Sawatdii kha!

Sawatdii kha!

This week has been a nice mix of fun and school. Last weekend the guys from AE organized a trip to Phi Phi Islands to break the ice, make new friends and to have fun. We ended up having a LOT of fun. After two days of dancing on the beach, relaxing in the sun, feeling seasick on a long tail boat and watching post card-like views, Monday came along way too fast.

Longtail boats

Maya bay at low tide

Fire show in Bora Bora (ex-Hippies)

From the sea

Monday morning started with International Economics. We fortunately only had a small test on economics so that our teacher could see how much we already knew about the subject (after which I headed back home to get some more sleep – Phi Phi weekends can be hard on you). Most of us didn’t have any background on economics so the course started on Thursday with the principles of economics. In the afternoon I had Human Resources Management class in which we got right to business and selected groups in which we would stay the whole duration of the course (in case nobody gets fired). Our group is really an international travel agency a cool name, a vision and a mission. Our job throughout the course will be to solve cases and do assignments as a company.

I also had Thai language and Business this week. In Thai language we’re advancing fast, learning how to order food and ask questions for example. We’ve also learned some really useful things about the culture and habits here. I definitely recommend this course because it makes life here a lot easier if you know few words in Thai. In our business class we’ve learned also a lot about Thailand and how do live and do business here. Our teacher has so many great real life stories to explain each point she is teaching. Hopefully we will later also get to visit some of the places and villages she does work in, helping people in need of help.

I find all the courses I selected very interesting although demanding; lots of group assignments, home work, tests and in addition there is 80% attendance requirement and in-class quizzes and cases. Very different from my home university where teaching is mostly only lectures and the responsibility of learning is left to the students. The teachers all seem very qualified and professional and speak good English (although in some cases the accent will require some getting used to). All in all, there will be a lot more to do than spend time by the pool, but on the other hand I expect I will learn tons about some really interesting topics.

I have school from Monday to Friday but mostly just one class (3 hrs) per day, so we’ve had time to do some shopping in Phuket Town and Patong Beach among other things. I’m definitely improving in haggling – although I’m still really bad at it. It seems so crazy to bargain over 50 cents (and end up stubbornly walking home a few kilometers because the taxi driver wouldn’t drive us under 4 euros)! Low prices make it also possible to do some really cool things here, like buy 1st class movie tickets or get a Thai massage every week.

For this weekend we were at a music festival on Karon beach both Friday and Saturday. We we’re –again- dancing on the beach and sleeping in the next day. I have to say that getting a Tuk Tuk from Karon to Kathu (about 20 mins) is a terrifying, wonderful experience. There are some really steep hills and sharp turns on the way and the driver seemed to believe that he had some really good karma and nothing would happen no matter what speed he was driving. On that note, I’ve also decided that I will not rent a scooter, I just don’t have enough faith in my driving skills (those hills between Patong and Kathu have 70% chance of accident happening to you when it rains).

That’s all for this week, although it feels like I should have seen and done more, there’s only 10 more weeks to go and soo much to see!

-Anu