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Field Trip for Incoming Exchange Students @ Dusit Resort, Hua Hin

By Mr. Bradford Eliot Cogswell

Exchange student from University of Southern California, USA

Deciding to study abroad this semester at Thammasat was not an easy choice for me. I was leaving behind the University of Southern California, friends, and family to travel over twelve thousand miles across the globe. I knew no other exchange students and very little about Thai culture. My first few days seemed like a marathon of meeting new people, finding a place to live, and beginning to get used to life at Thammasat. It wasn’t until the weekend with the other exchange students in Hua Hin did I really begin to feel like part of Thammasat BBA.

Our trip began Thursday morning around eight. The twenty three undergrad students and several graduate students boarded a bus not knowing what to expect for the weekend except a trip to the beach. There were several cliques that had formed prior to this trip, but in general no one really knew each other. We arrived in Hua Hin at the gorgeous Dusit Resort and headed straight to the beach before we were supposed to meet for our incredible lunch buffet. After lunch we worked off our food comas by more relaxing at the beach and then everyone met on a large lawn on the side of the hotel for some team bonding activities.

These activities were truly the highlight of the trip. We divided into three teams to accomplish various challenges that forced us to work together and in the process get to know each other. The initial cliques that had been formed before the trip gradually broke down and everyone got a chance to bond. Although my team was not pronounced the winner, I still say that team Happy Hour was by far the best and a mistake must have been made in the judging.

The relationships formed during the team building activities carried over into the night where we had drinks on the beach together until late. The next day we visited Maruekhathaiyawan Palace and the initial plan had been to head back to Bangkok afterwards. However, as what I feel is the greatest testament to the bonds that had been formed over the weekend, a large group of us decided to find a guesthouse in Hua Hin and stay through Monday. The rest of our weekend involved more hanging out at the beach, renting motorbikes for a 90 km ride south to Prachuap Khiri Khan, and a trip to Wat Thammasarn where we were entertained by hundreds of monkeys along the hike up the mountain.

After the weekend I feel much closer to the other BBA exchange students and am very thankful Thammasat BBA afforded us this trip. It brought us all into a more comfortable mood and has us all looking forward to spending the next five months in Bangkok together. Now, my feelings of hesitation of leaving everything behind in California has been replaced by an excitement for the new people I will meet and the experiences I will be a part of this next semester.

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Posted date: January 30, 2008 – 16:05 hrs.

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