Follow-on project
Bridget Williams
Gilman Follow-on Project
Thailand- Spring 2008
This winter I spent a semester at Rangsit University in Bangkok, Thailand. In addition to a full course load I also participated in a Home-stay with a Thai family, a volunteer opportunity teaching English at a Thai middle school, and a campus clean-up. All of these experiences were memorable but nothing will stand out more vividly in my memory than the people I met. The students at Rangsit were welcoming and helpful. There was a tea stall on the street in front of campus. Every night Thai students would meet my friends and I there and help us practice our Thai and explain parts of Thai culture that we had questions about. My Thai friends influenced all of my other experiences. They gave me the tools I needed to communicate with locals and to understand the culture I was submersed into. Without my Thai friends I would have struggled to be more than an average back packer who passes through without language skills or cultural reference points.
My Thai friends helped me seek answers to the questions I took with me to Thailand. I am curious about how Buddhism is practiced in the 21st century in a country that is swept up in economic growth. Does Buddhism affect the Thai’s view on sustainability? Materialism? Technology? By helping me better understand the language and culture of Thailand, my Thai friends helped me answer these questions. The experience would not have been the same without them; because of them the experience had a more personal affect on me.
My follow-on project is an online diary of my entire experience. I wanted a way to encourage other students at my University to study abroad. I wanted to get the word out about Gilman scholarships and I also wanted a way to keep track of what I was learning about how Buddhism affects modern day issues and vice versa. Before I left for Thailand I met with the John Lehman, the VP of Enrollment at Michigan Tech and Greta Gustafson, the Head of the Study Abroad Department. We all agreed that students at Tech would greatly benefit from studying abroad but need some convincing to go. I believe that the reasons many students don’t go abroad are financial and pressure to graduate on time. I suggested a Travel Blog where students could read about how the experience affected a student from their home university and John and Greta enthusiastically supported the project. Once it was up and running Greta had a link to the blog put on Mich Tech’s study abroad website.
When I was selected for a Gilman scholarship a local newspaper ran an article about my good fortune as well as why other students should apply for scholarships for study abroad. While I was abroad I submitted weekly articles to Tech’s campus publication “ParentNet”. I was the “Student Abroad” writer. I wrote articles about my travels, my thoughts on the experience, and my advice to other aspiring students abroad. These articles were then compiled along with short posts and pictures on my Travel Blog website. The newspaper article, my Blog, and ParentNet all mention that the Gilman International Scholarship made my travel possible.
I hope that by spreading awareness of Gilman scholarships and by showing that traveling out of your country and comfort zone isn’t always scary more students will consider studying abroad. It’s one thing to study abroad in New Zealand or Europe, places similar to the US, it’s quite another to plunge into a new language and culture. In my articles I tried to show the ups and downs of traveling in SE Asia and what it was like to live there. I hope that by doing this the “fear of the unknown” that people associate with places they are unfamiliar with will begin to dissipate. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia are all beautiful in there own rights and capable of instilling wisdom into the open-minded student. I hope that my articles will pique curiosity about this part of the world, inspire compassion and understanding for the people who live there, and motivate students to go and have their own experiences.
My experience at Rangsit University will influence the rest of my life. I had my fears about traveling to SE Asia. I didn’t know what to expect, I didn’t know any of the Thai or Lao language, where I would live, what life would be like there. I didn’t know anyone else who was going, but I met wonderful people from the US, Laos, Burma and Thailand many of whom I keep in contact with. I learned that I am capable of traveling by myself. I learned to trust my instincts, to be confident in myself, and to have faith that there are always good people willing to help you.
This semester abroad was my last semester of undergraduate college. I will take the wisdom I accrued during my travels with me into the professional chapter of my life. My ability to learn languages, my confidence and independence, my ability to adapt to new environments, make connections with people, and size up situations will be valuable in whichever career I find myself in. I am hoping/searching for a career that allows me to continue traveling and learning about how people’s culture affects their relationship with the environment.
Thank you Gilman Institute, for helping me make this possible.