me to change host families for another time. There was something she didn't know about the host family before sending me there so she would like me to change for (hopefully) a final time.
Oh right and kind of just a side fact the last exchange student also arrived. So now we are 4: Iris (exchange student from Estonia), Oral (exchange student from America), Paula (teacher assistant from Germany) and me.
Now starting with the amazing week I had. I have to say I'm still working on taking pictures😋.
So it started on Tuesday the 5th with an English Camp that my school was hosting. We drove to the elementary school we were doing the Camp at. A lot of exchange students went there though mostly for representative purposes. It was still great to see some of them again and I also got to have fun with my friends and class that day.
After the Camp we drove to rice fields. First we learned how to plant rice and then the best part started.
They had a mud play part!!!! It was so much fun to play there and I would love to do it again sometime. I will definitely keep this day as one of my fondest memories.
In the evening I stayed over at Iris' host family's house and it was really nice. Her sister is super cute and they have 3 fish and a bunny.
On the next day (Wednesday) us exchange students and some other students from our school had a donation event for a swimming pool for the school.
Therefore we went to a market and were convinced to sing a few songs. But the most fun part was when we got to take a break. We were able to walk around the market to try different snacks. And even though I forgot their names they were amazing.
I also made some new Thai friends which is always fun. That night I stayed at my coordinator's house and played a lit with her youngest son. I got introduced to all the toys and invited to his restaurant.
Now after those 2 exciting but exhausting days I thought I would be back to a normal school day. Well not quite...
First of all we were visited by a German teaching assistant (TA) who was at our school in 2019. We went out to eat with her fro lunch (or rather 2nd lunch). In the evening it was planned that I would eat with her old host family as they had invited me (also because I get along with their daughter who is right now an exchange student in Germany).
Those plans had to sadly be canceled on a short note because the school director invited us to eat dinner with him. Which apparently hadn't happened to the other exchange students before.
We were very nervous in the beginning but he was very nice.
Now for Saturday the Paula, Iris and I decided to go to Bangkok. First we went to a park called Lumphini which is very beautiful and actually has a lot of exotic animals. After that we at breakfast before going to Siam.
Siam is kind of like the center of the city or at least were the most (connected) shopping malls are. It is a little bit more on the expensive side but we actually mostly went there to have fun. And for the food court which is amazing.
For fun we went into different shops. First we all tried on dresses in Zara before going to H&M. H&M was so amazing. First of all they have a Studio in there which you can book to for example record a podcast. But that wasn't the information we were most excited about. Apparently another H&M in another mall has a karaoke room which you can book.
Right as we were about to leave there was a fashion show or something. It was really fun to watch and the models seemed really nice. The waved a lot to us😊.
Before going back home we visited a kpop store and Paula and Iris both got 2 more ear piercings.
Now on Monday I went back to school and held a speech infront of 3000 people. I mean how many people can say of themselves that they held a speech infront of that many? It went pretty good and I was the only one who only had to say the speech in Thai so I was proud of myself.
After that we went to an English Camp at another school where I saw a lot of the exchange students again who I got along with very well. There was also this thing that the event wasn't very organized and we ended up with around 5 Santa Clauses and 5 female elves.
In other words kind of chaotic.
I also had 2 really extraordinarily amazing experiences this on the same week.
I first of all started learning the choreographies of the dance team and even though it is kind of confusing it is very fun. I also joined random students playing different games and I really like meeting new people. It really verifies that you don't necessarily need language to get along and play together.
I also ate Ramen at a 7/11 because my host aunt told me to eat before going home. I ate with Paula and when we returned to school there were some students who know me (I couldn't recognize them😭). But they were so sweet and gave me a bracelet they made for me. I'm really so so so grateful.
Now some other things that happened is that I actually know a whole traditional Thai dance (which I'm very impressed by I must say). It still looks kind of funny but I mean they want to share their culture and I would like to learn about it.
I did say I was going to write about culture shocks I experienced but because I'm tired and I've been working on this blog for days I'm going to try to keep this rather short. Let's say maybe around five.
• The usage of straws: So where ever you order a drink (be it a restaurant or the canteen) you always get a straw. A lot of Thais even use a straw to drink out of bottles.
• Human sized human paper stands: normally pretty much every 2nd store in a mall has a paper person standing infront of it.
• School: phones, eating, sleeping, copying answers everything is allowed in school. The teachers normally don't really care.
• If you go to a restaurant the waiter might stand at your table and wait until you are ready to order. I still feel a little uncomfortable when that happens because I feel like I have to choose fast.
• The dependence of students on their parents 90% of students get driven to school and taken home from school.
• Kitchens: So they use gas stoves and usually don't have ovens.
• The amount of food eaten: a lot of Thais pretty much snack the hole day. I believe for the reasons to be that the meals here aren't truly filling
Random pictures:
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