TEAN: Study Abroad in Thailand

I am a heritage student from Kentucky and signed up to study summer school through TEAN at Chiang Mai University. I was enrolled into three classes total: Thai Language, Cultural Foundations of Thai Society, and Thai Dance. For school, we had to wear a uniform that consists of white tops, black skirts (long pants for boys), and a belt.

The staff of TEAN and the professors who taught my classes were all so nice and helpful, also extremely enthusiastic with their jobs and actively wanted me and my peers to enjoy our time in Chiang Mai. We were put in a dorm called Uniloft with a Thai roommate--which made the program even better. The dorms were really nice, clean, and had air conditioning (oh and a swimming pool and a 7-11!). All of the Thai roommates were awesome and helped ease us into Thai culture by teaching us things that you can't get in a classroom.

TEAN did a good job at making sure we were always comfortable and adapting well into our new environment, and provided us with various excursions (as well as academic field trips, which were also great).

Chiang Mai is a beautiful and generally safe city, filled with locals as well as foreigners since it is a cultural city with a big tourist business. Since this is a summer program, expect to run into plenty of people from all around the world. I made friends with Thais as well as Canadians, other Americans, Italians, etc. Also because this is a cultural city, you'll be surrounded by so much history. I fully took advantage of the fact that I was surrounded by museums, historical monuments, and hundreds of temples--as well as the old walls of the ancient city itself.

This program helped me to see my own country from a different point of view and realise how special and unique it is. If I could study abroad in Chiang Mai again I most definitely would. :)

During my time in Chiang Mai, I had so many experiences I will never forget. The city and its people were absolutely beautiful, and TEAN's program allowed me to experience the beauty of Thailand in an incredibly authentic way. From the minute I saw the city, I knew I was in the midst of an amazing adventure. It was love at first sight!
The orientation and the excursions were exceptional! I made amazing friends along the way too! TEAN helped facilitate our experience in the city with a great balance. TEAN and the staff were available to help us, but never suffocated our own ability to have an amazing adventure. The staff was there with great advice on places to go and things to do. Overall, I can say only awesome things about my experiences with TEAN in Chiang Mai.

Going abroad with TEAN was the best 5 months of my life. Every aspect of my program helped me learn more about Thai culture. In classes, we learned about things that would make daily life easier and helped us understand more what was happening around us. Our teachers were friendly, helpful, and encouraging. Excursions with TEAN were unreal. From the gorgeous islands of Thailand to the historically rich north, we were able to see so much of this magnificent country. On our excursion to Bangkok, our teacher set up meetings with the former prime minister and current head of the Thai senate, opportunities that most Thai students never even have. Housing accommodations could not have been more perfect. At Uniloft I had everything I needed and felt safe and comfortable. My Thai roommate became one of my closest friends and showed and taught me things about Chiang Mai I would have never known otherwise. TEAN also helped me land my volunteer placements teaching English to local students and Burmese refugees. This was another way in which I was able to engage with Thai culture and get to know a different population of Chiang Mai residents.
Everyday since I left Thailand, I ache to be back there. TEAN gave me the best introduction and integration into this culture, and I can't wait to not only return to Thailand, but to explore the rest of the world. TEAN helped make me a more globally conscious person, and gave me the confidence to explore our world.

My study abroad trip was by far the best experience I have ever had. I had previously never been outside the country before so I was terrified, but it was worth it a million times over. The Education Abroad Network really built a perfect program. You live with a Thai roommate, instead of just your home group like most programs, which facilitates the learning of Thai culture exponentially. Plus, it allows for you to get a real experience of Thailand, rather than the touristy side of Thailand. Further, the program allows for a lot of freedom. I had class everyday for 3 hours a day but once class was over, I was able to go where I wanted and do what I wanted. They even gave students a one week break where we were seriously able to do what we pleased. For example, I took that time to relax at the beaches of Krabi (south Thailand), another student on the program took that time to go to Bangkok, and another student took that time to go to Laos. It was nice to have so much freedom because it allowed for us to get the most out of the program by our own means, whether that meant visiting temples, experiencing the nightlife, or living like a local. Something else that was really awesome about the program was the courses. I was hesitant about studying abroad because I felt as though taking classes while in another country would take away from the experience; however, it enhanced it. A lot of class time was spent in Thailand, rather than in a classroom. We learned by immersion, meaning that rather than trying to learn about Thailand by reading a textbook, we actually went to go see and experience it for ourselves. For example, in my Cultural Foundations of Thai Society course (I also took a Business in Southeast Asia course) we studied Buddhism for a week, and instead of just learning from powerpoints we went to go visit temples and talk to monks. I definitely don't regret choosing to take courses in Thailand, because the skills, ideas, and knowledge I gained in those courses have expanded my horizons both academically and personally.

Studying abroad in Chiang Mai, Thailand through The Education Abroad Network (TEAN) was the best decision I have ever made. I cannot say enough good things about my experience in Chiang Mai. The program provided amazing support before the program as we prepared for our semester in Thailand and during the program, if we had questions about visas for travel outside of Thailand, if we wanted recommendations for restaurants or fun places to go out, pretty much anything we needed they were there to help. There are great excursions through TEAN, like to Krabi in the southern Thai islands, but the program is also flexible enough that you can travel on your own to other parts of Thailand or Southeast Asia. Living in Chiang Mai was unlike anything I have ever experience before: the Thai people could not be nicer, the city could not be more beautiful and vibrant, and the entire place is just bursting with color and life and delicious food and a million things to do. Living in Chiang Mai also provides such an incredible perspective on another part of the world - you will learn about Thai culture and customs, different religious beliefs, try new foods, and experience the way people live in other parts of the world. My heart belongs to Chiang Mai and always will, and I am so thankful to have studied abroad there with TEAN!

Chiang Mai was just an amazing place to be. The people were beyond friendly, the food was incredible and the landscape was breathtaking. I made great Thai, American and International friends. I learned to be more open to other cultures ways of thinking and also to just go with the flow of things. Sometimes things go wrong and you just have to breathe and then laugh about it. One time I was at a restaurant during a really bad downpour and the ceiling started leaking and we had to move to a table probably meant for 2 with 6 people. We just laughed about it the whole time. you just have to roll with the punches. The food was some of the best I've every had. I love street food! Eat it! Don't be scared. I think that's the best advice I can give, don't shy away or be scared of anything. Try everything, do everything you can, talk to as many locals as you can, become friends with the Thais, speak thai, do it all!

Studying abroad in Thailand was the best experience I could have ever dreamed of. We lived in Chiang Mai, which is the second biggest city in Thailand, nestled in the northern hills. The city has everything you'd want- the true traditional Thai culture of monks walking on the streets collecting alms at 6 am, food stalls lining the roads, temples interspersed with restaurants and stores, markets everywhere but also a lively social scene with backpackers and westerners alike. The food is amazing and ridiculously cheap (an average meal is $1-$5, 5 being on the very expensive side when you want to splurge on western food). The city is surrounded by a beautiful countryside where you can easily escape the bustling madness to waterfalls and rice fields. There's no denying this is "the land of smiles." The local people are some of the sweetest, generous and all around happy people I have ever met. TEAN provided us with housing at Uniloft, which is an apartment/dorm style complex about a mile from the University. It's very nice place to live, equipped with a gym, a pool, laundry services, cleaning services and round the clock security. Within TEAN's program, we also got paired with a Thai roommate (which was one of my favorite parts of my experience). Living with a Thai roommate helped immerse us in the culture even more. We adopted their traditions (taking shoes off before entering rooms, gift giving) and also got to share some of our culture with them. Though we learned Thai in school and tried to practice as much as possible with the locals, having Thai friends to help get us out of situations where our Thai failed us was awesome (for example, we needed to call a bus company to get tickets to Bangkok and one of our Thai friends planned the entire trip for us and got us a better deal!). TEAN also provided us with awesome excursions. We spent a week in a rural village with host families and got to experience first hand how a culture, so vastly different from western society, lives. We also spent the weekend in the beautiful southern island of Krabi. TEAN hooked us up with rock climbing and a boat tour of all the surrounding islands. One of my major concerns was not being able to travel around Southeast Asia enough. I knew that my friends going to Europe would visit a plethora of other countries but I didn't know how easy it would be to travel around. I ended up going to Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia as well as traveling all throughout Thailand. It is definitely a bit of a struggle but so worth it. Not only is Thailand a beautiful country, Southeast Asia as a whole has so much to offer.

Chiang Mai is the cultural capital of Thailand, which makes it an incredible place to study abroad. When I was looking to go abroad for a second time I wanted something a little different and the program created by the Education Abroad Network exceeded my expectations. I loved living with a local student and really enjoyed working with the faculty and resident directors. The city is great because it provides a mix of nature and urban comforts. Chiang Mai is a stunningly beautiful place to live and has so many opportunities to explore. The orientation week allowed us to see the city from a unique prospective- from playing with elephants, meeting with NGOs, getting Thai massages to finding the best local restaurants and learning a little bit of essential Thai. Taking the local language while abroad is a huge asset, making it easier to get around the city and feel comfortable being independent. The village homestay was a great taste and immersion into local, traditional culture. The courses were inspiring and relevant. Learning about Southeast Asia when it's right outside the door to explore is really an incredible experience. I was abroad in the Fall and we were giving 2 full weeks of break which was ample time to travel around and experience other parts of Thailand and adjacent countries. I also had the opportunity to volunteer while I was in Chiang Mai and couldn't have enjoyed my experience more. I spent time teaching English at an elementary school and working with mentally and physically disabled artists at the Healing Family Foundation. Overall, I don't think I could have picked a better study abroad program for me!