Mathew Biadun | Column Writer
The last two articles in this column focused on travels. Specifically, my opening impressions on the Thai capital Bangkok, and of the Cambodian city of Siem Reap. Regrettably, those travels haven’t continued since. I was painfully reminded that this is not, in fact, a vacation, as classes for me started last week. I waited for another week to pass to write about it, wanting to properly get a sense of how classes work before writing about them. Now that I have, I wanted to share my experience regarding it.
It’s important to keep in mind that studying is half of studying abroad, and not just in terms of words. Studies here are significant. Each class here is worth four credits, not three like in America, although they’ll each transfer back for only three. They last for two hours each. Each class happens twice a week; either Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday. There are a few Friday or Saturday classes, but only for special types like labs. Everyone does their best to avoid those. If possible, people do their best to avoid Monday/Wednesday classes too, to allow time for traveling.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t quite that lucky. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have two classes; Thai Language & Culture, and Microeconomics, lasting together from 10-2. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have three classes; ‘Sociology in the Modern World’, ‘Perspectives on Thailand’, and ‘ASEAN & Thailand’. The first two classes go from eight in the morning until noon, when I then have a two hour break, and then go back to class at two until four.
Getting to class is easy. The dorms are forty minutes away walking. The distance doesn’t feel long in terms of exhaustion. Personally, walking would’ve been nice, if not for the oppressive morning heat. By the time you’d arrive, anyone would be reduced into a sweaty puddle by the sun. Instead I take a shuttle bus, which is provided free of charge. They come right to the foot of your dorm every minute. With four buses for our building alone, there’s almost always a free seat. If not, however, taking a Grab (Uber) motorcycle only costs some twenty baht (sixty cents).
Classes are all conducted in English, although the proficiency of each professor varies. My sociology professor is actually an American, one who moved to Thailand in 1986. As you might expect, his English is fluent. The Thai teachers all speak English on a fluent level as well, although their grammar can occasionally be incorrect, or a strong accent can make them hard to understand. Still, I understand every lesson perfectly well, and have heard of no one else with any problems communicating with their professors.
The school offers many majors for international students. Domestically, it is most famous for its veterinary and music programs. However, international students can take a range of classes. The most common major is some type of business. However, students also study things like international relations, STEM fields and culinary arts. The school also offers athletic classes for one credit. These usually meet once a week, and range from Muay Thai (a form of Thai boxing) to basketball. They’re very popular, although, unfortunately I didn’t have space in my schedule to try one. There are Muay Thai gyms that will train you for a fee; but the dorm gym and pool is enough for me.
The classroom culture is very different from America. The first thing to understand is that Thai culture is not particularly loud. There is a great respect for order, calmness and, well, respect. For example, we were advised not to question or disagree with professors publicly in class, which is considered rude and may make them look bad. Instead, if you have a question like that, you should speak to them independently after class. Thai professors and students naturally speak quietly. Despite the fact that classes are no bigger than at Eastern, Thai teachers will use microphones in class, and will hand them to students who wish to speak. No American students use these, and it takes a little while to get used to the fact that Thai people don’t ‘project’ their voices too well, or at least, aren’t comfortable doing so.
One thing Thai students are very comfortable doing is using technology. Perhaps too comfortable. Almost every student will be on their phones or laptops to one degree or another. It isn’t like in America where you will quietly send a few texts during class, or do something on your laptop while pretending to take notes. There is no ‘illusion’ here. Students will openly wear headphones to play League of Legends or Genshin Impact on their tablets or laptops. The professor will walk by, and the student will not flinch. Professors don’t call them out on it either. Perhaps due to that previously-mentioned ‘calmness’; no professor wants to make a scene or seem too ‘harsh’.
The grading system used here would make Eastern students faint. There is almost no homework, besides an occasional essay or project. Group projects are very common. Exams are almost all taken at home. That might all seem lovely, but as with all things, there’s a catch. Exams here are weighed tremendously high. It is very common for your midterm to be worth thirty-percent of your grade, and your final to be worth forty-percent. With no homework to weigh that out, a failure on one of those tasks means you will be fighting just to pass the class. Retakes do not exist here. You either pass or fail.
Besides that, classes work in the same lecture format as in the United States. The most unique thing I’ve done here is learn Thai. Having gone into my Thai class as a veteran of language classes (having taken four different languages in high school), I thought I would be prepared. I was not. Learning Thai is far more difficult than Spanish or Thai. For example, you won’t recognize many of the characters, such as ‘๓’, ‘ε’ or ‘၁’. There are also no cognates. In Spanish, you already know what ‘fantastico’ means. But in Thai, nothing about the sentence “Phom maa jaak jiin khrap” resonates.
For the record, that is spelt incorrectly. Our Thai class is almost entirely focused on speaking and listening, leaving my literacy at an all time low. The only things we read are phonetic translations of the sounds of each word, spelt out in English for us to write down. The Thai have their own alphabet which I cannot even begin to learn.
Outside of classes, there are also several clubs in the International School! All of them would be familiar to us. There is a form of student government, a flag football team, a film club, a debate team, model UN, and a three-in-one ‘Games, Animation and Comics Club’. They were all introduced to us just this week at a Club Expo. Visiting students like myself are allowed, and encouraged, to join.
At the end of the day, students can go back using the shuttle or call a Grab. Personally, I like to get a bite at one of the several affordable dining halls on campus. There are two food courts and two 7/11s, with food ranging from rice, noodles, chicken, pork, crepes, fresh fruit, slushies and more! It is all fairly affordable for students. Afterwards, no longer being worried about coming to class drenched, I like to take a walk back to my dorm. All-in-all, classes function day-to-day much like at Eastern, albeit with a few quirks to get used to.
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