The support staff here in Thailand is pretty hands off. Now, I don’t mean that in a way where I’m upset about it at all. I didn’t expect to come into this program and have my hand held the whole way through. Of course, it would be nice to have more guidance, however it has been rewarding to navigate the process independently and collaborate with other students. What I mean by guidance are things like the staff informing international visiting students more directly of the visa extension process, the re-entry process, and things of that complicated nature. I also lost my student ID at one point and if it wasn’t for my Thai buddy who helped me get a new one I would never have been able to figure out. So sure, in some cases there are times I wish there was better communication between them and the students.
Most of the time it is our personal responsibility to go into the international affairs office and figure out what we need to do on our own or ask any important questions that we have. All of them in the office are extremely friendly and more than willing to help. We may get shuffled from person to person for some situations, but I think that that issue goes hand in hand with the language barrier or neither party fully comprehending what the other needs. Again, its all a part of the learning experience and patience is key in every single situation. In the Thai culture, if you get upset or angry, they most likely will avoid trying to help you at all, so its best to just ask questions and respect whomever you are speaking to.
I have two teachers here that are incredible. One of them is my ethics teacher. She got her undergraduate degree at the University of Irvine in California, but now works as a pediatrics physician in Thailand. The other is my psychology teacher who I believe went to school in the states as well and has a background in abnormal psychology. He works with psychiatric patients in Thailand, one specific job he has a one point was working in female prison. I appreciate both of them as teachers because they do an extremely good job at teaching their subjects cross culturally. They are able to connect with the international students and the Thai students as well. My ethics teacher is engaging and knows how to remain unbiased while discussing the tricky topics of what is “right” and “wrong” in healthcare. My psychology teacher has so many personal accounts of patients he has dealt with and is able to apply them to the material each class. It almost feels like I’m in a story telling class and I’m able to retain the complex topics and information more easily. Quite honestly I think these might be some of my favorite teachers. People say you don’t study abroad for the courses, but I feel pretty lucky that I love the classes I’m taking and enjoy my professors as well.
