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The purpose of this website is to display a few aspects of my experience studying in Thailand as a Fleet Scholar. I have and still am learning a lot about myself through living in Thailand. I stand in constant fascination of humanity-- how people can be so different and yet the same. As they often say in Thailand, we are "same same but different". While I certainly cannot expect to fit a foreign culture, six months, and new friendships into a webpage, I hope you are able to catch a glimpse of what this opportunity to live abroad has meant to me. If you have any questions, comments, or insights, please feel free to contact me by email at beth.west@gatech.edu. Thanks for visiting!
My name is Beth West and I am a thrid year Environmental Engineering major at Georgia Tech. I am from St. Augustine, Fl, though I am currently (until December 9, 2008) residing in the city of Rangsit, in the province of Pathum Thani, in the Kingdom of Thailand (about a 45 minute drive north of Bangkok). Academically, my major interests are sanitation and water quality and supply, so it is quite enlightening to live in a country where you cannot drink the tap water and toilets usually don't flush themselves (I have an odd fascination with different types of toilets). I have a few hobbies, most of which I have temporarily abandoned, turning to new passtimes, such as running, reading, harmonica, and most recently woodcarving. Rice was my favorite food before I came to Thailand, so I'm pretty much a happy camper over here where rice is such a staple that the verb meaning "to eat a meal" (ginkhaao) translates literally to "eat rice".
I am studying at Thammasat University, which was founded in 1934 as the University of Moral Science and Politics. It is the second oldest university in Thailand and has a history of political activism, as its original title might suggest. It has a total of 4 campuses, though I have only been to 2 of them. The main campus, Taprachan, is located at the heart of Bangkok and was the site of an historic and fatal demonstration in the 1970s. I have only been to the main campus once so far to participate in the festivities surrounding the annual graduation ceremony. I study at the Rangsit campus which is much more modern looking and spread out. Though chronic deterioration due to the Asian Economic Crisis (of the late 1990s) has left scars throughout campus, the campus remains quite beautiful and peaceful. Most classes at Thammasat are taught in Thai (though not all), but many students speak English quite well.
The Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) is a quasi-independent institute of Thammasat University founded in partnership with other institutes in 1994, simply as the International Institute of Technology. In 1997, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej graciously granted the institute it's current name, after Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Though much younger and smaller than Georgia Tech, SIIT has many similar traits. The most endearing similarity made me feel at home right away. At orientation, they sat all new students in a large auditorium and proceeded to give the speech about the fabled "look to your left, look to your right" speech. Mind you, they didn't give the fabled speech, just as they no longer give it at Tech, but they gave the speech about how things aren't like that anymore and they want you to succeed. It was almost word for word.
In its short lifetime, SIIT has become widely acclaimed throughout Thailand. Like Georgia Tech, it has developed a reputation as a solid engineering school. The engineering faculty is the most widely published engineering faculty in Thailand. More importantly, however, the faculty and staff are quite invested in their students. From the moment I walked into my first class and the professor greeted each student by name, it was evident that SIIT cares about its students. Furthermore (and for me, thankfully), they instruct in English at SIIT, as they want their students to be able to work in a globalized world, where English is quite often (but not always) the lingua franca. While at SIIT, I have had the chance to take courses focused on needs of low-income and developing areas, such as "Environmental Health and Sanitation" and "Urbanization and Urban Environment". Both courses address such problems with slight leanings towards the first person "us" rather than the thrid person "they" perspective, something I think would be difficult to find in most western institutes. Though different from Georgia Tech in many ways, I have come to appreciate the different teaching, learning, and problem-solving styles propogated here.
Despite the seemingly fast-paced nature of the urban environment, life just feels slower here. At first, I attributed it to the infinitesimal effects of relativity (we're closer to the equator, thus our linear velocity is increased and time must move just a little slower, right?). As I observed more and began to allow myself to assimilate into the culture (at least as much as I possibly can), I began to absorb the feeling: sabaai sabaai. It's a sense of well being, no rush, hakunamatata, and all that jazz. It really is contagious. Thai people, on the whole, are exceedingly generous, hospitable, patient people. It is evident in the respect they have for one another, as well as the number of smiles you see while walking down the street. Thailand is certainly not carefree, but that does not stop the atmosphere from exuding a sense of peace and enjoyment.
