We returned from Khao Yai and settled back into school and reality. The Wednesday we got back from Khao Yai was the start of my accounting class online through Loyola a.k.a reality was about to hit. For all of you that don't know about this, about 5 years ago, if you were an accounting major at Loyola, you couldn't study abroad because of the strict course requirements for Junior Year. However, about 5 years ago, Loyola started to offer Intermediate Accounting I and II online to students who wanted to go abroad. Intermediate Accounting I and II are known to be the two hardest classes accounting majors have to take, and taking them online makes it even more difficult, but it was something I knew I needed to do to in order to go abroad. On top of the difficulty of learning online is the extreme time difference between the professor at Loyola and me in Bangkok. The class was sorted out, and is technically twice a week at 7AM on Wednesday and Friday (or for the professor in Baltimore, Tuesday and Thursday night). Preparing for the worst, myself and the two other accounting majors here in Bangkok got up early, signed onto the spotty wifi and hoped to see our professor. Sure enough we were able to see her and hear her as she got us all situated to the class and started lecturing over the internet. As you could imagine, staying focused is very difficult, but being able to have the information explained more fully and to hear someone read the concepts to us is helpful. We are just in the early stages, and haven't gotten to any of the substantial material, but I'll keep you updated with how it is going.
Wednesday was also the start of our volunteering while we are here. Almost all of us are volunteering down the street from ABAC at Khlong Ka Ja, an elementary school in Hua Mak. I was so excited to get to see the kids who I was going to be teaching especially since when we went for our orientation, the students went crazy and were so excited to see us. Going in, I thought the group of us(myself and two other girls) were going to be with a 1st grade class. Well, when we showed up, the principle showed us to the classroom and told us we were going to be with "English Club" that was made up of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders and that we didn't need to teach them, but simply play games. On top of that, the whole school exercises at 3:00 and we showed up at 2:30 meaning we really only had 20 minutes to hang out with the students. Today, was the second week. We arrived earlier to hopefully get to spend more time with the students. We walked up to the classroom, and were told that the class was cancelled today. In general, the experience isn't what I was thinking it was going to be, but it is still early and the details are still being worked out. I'll keep you posted about next weeks experience.
One of the girls on the trip read about a "Ladies Night" on Wednesdays at a nightclub called Ku Dé Ta. From 9-11PM ladies get free champagne. To have some fun, and see what it was like, a group of 5 girls and one guy all went and checked it out. Ku Dé Ta is a club on the 39th floor of this office building in downtown Bangkok. The place was gorgeous, and the views were amazing. All of the people there were nicely dressed and looked like well to do people. In general it was mostly Thais however, there was a good portion of Europeans and foreigners there also. The place reminded me of a NYC nightclub, it was a good time, and best of all, we got lots of free champagne because it was ladies night.
After returning home early, knowing that I had class early the next morning, I got into bed feeling a tad weird. Well about 2 hours later, I was throwing up everything in my stomach. I had finally been hit with the BKK Belly. All night, every 45 minutes I was throwing up. It was an awful experience, and worst of all, I didn't have my mom to take care of me. I was dehydrated, and thought I had a fever at one point in the night. I have concluded now, a week later, that I must have had food poisoning from steamed dumplings I had for dinner on Wednesday night. To say the least, I missed class on Thursday and stayed in bed all day to finally take a shower at 4:30PM. Being sick throws you off, and I wanted to have a fun and productive weekend exploring Bangkok, so I knew that I needed to lay low Thursday night while everyone went out.
The next day, I woke up feeling better and decided to make something of my Friday. A girl had heard about an art and food festival happening in Bangkok called Art Box. A small group of us decided to go and see what it was all about, and I decided to find some food that my stomach could handle. Art Box turned out to be this hipster, clothing, jewelry, and food truck gathering. The area and the people reminded me of Brooklyn. We walked all around, and I ended up getting a wallet, a necklace, a burger, and a mojito. The neighborhood was cool, and best of all, we were the only foreigners there making me feel very immersed in the culture. That night everyone went out, but I knew my stomach was going to die if I did.
Saturday was another day to go explore. There are so many things I want to do in Bangkok with what seems like so little time. Myself and two other girls decided to go to a mall that we had heard about in a neighborhood not too far from us called Phrom Phong. The Emporium is a huge, beautiful, and upscale mall with shops and a 3 floor helix of restaurants with a gourmet food market on another floor. We walked all around the mall and went into some stores, the few that we could afford. We ended the trip at the gourmet market that made me feel like I walked into a New York City food market. There was fresh fruit everywhere, a huge cheese counter, a rice bar, a salad bar, and a huge food section that sold American food as well as Thai food. We got Au Bon Pain for lunch and ice cream for an afternoon snack before we went back to school.
Sunday was a quiet day of rest and relaxing before school started back up on Monday. This past Monday, myself and two other girls decided to go to Ekkamai, a nearby neighborhood to walk around and find some good food to eat. We all knew about a restaurant called the Ekkamai Beer House that we wanted to try. I got a delicious salad for dinner which is such a luxury in Bangkok though it really wasn't as good as any salad in America.
There is a street in downtown Bangkok that is filled with bars and clubs. One of the clubs, Levels, has a deal on Tuesday nights that before 11PM a group of 5 people get a free bottle of vodka. After class, a group of us decided that we wanted to go to dance. A lot of the clubs in Bangkok have a fairly expensive cover charge, and Levels doesn't have a cover and you get a free bottle...it is an awesome deal!!!
This morning was my second accounting class and after going out, it was pretty rough. We were all able to log in and listen in. I am now drowning in accounting homework that I need to get done before Friday morning since we are all going to Krabi on Friday morning for a beach weekend. Compared to my other classes, this accounting class is a lot of work. In my ABAC classes, there really isn't any homework. The biggest part of the class is going to the class and participating. So having homework,due dates, and deadlines is stressful but in the end it will be worth it.
I'll write soon all about my trip to Krabi, Railay, and hopefully Ko Phi Phi.
Love from a "struggling" student
xoxo
Kate
Sunday was a quiet day of rest and relaxing before school started back up on Monday. This past Monday, myself and two other girls decided to go to Ekkamai, a nearby neighborhood to walk around and find some good food to eat. We all knew about a restaurant called the Ekkamai Beer House that we wanted to try. I got a delicious salad for dinner which is such a luxury in Bangkok though it really wasn't as good as any salad in America.
There is a street in downtown Bangkok that is filled with bars and clubs. One of the clubs, Levels, has a deal on Tuesday nights that before 11PM a group of 5 people get a free bottle of vodka. After class, a group of us decided that we wanted to go to dance. A lot of the clubs in Bangkok have a fairly expensive cover charge, and Levels doesn't have a cover and you get a free bottle...it is an awesome deal!!!
This morning was my second accounting class and after going out, it was pretty rough. We were all able to log in and listen in. I am now drowning in accounting homework that I need to get done before Friday morning since we are all going to Krabi on Friday morning for a beach weekend. Compared to my other classes, this accounting class is a lot of work. In my ABAC classes, there really isn't any homework. The biggest part of the class is going to the class and participating. So having homework,due dates, and deadlines is stressful but in the end it will be worth it.
I'll write soon all about my trip to Krabi, Railay, and hopefully Ko Phi Phi.
Love from a "struggling" student
xoxo
Kate
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