Having new friends is one of the main reasons why I am so eager to join this kind of program because I can meet extraordinary people who come from many different backgrounds. This allows me to learn a lot of things such as new cultures, thoughts, ways of life, and other unique things. In addition, I can build up a networking which is, of course, necessary for my future career. I believe that the more friends we have, the easier our lives will be.
There are 31 participants who are assigned in my receiving institution, Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University. 11 of them come from The Philippines and the rest comes from Indonesia including me. Surely, I am so grateful given a chance to meet all of them. The first ones that I already knew when I arrived in Don Mueang Airport are Mia and Fannisa. They are the students who come from Indonesia University of Education. I saw them when I was lining up in the immigration. I believed that they come from Indonesia because they wore Hijab. I greeted them and in fact my assumption was true.
In the first day (orientation day), I met with all of the participants. I like to make new friends. Thus, I tried to get to know with them while waiting for the event to start.. I greeted some of them and asked their name, where they come from and so on. I wanted to know all of them actually, but the time didn’t permit me to do so. Luckily, each of us was given a chance to introduce our selves after the committees and mentors had already introduced themselves. I tried to memorize their names because I think that it is important. All of them are exceptional students as I can see it from the way they introduce themselves.
I also get two buddies who will be accompanying me during my staying here for 1 month. Their names are Piyada and Arrisara, but they like to be called Pokie and Miew respectively. Both of them are English Department Students. Pokie is a smart and a very tall girl. She speaks English so fluently. Miew is a cute and also a smart girl. Both of them are really kind and friendly. They are always willing to help me anytime I need a help. They often ask me like “how was your day?”, “how are you?” and such. This is so meaningful for me because I really like when someone puts their attention on me. Just one day, we’ve got along one another.
Not only buddies, at school I also get to know with new teachers especially English teachers. The first one is my coordinating teacher. His name is Stephan. He comes from South Africa. He is a perfectly kind person that I’ve ever met. He always smiles to and gives me his best support to encourage me. There are three other English teachers that I know. They are Mrs. Kungtenz, Mr. Boy and Mrs. Swandi. All of them are very kind and friendly. They often told me to feel free to ask any help to them if I need it. To conclude, I am so grateful given a chance to know them all.
