Abroad101: Study Abroad Reviews

a whirlwind of a very special semester June 01, 2024

By (International Development, Brandeis University) - abroad from 01/14/2024 to 05/10/2024 with

University of Minnesota: MSID - International Development in Thailand

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
I did the OneHealth focus during the second month, so a lot that I learned was about Thailand's health systems. The first month we learned a lot about Thailand as a country, and we visited a lot of interesting organizations and sites to do field studies. It was definitely worthwhile

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 1 month - 6 months

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

I would choose the same program again because of the friends I made, the staff, the culture that we really got immersed into, the way we were able to fully explore Chiang Mai and some surrounding villages, the intensive language learning aspect, and the internship experience.

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? Beginner
How many hours per day did you use the language?

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Hotel
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?
  • Hands-on learning by doing field visits, balanced out with lectures
  • Experiencing local life - street food market for dinner every night, going out with friends
  • Strong emphasis on Thai language learning - 3 hr a day for the first several weeks
* What could be improved?
  • The first month or two are very busy, very little free time, but because you see and do a lot of valuable things
  • The grading of assignments sometimes seemed unfair or subjective to some students
  • I feel like I learned a lot about Thailand but not about international development as a subject itself
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? The program overall was really well done and I learned a lot. I really loved my friends and teachers and community. You really get to know familiar faces in the area where you stay, and it is really nice that all the MSID students stay on the same hallway in the hotel/residence. Having my own bedroom and bathroom and balcony was really nice. Going to the elephant sanctuary was one of my most favorite things, but be careful about where you go because even places that advertise as ethical are not really ethical. ISDSI told us that Patara was the most ethical in the area, but they also told us that riding them was ok (it's not really). I went to Elephant Nature Park later and it was so much more ethical. Things I wish I had known: Bring enough clothes that are 'riep roi' (covers shoulders, no cropped shirts, no shorts) because ISDSI will expect you to wear riep roi clothes 5 days a week to class and field visits. If you go in the spring semester, it will be hot and burning season, which may be a problem if you have lung issues, the pollution gets really really bad (CM had the worst air quality in the world when I was there). There are not a lot of breaks in the first few weeks of the semester, I got burnt out quickly. You are expected to do and present mini research projects 4 times in the first two months. I did the internship during the last two months because I did not want the alternative of doing an independent research project, but I didn't know that that would mean I would have to write a 15 page case study about my internship while working 30 hours a week.