We are all that we have met.

First things first, O to B to A-M-A!!! I celebrated Obama’s sweeping victory at the Hyatt Hotel in Bangkok along side members of the U.S. embassy, students from various schools in the Bangkok area, and other tourists from all over the world interested in the change that was about to proceed. The students of the International College were cordially invited to join the Election Watch 2008. We walked into a large conference room filled with people in school uniforms, suits, and patriotic colors, as well as tables decorated with floating balloons and cocktail bites. When CNN finally announced their projection of “Barack Obama: The 44th President of the United States,” with the final count being 365 Electoral College votes vs. 173, my friends, not only from America but also from Bhutan, China, Nepal, and Thailand, all jumped in excitement, anticipation and pride (in being American). I’m sure it was an exciting time for many people all over the planet who could find one relation or another to Obama. After we got back to Rangsit, taxi cab drivers, teachers, and other students struck up conversations about “Oh-bah-maaah” (in wonderful Thai accents), and market venders sold artsy t-shirts exhibiting his face (of course I purchased one!).

Due to the fact that so much has happened since my last post to steer me off track from updating my blog, this one will be brief, with the pictures doing most of the explaining…

For Halloween, my friends and I spent one night in Bangkok at a karaoke bar caroling beside Thais who were 10 times more talented at it than we were. It was amusing nevertheless and I discovered that Asians are serious about their Karaoke! The International College also threw the students a Halloween party the following night at a nearby club called Sit Nee. This event marked the first time when I really got to know my classmates outside school regalia and classroom manner. It occurred to me that despite the fact that we are all from adverse parts of the planet, we enjoy very similar things like dancing, listening to music, laughing, and ultimately having a great time with fabulous company. I dressed up as the national tree of Thailand, the “Golden Shower Tree” or in Thai, Dok Khuen (I figured I’d be patriotic in some nerdy form). Most people were dressed up in costumes and many of the teachers attended as well. The image to the left is of me sitting beside the director and coordinator of the International College.

Soon enough, another festival rolls around in Thailand. Loy Krathong, one of the most beautiful festivals, occurred a few weeks ago. Loy Krathong means something like “floating banana leaf”and this occasion is celebrated on the 12th full moon of the lunar calendar. Thai people artistically construct banana boats out of biodegradable items like banana leaves, flowers of all sorts, food, toothpicks, etc. and float it down the river or lake to pay tribute to the gods of the water. Krathongs can be made incredibly elaborate; in shapes of towering crowns, graceful swans, or rich lotus flowers. People make wishes as they waft away their Krathongs filled with hopes of wealth and good health, typically represented by coins, incense sticks, and candles. Sneakily, Little children rake in the krathongs of others to the shore to collect the money! At Rangsit University, we burst fireworks on the track and field, browsed through a huge market set up right on campus., and even released rice-paper lanterns into the sky. The freed lanterns looked like a collection of fireflies gliding away toward the moon. We even made our own krathongs in my Thai Civilization class and floated them in the fountain pond in from of the building. It was such a pleasant celebration, I’m really glad I was here to experience it and I only wish that we had something like it in the States. There was also a Mr. and Miss Loy Krathong that was similar to Homecoming King and Queen at our high schools in the States. Teachers nominate students to fill those positions and they are eventually crowned before their classmates in a large auditorium with music, decorations, and a buoyant amibance.

The weekend after, a few of my friends and I traveled to the second largest island in Thailand, Koh Chang to spend a few relaxing days on the beach once again. It means “Elephant Island” in Thai for the elephant shape of its headland, but I didn’t see any while there because elephants are not indigenous to the island. The recent success of Koh Chang as a serious tourist destination has been phenomenal yet it remains a lot more peaceful and less developed than Phuket.  We were there for a few days and since the main road perimeters the while island, we figured we’d have to provide ourselves with an independent form of transportation. I rode my first motorcycle here and I was able to see waterfalls, the mountains, the countryside, and a beach called “White Sand” beach.  It’s amazing how many precuations the U.S. takes when driving an automobile, especially a motorcycle in comparison to Thailand. Motorscooters or motorcycles are incredibly common here and in Koh Chang, all we had to do was present the lender with an ID of any kind and 150 Baht (about $5) for renting the bike for 24 hours! The most important thing is to not get in an accident or else they make us pay for the whole part of the motorcycle that was knicked and that could cost at least $20 (relatively expensive). Although the roller coaster-roads proved to be a bit of a challenge for an amateur like myself, I had a good time and smehow managed to avoid any sort of calamity. In the evenings, our hostel and those nearby provided us with firedance shows. We sat outselves on straw mats laid out before the shore and awed at agile locals who harmoniously danced with the flames. It was the perfect way to end each day.

Thanksgiving was this week. Rangsit University has an international day celebration every year and since this time it was during November, Thanksgiving naturally became the theme of the ball. I didn’t think it would be anything too spectacular; just the international students and a few teachers and some turkey, which I don’t eat anyway. But Rangsit and Thailand never lets us down when it comes to partying. Walking past the new international building during the day, we see a large sign that says “RSU Thanksgiving Party.” We realize that this event is going to be really exciting! Without disappointment, we arrive in the evening to a road on campus filled with stands of typical Thanksgiving food (turkey, stuffing, salad, mashed patatoes, breadrolls), Thai food, desserts and fruits, and drinks; all before a colorfully lit up stage hosting a live band. Students from all sectors of the University were there, the President, Dr. Arthit Ourairat, was there as well! I haven’t even met the president of Cal Poly being that I’ve studied there for three years already, yet in three months, I was able to meet the president of an international and local school of the same size, 20,000 students. Now that’s real. The image to the left illustrated a few of my friends from Bhutan, China, and Thailand dancing the night away; the girls were less shy than the boys at first but as more and more people joined in, it became a dance party on the street. After the party at school, a diverse bunch of us went to a nearby bar. The prince of Bhutan attends Rangsit University, International College and he was there as well. I hung out with a few Burmese and Bhutanese students and they enlightened me on the politics of the countries and I tried very hard to follow through the various accents and explanations.

Until soon…