Thailand, as it is referred to by many people, is known as "The Land of Smiles." This is quite the understatement. Land of constant smiles is more accurate. Everyone here is so nice and seemingly happy that it is contagious. You can't help but smile when you see their ear to ear grins. Whether they speak broken english or none at all, people are eager to point you in the right direction, sell you some kind of foreign food, or just smile as you accidentally graze them on the street. The best thing thus far about this place is how friendly strangers are to you.
Wednesday we had a free day, as our housing tour didn't start until Thursday, so we decided to explore. We ventured down to Siriaj, a hospital near the hotel we are staying in to visit the Songkran Niyomsane Forensic Medical Museum. All I have to say is thank god we hadn't eaten yet, because I don't think I would have made it through without losing it. The museum was filled with things that weren't for those with a weak stomach. At 40 Baht (around $1.10) we first see an all white room with a circular table topped with around 8 or so tanks on the top. Inside the tanks were preserved babies. These babies were various forms of medical phenomenons. Varying from siamese twins, mermaids, babies born with their organs on the outside, one born with its skull caved in, and a cyclops. I couldn't help to be baffled at the sight before my eyes. It was quite overwhelming to think that between those thin layers of glass was a baby just floating in preservatives with stitches across its body from where it had been previously examined. Next, we came to a giant hallway that featured bones and photographs. The bones were cool. I liked the bones compared to the photos. The photos were very graphic, gory scenes of several accidents that had apparently come to the hospital. There was a man decapitated by a train, a person's arm who had committed suicide with several slashes down the wrist, and the most disturbing, a baby that had been killed by a molotov cocktail. The museum featured five different parts, but there was no real order within the place. There was mummified rapists that had received the death penalty right next to a bookshelf full of preserved snakes. Weird to say the least. It was definitely an experience, I love forensics and I although I caught myself wincing at most of the exhibits, I am so glad we went.
After our little museum visit we made our way to the school to find where we would be meeting the next day for our housing tour. Well, getting to the school was less than easy. I felt like we were in a maze. Vendors selling anything from food to pocket calculators are scattered around everywhere. You can't even walk through some places without seeing tons of things available to buy. After finally arriving on campus, I was pleasantly surprised. Campus was beautiful with tons of greenery and beautiful architecture. After walking around like typical tourists, asking a million people for directions, not knowing where anything is, we found the place we needed to be. After getting ourselves acclimated to finding that again... thank god for strange landmarks, we moved on to see an awesome park right by school. The park had a tooth relic in the center, which was really interesting. People were crowded around with flowers and incense in tow paying their respects. I often feel incredibly disrespectful when I am around the temples and memorials because I don't really know what to do. There seems to be set rituals for these types of settings, all ones that I don't fully understand. However, this is only my first week, and Rome wasn't built in a day.
It is almost impossible to look attractive in the blazing heat of the city. I go from okay to hot mess in a matter of minutes, but it seems to be the style here. I have met some really nice people that will be studying at Thammasat this semester and the conversation almost always starts with What's your name? Where are you from? and How do you like this heat? It's quite amusing to me that people always find some grounds to connect with people, even if it as small as the weather. I should have gotten my hair cut because it is just almost unmanageable. Ridiculously hot and sticky weather doesn't help my prone to frizzing locks.
Today, we had a housing tour, which featured 3 locations. The first was a less than desirable version of what we are currently staying in. It was an older building with nothing really special about it besides the amazing landscaping. Strange that they put so much focus into the outside of a mediocre building. The second, ironically, was the place we are already staying in, Amarin Mansion. It is a quaint little place with friendly staff, high security, and overall satisfactory accommodations. The third was far more luxurious. Sivali Place was a beautiful hotel/apartment complex that was located in a residential type area. The rooms were way nicer than any we had seen, but the price was also more than double. Equipped with a swimming pool, tennis courts, gym, sauna, karaoke, and a pushy staff, it was almost worth it to overlook the price and just go with it, but there was one exception, the distance. A 45 minute walk and a 30-? (who knows how long in traffic) commute to school, it just didn't seem worth all the cushy extras and the big rent bill. Amarin is a happy medium between the two, and I can see myself living here with no worries. I am already getting used to how to get around down here, and I feel very safe at this place, which is really important to me.
I look forward to class registration and orientation tomorrow. I cannot wait to see what my schedule will look like for the next five months. Then, I suppose the weekend is free to do some more exploring! Should be fun!
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