In Thailand, there’s a phrase called ‘Thai Time’. It applies when Thai people do things in their own time – which I’ve realised happens quite a lot!
The first time I experienced ‘Thai Time’ was waiting for my acceptance letter from Thammasat University. Around one month before my planned departure, the letter finally came through. Phew!
I decided to study in Thailand because I wanted to study journalism in Asia, and Thammasat was one of the few options to do this. I’ve always wanted to go to Thailand anyway – I really love Thai food – so it worked out perfectly.
I arrived almost two weeks before the semester began to give myself some time to settle in and explore Bangkok. For the first week, I stayed right next to the famous Ratchada Rot Fai Night Market. Almost every night I went to this huge food market and tried something different. My favourite dishes were a spicy mango salad with fried fish, fried fish balls with chilli sauce, and an insanely spicy chicken noodle soup. If you can’t tell; I love spicy food so I’m in heaven here.
During the first week, I met my Thai buddy who showed me some of Bangkok’s must-see sights including The Grand Palace and Wat Pho. She also helped me buy my uniform, which I only have to wear for formal occasions like taking exams or going on tours with the university.
The next week I stayed at a hotel right on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, which is the main river in Bangkok. Located across from the Thammasat Tha Prachan campus, it was easy catching a ferry across the river to get to orientation classes. It was also right near a super authentic market called Wang Lang market, which was bustling with activity every day. I was often the only foreign person at the market!
Once all the orientation activities were complete, I had to move to the other campus, which is located around 45-minutes north of Bangkok. Most of the new friends I made stayed behind at the Bangkok campus which was tough, but fortunately I’ve become really good friends with the people who also study at the Rangsit campus.
So far, campus life at Rangsit has been really interesting. The Rangsit campus is huge and it has its own transport system to get people from class to class. I’ve had my first week of classes which were mostly just introductions to the courses. Next week, classes fully begin so I’ll let you know what they are like next time!
This student’s exchange is supported by funding from the Australian government’s New Colombo Plan. More information available here.
