Overall Thoughts

CIEE is definitely an excellent program to start through. They are always available to answer any questions. They take care of placement and the school you're placed at takes care of everything for your visa. The steps to be a legal worker in Thailand are long and tedious so I am very thankful to have that taken care of. Orientation was great, however, I feel like many negative aspects were omitted. Everything was always answered positively instead of being upfront about common problems one might experience. I think a positive attitude is important but there was definitely a lot of false advertisement on how happy and great everything is. You will most likely face many unprepared challenges. There were also a ton of fees that needed to be paid for in the first couple of months that were never mentioned on the application. I unfortunately do not have much to do in my city nor do I have many people to hang out with (this may be a good thing depending on your preferences). However, I did meet amazing people during orientation who I travel with on the weekends frequently. I believe your experience really depends on where you're placed and who you are placed with. Overall I would say my experience has been great and I am thankful to have done this.