After waiting for about one month since my name was nominated as one of the 15 participants who would be participating in Pre-service Student teacher Program in Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University Thailand, the day that I’d been waiting for finally came. That’s the day when I would step my feet on different country and that’s the day when amazing moments would begin in my life. I never imagined before that I could join this awesome program. I felt kind of nervous and excited because I am so passionate about joining the program and also visiting the country. It always becomes my dreams to join this kind of program because I can gain countless new valuable insight, experience, knowledge, get to know with extraordinary people from many different backgrounds and adapt in new environment. This undeniably allows me to open up my mind, become a global citizen and of course this is gonna be a stepping stone for me that will lead me to a brighter future.
Welcome to My Stories about my best experience here in Thailand. Hopefully you can enjoy and give you new understandings.
It’s right on 6 January I would be flying to Thailand. The program would start on 7 January actually, but I had to come one day beforehand. I had prepared everything that I would need one day before my departure such as flight tickets, clothing, money, food, and so on. There are only two students from my university who are assigned in Thailand and the rest are assigned in The Philippines. The two are me and my friend named Cicha.
There were no direct flights from my city to Thailand, so Instead of just transiting in Malaysia, we decided to stay there for 3 days. Thus, we left Indonesia earlier on 4 January. We went around in Kuala Lumpur and visited tourist destinations and our relatives who are living there.
3 days run so quickly and our time in Malaysia finally ended. At 3 pm we must have been in the airport because our flight was scheduled at 5.10 pm. We made an appointment to meet in KL Central at 12 pm and went together to the airport by bus.. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any problems and delay. We departed from KLIA2 right on the scheduled time and landed in Don Mueang International Airport at 6.30 pm. During my flight I couldn’t sleep even if I felt sleepy. That was because I felt so happy and impatient to meet my buddies, mentors and other exchange participants. I was always thinking about it.
When the plane had been above the land of Thailand, I kept looking at the outside view from the window. I saw the flat land full of buildings, roads and industries and those were really nice. I couldn’t believe that in a few minutes I would step my feet on the country who is famous for its tourist destinations. I’ve ever read in an article that read Thailand has the most visitors in Southeast Asia and included in the top 10 visited countries in the world. I also read some facts about Thailand such its customs, cultures and some expressions in Thai like self-introduction, how to say good morning, afternoon and so on.
While we were lining up in the immigration, we saw two girls wearing hijab and we believed that they are also the participants from Indonesia. We greeted them and asked why they come to Thailand. In fact, our assumption was true; even they are also assigned in the same university as us. Their names are Mia and Fannisa. They come from Indonesia University of Education. Then, we walked together out and once we passed the exit way, we saw some people holding a paper that read ‘SEA Teacher’. We approached them and in fact they are our buddies and mentor. We were so glad to meet them and got to know one another. Unluckily, we didn’t take pictures of this moment because the other participants who arrived earlier had waited for us. We hurried up, got in a mini-bus and went to the university.
It took about 25 minutes only from the airport to the university. Everything that I saw on the way had been different especially the words written on the walls of buildings, billboard and etc. which I don’t understand at all. The weather felt colder and the city is bigger than my home city. I kept staring at the view outside the window of the car. The traffic seemed normal.
In the bus, our mentor warmly welcomed us and asked few things about us like our flight, how we are feeling right now, etc. Her name is Aj. Thanatporn. At the first time, I thought she was one of our buddies because she looked very young. She is so kind and friendly. Once we arrived in our dorm, we were given dinner. It’s food consisting of yellow rice and chicken. I really like it and its taste is almost the same as the food in my town.
Then, one of the buddies gave me the key room and he told me that my roommate would arrive at midnight. I entered my room and it looked so nice and clean. There are two beds, two cupboards, two tables, one fan and one bathroom. I felt convenient living there. I asked the buddy to connect my phone with university WIFI because I haven’t bought sim card. Afterward, I notified my home university mentor and my parents that I have already arrived. They were so glad. I set my alarm at 4.40 because I need to pray and after that I went to bed.