Why Thailand is called the "Land of Smiles"

When you first think of studying abroad in Thailand, you probably think of studying abroad in Bangkok. The city Khon Kaen is a 6 hour drive away from Bangkok located in Isaan aka the Northeast region of Thailand, also known as the poorest region of Thailand. As a student majoring in Public Health, this region is where I needed to be. Through the Community Public Health (CPH) program, you'll have the opportunity to go into local villages, learn about their public health concerns, and come up with ways to address these concerns.

Students going in won't necessarily produce solutions that will "save the village," but it will make an impact both for the community and you as an individual learning about a different culture and real public health. One of my biggest take aways from CPH is that public health isn't as simple as i.e. providing water filters to an entire community to "save them" from drinking dirty water, or getting all the village dogs spayed/neutered to rid the village of rabies. Sometimes, the problems aren't as "severe" as one would think, and sometimes - most times - the solutions aren't as simple as one would think either. I learned that when it comes to public health, all of this is normal and ok.

In addition to the CPH (and Beginner's/Intermediate/Advanced Thai) class, you will be joined by Thai roommates, who will be your direct insight into all that is Thai and Isaan culture. These roommates will teach you how to laugh and how to incorporate the "no worries" mentality into your life -- which is very refreshing in comparison to the American mindset (if you're not sure what that is, you'll find out when you stay in Khon Kaen long enough).

Isaan food can get SPICY. Even those who currently "can't handle spicy food" will end up WANTING to build up some spice tolerance once they taste the food. No matter what your spice tolerance is at now, you will build it through Isaan food -- and you'll be happy that you did! (On a personal note: To this day, I have not found any spice in America that makes me want to fight back the tears while eating the way Isaan food did.)

You would think that being in a foreign country would make you stressed about safety. Well, Khon Kaen is the exception. Students had no trouble walking the Khon Kaen streets/roads during both the day and night. You'll get to know the faces of locals as they get to know yours -- you might even want to stop by and say hello to them!

TL; DR: You will probably leave the program not wanting to leave and in tears. Study abroad in Khon Kaen, Thailand!