It Was All A Dream!

Thailand was everything I had hoped it would be, and trust me, I did a lot of research to figure out what I was getting myself into. I loved the group of people I studied abroad with, the locals were friendly and helpful (and English was widely spoken, so it wasn't hard to get past a language barrier), the natural beauty couldn't be beat, the food was to die for, the prices of everyday life was way less than what I would have been spending back in the states, and overall I learned so much about myself.

The field trips USAC organized were second to none, I really enjoyed everything they arranged for us and it made it really simple to get acquainted with local culture. The on-site staff felt like a second family, and they always tried their best to help us do things we wanted around the city. We had friends from other study abroad programs in Chiang Mai that didn't have nearly as much flexibility as we had with our USAC program, and that hindered them in various ways. I really felt like I was taken care of, but not treated like a child that needed constant watching over.

I am so glad I took the leap to go somewhere new and exciting instead of a program in an English speaking country. You mature so quickly in such a short amount of time, make lifelong friends who are also growing and learning, and you make together memories that will last you a lifetime. Was it all a dream? No, but I'm forever daydreaming about Thailand.