Tiger Temple and Thammasat

WHODEYY. Yep, I'm crouching next to a tiger. And yes, he is enormous. Last Saturday we went to the Tiger Temple in Konchanaburi, about 2 1/2 hours outside of Bangkok. There were tons of tigers, deer, peacocks, warthogs, etc. everywhere in the park. It was really really cool. At first it seems kind of sad because the tigers are chained up with hundreds of tourists there to pet them, but many of them are rescued tigers and their offspring are going to be released into the wild and taught how to live by themselves. It actually seems like a pretty good project, and it's so cool to be that close to something that could easily tear me apart. We got to pet baby tigers too, and they were much more playful and they weren't chained up.

That day, we also went to the floating market, which was kind of a waste of time. It's not nearly as cool as it looks because it's allll farang and everyone is just trying to rip you off. The river is packed with paddle boats and sometimes we wouldn't move for 5 minutes or more. I did get a packet of thai spices for a few bucks though, so I guess it wasn't a total waste.

It's been forever since I've posted, and I guess a lot has gone on since then. I'm getting into the motions of Thai life and settling down. For the first time, Thailand is starting to feel more like home and less like a vacation. I'm learning the streets, neighborhoods, and favorite places to go. I'm meeting more Thais and getting more into school and a regular life. Not that I don't appreciate where I am and what I'm doing. I see it as a good thing. I still have a ton of stuff I want to do and see in Bangkok, and I know I'll do it eventually.

So now that I'm settling into life here in Bangkok, I'm taking off to Koh Phangan for about 5 days for the Full Moon Party. Thousands of people (unfortunately, mostly farang) come to this island every full moon for a big party that lasts all night. This month it's on Friday. Me and a few people are leaving tuesday night, the rest of the people are leaving on wednesday. It's a looong way, but me and my friend Abby decided to spend the extra 5 or 6 bucks to get a sleeper on the train, so hopefully I can just knock out and wake up when we get there. The beach we're staying at is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Thailand, and it's away from the touristy area where the party will be. I'm looking forward to this weekend so much because it's going to have everything from total relaxation to all-night partying. Sounds like a good definition of Thailand in general.

It's probably time I talk about school. I'm sure my family members who reads this are wondering when the hell I'm going to talk about classes and school, and my friends who read this are probably wondering why the hell I need to tell everyone about my classes. But school is definitely a major part of what I do here in Thailand, and of course is important. Maybe not the most important part as my EAP program at UCSB wants to believe, but important nonetheless.

My school is Thammasat University, and is considered the #2 university in Thailand. It's awesome that the UC abroad program has hooked up with them and created this program. Historically, it's been the site of a lot of radical activity, and it was there that the military killed a bunch of students during a protest in the early '70s. Some of the professors relate the school to the Berkeley of Thailand.

I'm taking 5 classes while I'm here. Political Economics, Economics and Law, Thai Rural Development, Thai Economy, and Thai Language. As some of you may know, and most probably don't, I recently decided to add on Business Economics as a second major, so it's incredibly important that I take these economics classes and do well in them. Also, I am focusing on Southeast Asia in my Global Studies major, so hopefully some of these classes will transfer for both majors.

Some of the classes are really good, others are not. My economics and law class and my political economics class are my two favorite economics classes. They are both upper division classes, so they are more serious and the students care more. They aren't too much work, but it's hard to figure out what to study because it's really difficult to find the books that the teachers want us to read. And then, once I do open up a book, the material either isn't really relevant or isn't necessary to understand the subject. I think people in all majors are confused as to what to expect on the midterm.

My Thai Language class is awesome and, as I mentioned before, I'm constantly learning more and more Thai. It's way way easier to learn a language while living in the country than living in the states. Plus, Thai isn't a very difficult language. The tones can be hard to understand, but most things can be figured out by the context. I couldn't imagine being in this country and not taking the language. It's significantly easier for me to get around now than when I first got here, and Thais love it if you can say a few words in Thai. There are some people who aren't taking language, and I always wonder how much more difficult it is for them every day. A lot of people here speak no english, especially the taxi drivers.

Classes here seem easy in general. People who studied here last semester always talk about how easy it is, and it just doesn't seem really challenging. Even though I don't like being in an atmosphere where I'm not challenged academically, it allows me to do a lot of stuff that I might not be able to do if I was busier with school. Not to downplay the school too much though. It's amazing to me that the Thai students are able to take these kinds of classes in their second language, and it's definitely not a walk in the park. There just isn't that cutthroat attitude from the teachers here that you see in America. The teachers here want to see their students succeed, and will do everything they can short of handing out As to see that happens. If the students are willing to put in the effort, they're rewarded.

Well I thought this was going to be a short message, but turns out I had more to say than I expected. Once I get back from Koh Pangnan, I'm going to set up a website for my pictures so you can see more than the few I've put into these entries. Danny's coming in the day I get back, and maybe danshott from webshots can do it for me and help me get thousands of hits. If you don't understand that last sentence, don't worry about it.