Lavished with flowers...and lots of photos!

It’s hard to believe it all started a year ago when my parents and I attended an information
session about Rotary Youth Exchange. What followed was almost a year of applying,
being accepted, then preparing for my one year of Rotary Exchange in Bangkok, Thailand.
Finally, the day came on Aug. 8 that I was to leave. My flight was at 2 a.m., and after saying
goodbye to my (emotional) parents and getting through security, I was officially on my way to
Bangkok, Thailand for 11 months on
Rotary Exchange! I was lucky enough that I was travelling
with two other girls, also headed to Thailand on exchange, and though we were all very excited it
didn’t take us long to fall asleep on
the fist 15-hour flight. We had a three-hour layover in
Hong Kong where we slept on the floor before realizing we didn’t know where our connecting
flight was.
 Alas, we made it on with just enough time to spare and arrived in Bangkok at
10 a.m. local time.
The complicated process of finding my hosts (it took me two hours of
wandering around the
Bangkok airport alone) and leaving behind everything at home was
quite stressful. But I
was greeted by my Rotary Club and all three families I will live with.
It was a most amazing
and heart-warming welcome as they lavished me in flowers, hugs,
and pictures — so
many pictures.

Within my first month here I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing so much, and even now it
still seems so completely surreal. I’ve
started going to school, been to a Buddhist temple,
swam in the South China Sea, walked through countless night markets, and made more friends than
I ever expected. I started school the second week I was here, and I’ve been treated incredibly. I’ve met
only two students who can speak English, and though at first I naturally clung to them as translators,
I’ve been branching out and communicating
with the rest of the student body in Thai. The teachers
have all been so helpful
to locate all of my classes (there are seven buildings) and introduce me to
new students
every day. I am in a school of around 3,000 kids and my classes include: Thai cooking,
Thai dancing, Thai art, Thai clothing, and the Thai language.

 

One of the most complicated issues I had to adapt to with school was how different the schooling
system is. For example, my classes
end at a different time each day, and instead of grade levels,
like Kindergarten to Grade
12, they have what are called prathoms (much like elementary) and
matthayoms (much like
high-school).

 

To choose one specific day as the best so far would be too hard, as every day I spend here seems
to be my favourite.
Choosing between all the experiences that I’ve had wouldn’t give my time
here justice, as it’s
been the most incredible experience I’ve had in my life so far.
 

In these pictures I have included you can see me in my school uniform standing in the back row of
my Rotary club. They are the easiest people to get along with and I can, without a doubt,  say that
each
and every one of them is a gift to the world. The second photo is with my host sisters, aunt,
and a
friend. We were waiting for supper before going to swim in the sea!

 

Thank you to the Rotary Club of St. Marys for supporting me in this experience of a lifetime. They
have had full confidence in me through the entire process. I look forward to the rest of my year here, 
positive that Thailand
has so much more to teach me. I’ve never wanted to learn so much before!

Analee Leavitt