Having just finished my first trimester at Mahidol University, I am happy to say that where I live feels like a second home to me. One of the things that I love about where I am based, is the building I live in. I live in an apartment complex that is about a five minute drive from my school, within walking distance to several food establishments and other businesses, and on a major road with bus routes that can take me straight to the center of Bangkok or to the Chatuchak Market.
However, this apartment wouldn’t feel so nice without the community in and around my building. Many of my neighbors are international students like me. They come from all over the world, which is to say from America, Europe and Asia. There are also many Thai people, a few of whom I made friends with, who go to the same school as me. So it is easy for us to come together. Our biggest group chat has over 80 people, and we use this technology to help each other out, to share news, or to invite each other on trips. Our first trip was to Erawan Falls. Going with local friends was really important to me because I didn’t know how to use the public transportation yet, but the girls leading the trip did. Now I can lead such a trip myself, and I just did with two of my friends who could not go the first time.
