Being a Foreign Student in Siam University

May 18, 2014. Written By Ms.  Karissa  Baguisi  Id: 5608100057

 

The first time I set foot in Bangkok, I realized that I really have to start university life. Shifting from work to studies was a bit nerve-racking because there will be a lot of students that are younger than me. At work, I was the youngest so I was only dealing with older people. I kept on thinking whether I will survive without friends - yeah, I was planning not to have any friends. Don’t judge me.

 

A week before the orientation, my sister and I bought our uniforms for the university. I think some people expect not to wear uniform because in most universities all over the world wear casual clothes. However, here in Thailand, all university students have to wear a uniform - you’ll love to wear uniform as you don’t have to worry about people judging you wearing the same clothes. Before coming to Thailand, I did a research what the uniforms in Thailand look like and it just made me more nervous because the uniform for women students are tight-fitting blouse and really short skirt – it does not suit my body type. Fortunately, there are a lot of different styles of women university uniforms here. I bought the knee-length skirt and not-so-fitting blouse – really comfortable to wear. Buying the uniforms added up to my anxiety.

 

The most awaited orientation happened on June 17, 2013 if I remembered correctly. It took place at the auditorium in 19th Building. After registering, I went inside of the auditorium and there were students already. I sat somewhere far from them but then the students who are my classmates now, called me and told me to sat with them. They kept on asking me about things – it felt like a job interview – like why I studied in Siam University, my name, age, why I look young, why I look sad – yeah, it was a lot. From right then, I realized how friendly Thais are. Then, there was a free lunch for students of our program. I made more acquaintances on that day.

 

Few days after, our classes started. I met Dr. Bongkosh, Mr. Kris, Yasue Sensei, Mr. Taveechai, Mr. San, and Dr. Tanakorn. All of these lecturers and professors have different style of teachings but it was easy to get used to them. They are all highly experienced professionals so studying with them is such a great opportunity.

 

As days go by, I made more friends and now I have close friends who I can trust. As what I have written before, I was not planning to have friends. I think I was not friendly and people were hesitant to approach me, but I would like to thank my close friends now for breaking that barrier. I am more than happy now because of them. My friends are a mix of Thais and Foreigners. With them, I have learned more about Thailand and of course other countries as well because of my foreigner friends. It is really nice to know more about the culture of other people. There are just a lot of new things to learn and experience each day.

 

Here are some tips for the foreign students who would like to enroll in our program:

 

• Be friendly – having friends is a great way to learn more about Thailand and other countries

• Be patient – there are Thai students who are not used to speak in English, try to understand them more and help them improve their English

• Be hardworking – hardworking students in our program are usually recognized all the time and it will be easy to get A

• Have fun – there are a lot of things to experience in our program so please enjoy and cherish it.