ISA Study Abroad in Bangkok, Thailand

Being that this was my first time outside of the U.S., there are only two words that describe my study abroad experience - LIFE CHANGING. From the beginning this program was organized. I love that ISA offered a portal that keep informed on what needed to be completed to solidify our overall trip. Whether it be medical clearance to verification of flights, ISA ensure we were well prepared before embarking on this journey. The staff was very helpful, genuine, and accessible at all times. The excursions that were plan for us not only allowed us to learn more about the culture, but gave us a sense of gratefulness as Americans. If it was not for ISA, I would not have been able to meet amazing people from all over the U.S - but all over the world. ISA will always have a place in my heart and I recommend anyone who is interested in studying abroad to go through ISA. Overall, it was a formative experience that taught me flexibility, adaptability, and communicating betterDes in tough situations.

I am not often one to complain about things, and I really do try to take out the best aspects of programs, but I was honestly quite disappointed with my experience at MUIC through Globalinks.

I'll break it up into sections...

Academics: The school is, as almost all the people in my program (50+) said, "a joke." It hardly feel like university at all. From my experience and from what I heard, people either had NO homework the whole time (which means your grade weighs entirely on a midterm, final project, and final exam), or were completely overloaded and way too harshly graded. The teachers are not keen on giving exam guidelines, and a few of them (Americans & Europeans) were brutally racist against Thais and openly talked negatively of Thai students, saying how they were less intelligent than International students right in front of them. Ick. One of my teachers admitted that he gave a class average of 60% on our midterm exam to SCARE us into paying attention for the rest of the term & studying harder for the final. Really sketchy.

Also, the International Relations Office people at MUIC who are there to guide and aid intnl. students were very kind and often helpful, but had serious communications issues. The guidelines for payments we had to make at the beginning of the trimester were very unclear and many people lost money over it. Also, required forms were emailed to us to be filled out for the school and there were many glitches on the form sites, re-dos, and re-sends. Quite frustrating.

Living Situation: The Green Park Homes Village is not apartments, but dorm rooms in a shared building with one common space where (when I was there) exceedingly LOUD, painfully immature American gals congregated to drink, shout, and talk shit about everyone & everything. I was miserable and there were about 6 girls out of 30 or so who very obviously kept to themselves in their rooms because being in the common space was so unbearable. The space is kept clean, however, by an absolutely charming maid, and all the basic necessities of living are provided. No printers, though, so you have to do that at school. Oh, and the internet was slower than 1990's dial-up. I kid you not. heh...

Cultural Immersion & Program Admin: Aaron Clark was amazing. He was our Globalinks Residence Coordinator and he gave the company a great name & face. He took us on a 3-day tour of Northern Thailand and was funny, kind, caring, straightforward, and informative. He left us his contact info and was available the rest of the quarter, but we only really saw him again once or twice, which was fine.

Thailand: The country itself is beautiful and variegated. Much to see and do for very little money. Awesome food and extremely kind, accommodative people. Bangkok, however (or rather, the outskirts of Bangkok, which is where the school and dorms are), was not ideal. The smog is so thick, you can see it dissipate at a certain height and turn into sky. Acid rain. The city felt very overpacked, but if you like a lot of activity, this wouldn't be a problem. At a moment of clear traffic, it should only take 20 mins. to get into the city center from the dorms, but more often than not, there is infamous traffic and you can count on 1.5 - 2 hour journeys into the heart of Bangkok MOST of the time -- really.

If you head out of the city, though, it is glorious. The Real Thailand. The northern countryside is lush and spectacular, the southern beaches and islands are tropical and post-card perfect. Chiang Mai is a much clearer, humbler, and more relaxed city surrounded by mountains. A great place to visit on a weekend if you can endure 9-14 hour bus/train rides. The island of Koh Phangan (off southern coast) offers many yoga & meditation retreats for the spiritually-minded. Neighboring islands have full moon parties if you want to get rowdy and experience Thailand's tourist party scene. It is WILD.

Overall, I disliked the school experience intensely. But I enjoyed the country very much, though it requires much patience, as it is still developing, and things like traffic, transportation, dining, etc. are not always perfectly smooth experiences. But that is much of the charm! If you are patient and kind, Thailand's beauty will unfold before you.

The school, however, was naught but a drag, and I would never recommend it to anyone.

Also, Globalinks kind of ropes you into paying over twice as much for housing as you would pay if you simply went and arranged your own housing through MUIC beforehand. If you go the convenient route and have Globalinks set up housing for you, expect to be bummed out when you go to school and find that the cost of living is so low that you could have saved about $500 finding boarding with your own efforts.

I had an amazing time studying at MUIC through global links. Like someone else said the tuition for MUIC itself is roughly $2,200 and global links charges you around $7,500. It seemed a bit steep, but after talking to people going with other programs it was on the cheaper side. Aaron, the director, was very helpful and would be quick to respond to any questions you had. He also gave us all a fair amount of insight on the differences between Thai and Western culture. The only problem I encountered in Thailand was with the medical care; I came down with viral meningitis and my doctor at the Phaya Thai II hospital told me it was most likely food poisoning, despite the fact I had no symptoms of food poisoning and he had run no tests. Fortunately for me, I convinced him to do a blood test and we found out I had viral meningitis. Despite the healthcare Thailand is an amazing and beautiful country, I can't wait to go back.

Thailand will always be one of the best experiences of my life. I have nothing negative to report about the country in general. The Thai people are always helpful and rarely did we ever feel unsafe. However, I was unsatisfied with GlobaLinks as a study abroad program. The program fees are incredibly high for such an inexpensive country and although I asked why this was and what my money was going towards, the staff at GlobaLinks never gave a clear answer. As students, we each paid a total of around $8000 in program fees when the tuition for the school was no more than $2500. Where the extra $5500 went is a mystery since this program advertises itself as non-profit. GlobaLinks also changed their policies and failed to update their website with all the new information on fees and visa applications, so, as you can imagine, it was extremely frustrating when we were not told about the changes made to fees until we had already paid the initial payment that was non-refundable. My fellow students and I also had many problems with the coordinator who was very delayed in responding to our emails and was unable to keep in contact with us while we were abroad. I would recommend studying in Thailand to anyone. However when it comes to GlobaLinks I would say to find another study abroad program or be adventurous and go on your own since this one is extremely over priced and not worth your money for the poor, inadequate services they provide.

I had an awesome time in Thailand generally and studying at Mahidol. The culture and people of Thailand are unique and wonderful, not to mention the amazing food (often found in the most unlikely of places). It is also a great place to travel out of, I had a great opportunity to visit Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Cambodia while studying at Mahidol. The trip to Cambodia offered the chance to see the Khmer Rouge Tribunal's initial hearings for Case 002, which proved to be an inspiring event. There were so many unique opportunities and learning experiences, it is hard to narrow it down into a review or even a book for that matter. I consider myself very lucky to have had this experience, and feel as though I was able to make the most out of it through the friends I made, the chances I took, and the limbs I stepped out on. I would highly recommend this study abroad program to almost anyone, it takes a lot of patience and an open-minded outlook to maximize this experience, but for those who do, it is truly inspirational and humbling experience.

I always thought that I would have difficulties traveling around the country at first, but when I became friends with other students, it was easy to get around because we always traveled in groups and have fun along the way. It was the best experience and I would not trade anything for it. I would definitely go again if the opportunity arise.

I worked with David Grove through AsiaLearn. I was treated with so much respect, and he helped me with every little detail and problem I had. I am glad I choose them.