Author: Ellie Ashbrook
Program: CIS Summer in Thailand
My name is Ellie, and I will be attending Chiang Mai University located in northern Thailand. I will be a junior in the College of Nursing program at Valparaiso University this fall 2016.
Why Chiang Mai? My family gave me the opportunity to choose any place in the world to study abroad (I had to do some convincing…and well, it worked). I have always been in love with outdoor excursions and have always been fascinated by Buddhism and Buddhist Art. As part of my studying abroad experience, I will be participating in many outdoor activities and will be taking Buddhist Philosophy and Thai Language courses.
Why NOT Chiang Mai? It only takes a total of 19.5 hours to get there with one connecting flight (if you are lucky). The first leg of my trip is 15.20 hours to Shanghai, China (the country’s biggest city), where I will have a night to rest for my second flight. The flight to Chiang Mai airport should only take 4.5 hours. I will be staying at the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel while I attend Chiang Mai University for 4 weeks. I have been interested in the CIS Summer in Thailand program since my sophomore year of college. This past spring I took Professor Corazzo’s art history class, Ancient to Medieval Art History, and if you know Corazzo and her enthusiasm for that class, you would fall in love with the various forms of culture and art just like I did. Each class, Professor Corazzo would comment, “You WILL go to these places.”
There are only a few days left until I board the plane, and I have so many mixed emotions. I am excited, frightened, nervous, and pretty much any emotion you can think of. I am so happy to be sharing my first independent trip you with. I hope that my passages interest you and get you thinking of planning a study abroad experience of your own.
But someday you WILL visit Chiang Mai, Thailand.
-Ellie A.
