Thai study abroad profiles

Cultural events throughout the year were always amazing and fascinating. I remember, in November, standing in a field at Maejo University watching the thousands of khom loi lanterns float into air and wondering if I had ever seen anything so beautiful. Or at Songkran when the entire city ground to a halt to join in the festivities! Even the daily morning monk’s alms round continued to impress me, when families rose at the crack of dawn to prepare offerings for the monks.

The Chinese New Year in Nakhon Pathom was also a highlight, hundreds of noisy firecrackers exploded through the colourful and energetic parades as people revelled in the huge celebrations. The village stay in March was definitely one of the biggest highlights of the year. It struck me straight away that the wat was the hub of the village life, during the three day festival, street stalls lined the entrance to the wat, daily parades with music bellowing from gigantic speakers precariously tied onto the lorries, made their way to the village wat. Once there, one could partake in a bit of karaoke, enjoy the shows, such as Thai dancing or live popular music bands, even a muay Thai could be enjoyed as a boxing ring was constructed there. Some villagers were sleeping at the wat and during the day the elder villagers would sit in the sala listening to sermons and making merit.  It amazed me that so much preparation had gone into making this such a lively fun event, to be enjoyed by the whole community. It was also an event villagers had been looking forward to, work ceased and all energies were thrown into the merry-making or merit-making activities at their local wat!

The inspiration for my research project stemmed from the stay in this village. However, the actual research was carried out in another rural village located an hour away from Chiang Mai City.

I have learnt a lot, whether it be cultural, religious, political or historical aspects of Thailand I have certainly delved into every area and developed my interests in Thailand with regards to culture and Buddhism. I will look forward to continuing my studies at levels 2 and 3 in Leeds and will chose modules, that will hopefully, expand on what I have leant and become interested in during my year abroad.

Overall, it was a truly amazing experience in which I learnt a lot and developed both personally and intellectually. I just wish it wasn’t over so soon!!