Some Thai Street food

Thai breakfast: assorted meats, pork rinds and sticky rice.

                             Fried bananas for 20 Baht!

      Thai milk and bubble tea with Thai omelet over rice

Officially a CMU Student

On Monday morning I got suited up into my school uniform, which I am actually liking to wear, and I made my way to the University. I prefer wearing a uniform here because I don't have to worry about what I am going to wear each day and the uniform really lets me become immersed in the school culture. Every morning I walk outside my apartment and I’m met by the beautiful weather that I am enjoying a lot. There is a 7/11 nearby where I get my quick breakfast which consists of a chocolate or coffee milk along assorted Thai bread and sandwiches. On the weekends I buy breakfast on the street because I am not on a time schedule for class. I enjoy walking to class, which is about a 15-20 minute walk from my apartment. The walk is scenic and it's interesting to see all of the local people set up their shop and start cooking food to sell for the day. My classes are interesting and involve topics like global migration, Buddhism, global health and psychology, and Thai language. I have four classes and only take them once a week, with the exception of the Thai language course, which is twice a week. I am done by 11am or 2pm and don't have class on Fridays which gives me a lot of time to enjoy the city. After class, I head to the cafeteria and grab lunch before buying street food and making my way back to my apartment to change clothes and decide what to do for the day. I have really become comfortable with Chiang Mai in only the short time I have been here so far and I am really enjoying being here. The people are super friendly and are always smiling, willing to help out with anything. Chiang Mai is a hub for local food and I can find streets lined with vendors selling Thai cuisine all over the city. Thai people love their chili peppers and many foods are spicy, along with having a very unique taste of Thai herbs. I have been buying all types of food and it is so cheap! In my next post, I will share some of the local street food I have tried so far.

 Shoes must be removed before entering most places, including classrooms, out of respect in Thai culture. (Along with lake view at CMU)

A Busy Start

After a busy two days of orientation, a campus tour, a city temple tour, a visit to the very famous "Wat Phra That Doi Suthep temple", cultural dinner and traditional Thai dance ceremony, and a Sunday street market, it is safe to say I have had a strong welcoming to Chiang Mai. The two days of orientation consisted of getting to know some of the faculty, guidelines, tips to the city, Thai customs, and many sources of information that I found to be beneficial. The campus tour was confusing since the campus is so big and many of the buildings look the same, but luckily most of my classes will be in only one of the buildings. The campus is very beautiful and has a serene lake in the back that many people jog and exercise around. The weather here is also gorgeous, although we were warned that in a few months it is expected to become very hot with a dangerous smog, due to the yearly burning season. After the campus tour, we went on a city temple tour that was really interesting. This was my first time seeing Buddhist temples and it was quite the experience. The temples have strict rules that must be followed before and upon entry. Inside were giant shrines of Buddhas, flowers, and many people meditating along with Buddhists monks who were also there. I received a blessing from a monk which was definitely a cool experience! 30 minutes outside the city we visited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep Temple, which was absolutely mind-blowing! It was one of the most unique things I have ever seen. The temple can be reached after climbing hundreds of stairs to the top, and at the top, I had the opportunity to enter the temple and soak in a large piece of Thai Buddhist culture. There was a local strawberry farm nearby, by far the best strawberries I ever have eaten! The cultural dinner and dance ceremony was really cool to be part of as well. I ate traditional Thai food in the traditional way, which was very cool. I witnessed famous Thai dancing taking place which showcases the exotic and unique culture of the people. Sunday I went to the famous street market where you can find hundreds of vendors selling anything from fried insects to guitars. I loved walking the market and witnessing everything that was being sold, I will definitely be going back sometime in the future. My time in Chiang Mai has been great so far and I am surely enjoying the city and the culture. The hardest part I would have to say is the language barrier. Not many people speak English and I need to use basic Thai when trying to speak or order food, which makes the experience that much better. It is only right for travelers to at least try their best to communicate in the local language, and the Thai people will definitely encourage you and smile when you do so! Being so used to Ghana, where I have spent so much time and traveled throughout, I have not experienced any culture shock at all and I am actually surprised at how developed Chiang Mai is. The city is really clean and even ahead of the United States in a lot of ways. It is late and I start classes tomorrow so I will be posting again next week. My goal this week will be to start indulging into the local food, which I am very excited to do.

                             Steps at Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

Buddha shrine

Suthep Temple


















Young Buddhist monks at city temple.

“Sawasdee Krab”

"Sawasdee Krab", a phrase I have heard many times already during my short time I have been here in Chiang Mai, which is a Thai greeting. They call Thailand the "land of smiles" and I understand why! From the moment I left the airport, everybody I had encountered is extremely welcoming and friendly, which is a nice feeling for a foreigner when visiting a new country. After I collected my luggage I headed to the taxi terminals and picked a car to take me to my housing unit where I will be staying the whole time I am here in Chiang Mai. I am now writing this blog post in my apartment. I settled in and unpacked all of my things. The area of the apartment is nice and is home to a lot of students at CMU. Looking outside of my balcony I have a view of the mountainous landscape that surrounds the city. It is truly beautiful here and I can't wait to start exploring, but for now, I need to rest because I am already a victim of jet lag and I have orientation at 8am tomorrow morning. 

Halfway There

Greetings from Dohar, Qatar! I am currently waiting to board my last flight to finally arrive in Chiang Mai. I am already really jet-lagged and tired from the long flight. I know that flying through the different time zones will only worsen the fatigue but I know once I land in Thailand I will be fine...at least until I settle in and then have to sleep. So much has been on my mind, mostly I find myself thinking about the whole experience. Just a few years ago I had the idea that I wanted to travel the world and see many places. Fast forward to now, I have seen many different countries, set foot in multiple continents, and I am about to become a student at a huge university in Northern Thailand. The whole thing is just surreal and I often feel like I am in a dream when I look outside the plane window and see these cities I never thought I would be able to see. Traveling the world has really opened my mind up to many new aspects of life. I've witnessed things I never knew existed, I've tasted food I never thought I'd try, I've experienced countless moments that have taken my breath away, and I have developed life-long relationships all over the globe with some of the most amazing people I ever met in my life. They say traveling changes you and gives you a new outlook on the world and life itself, and I will be the first to agree. My first ever trip alone, I boarded the plane on a mission to find new things and what I ended up finding in the process was myself, my purpose. Journeying across the world has opened many doors for me and gave me some of the best memories of my life that I will always hold onto and I know my time in Thailand will only build on top of these. My next post will be from Chiang Mai! Only 3,056 more miles to go!

The Time Has Finally Come!

It's 11pm as I am here in Boston at Logan airport waiting to board my flight to start my 4-month journey in a place totally unknown to me. The anticipation is high and I still find it hard to believe that the day has finally come that I leave the United States and spend my spring semester in Chiang Mai. I think of the long process it took for me to make this opportunity possible and it struck me how fast my fall semester at school went by. I have traveled to many places before but I know my time in Thailand will be like no other and will be very unique in itself. As a traveler, I am really not sure what to expect. I haven't done too in-depth research of Thailand, so I am taking everything on as I go and I am expecting many surprises. It's crazy to think that my next post will be from another continent! I am more than ready to embark on my journey of a lifetime.

Welcome...

First of all, welcome to my travel blog! I'm assuming most of you are here because you want to stay updated on my upcoming study abroad adventure in the spring. Starting on January 7, 2019, I will be taking on a whole new experience that I could not be more excited for. I will be studying abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand, while being able to attend the University of Chiang Mai! For a long time, Thailand has been on my travel bucket list, but I never imagined that I would be able to spend four months here during my college tenure. I have traveled to many places before but I am excited to see what Thailand has to offer, especially it being my first time in this region of the globe. Chiang Mai, translated for "New City", is in the Northern region of Thailand. The city is known for its beautiful landscape, world famous temples, exotic culture, friendly people, and world-class cuisine. Surrounded by lush jungle and green terrain, Chiang Mai University is an internationally ranked institution in the top 250 universities. With over 30,000 students enrolled, CMU is a modern and highly respected school. As a lot of my time will be devoted to school and learning as much as I can throughout the courses, I am also excited to explore Chiang Mai and the surrounding region. I am planning to do a weekly blog update that will highlight what I have been up to on my journey, with the occasional random posts. I could not be more ready to start this once in a lifetime opportunity!