If you have wanderlust like me then you’re probably going to study abroad. UCEAP does a really great job at both helping you get organized and prepping you for the experience. Among the various meetings I went to before going to Thailand for the semester, I received very useful advice. However, there were a few things that I experienced on my journey that I wasn’t quite prepared for. Wisdom comes with experience, so allow me to share:
1. Aunt Flo will freak out!
My period was sooo late when I first went abroad to Thailand. I was lucky that I had an international data plan for my phone, because I spent countless hours on Google, webMD, and Wikipedia, (as well as numerous random forums), to research what the hell was going on.
It turns out that the delay I experienced with my menses is actually normal. Apparently, jetlag and stress, (mental stress, stress on your body, emotional stress, etc., infinity), can cause Aunt Flo to arrive later than planned, as if she had a layover or something.
2. You’ll experience culture shock…. when you get home.
While I’m abroad, I definitely have moments when I’m like “WTF is going on here. I’m so shocked,” but the most shocking thing to experience, I think, is that moment when you come home and you have to remind yourself that it wasn’t just some lucid dream.
I do not look forward to the day when I’ll try to buy pad Thai in California because I know how expensive it’s going to be. Pad Thai is about 30 THB, which is less than a dollar. Compare that to $13, which is about 421 THB.
That will definitely be a culture shock!
3. You will pick up an accent.
Have you ever had a Harry Potter marathon and then realize six hours later that you’re not only talking, but also thinking in an English accent? A similar linguistic phenomenon happened to my friend Andrew this semester. He adopted an English accent for an entire weekend after becoming chums with a few lads from the UK.
During my stay in Thailand I stopped pronouncing my Ls. I’m serious. My mom swears I’ve developed an accent since I moved.
I live near Pinkloa bridge, but locals pronounce the name differently. So whenever I hail a cab, I ask them to take me to “Pink-Ow.” Nobody says “PinkLoa.”
4. “Time difference” means more than just PST.
This issue goes beyond just jetlag. The culture I grew up in Los Angeles is very engaged in the hustle and bustle. But it’s not like this everywhere, and the culture influenced time difference can take awhile to get use to.
In Spain and other Latin influenced countries people partake in the wonderful tradition of siesta, taking naps in the middle of the afternoon. During this time, shops and restaurants will close for a couple hours and not many people will be on the street. I’ve experienced “Thai Time,” where lunch at noon can mean anything from 12pm to 4 in the afternoon. Mây pen ray, khà.
Mya is currently studying abroad in Bangkok, Thailand.You can follow her adventures on IG: Myajoy