Usually I do not write too much about politics and elections over here since I think I still do not have enough background knowledge to completely understand what is going on here and where the different political views are coming from. Nevertheless there are elections coming up on July 3rd and it is, obviously, important that every eligable voter casts his vote.

Everybody who won’t be at home or able to cast his vote at election day had the chance to register for the advanced vote (do not ask me why there is no mail election possible) which took place today! Advanced vote means that you could cast your vote today and do not have to go to the ballots on July 3rd. The votes that were casted today remain sealed until July 3rd...

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On June 16, 2011 two important activities took place at Udon Thani Vocational College. But see for yourself what was happening in our short trailer… Before the action could take place the day started with an old tradition. The so called “Wai Kru” (teacher’s day). Students took part in a 90 minutes lasting activity and honored their teachers. After the ceremony was finished everybody had a little time to relax and to prepare for the upcoming events during the Mister and Miss Vocational 2011 contest. And the contest started with an incredible impressive performance by our very own and amazing cheerleaders. Then the contestants had time to introduce themselves and to receive the first roses from their fans. The girls (and boys) went crazy and tried to everything to push their favorite to the top spot. Afterwards the next show act waited to impress the audience a second time. UVC’s B-Boys entered the stage and rocked the house with their awesome performance. And since not only the girls wanted to have something to watch, there was also an awesome dance performance by our female Cover Dance group! But see yourself….fan mail please to fans@r-rcheewa-uvc.com…we will forward it to the girls [...]Read More

When people hear of Thailand, they usually think of the beautiful tourist destination, as millions of people from around the world visit, touring the country and taking in all it has to offer, from its famous tourist attractions to its unique culture and inimitable landscape and scenery. A second context may also be in order, as people may think of a struggling Asian country that can often seem like a third world country which people constantly try to leave towards western countries.

Unfortunately, the majority of people aren’t familiar with another wonderful side that Thailand has to offer its incoming tourists...

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Finally a new chapter in my Thailand experience notebook. After more than 8 months in Thailand I finally happened to see a hospital in all its beauty…well. Somehow.

It was an average sunday afternoon. Like many times before I put on my inline skates (rollerblades) and rolled around the college. I prepared my little slalom route (consisting of old coke cans – recycling!) and did some warm-up laps. Everything fine. As usual. Then, all of sudden, just after an average and pretty slow 180 degree turn (everybody who skates knows that this isn’t something special) I somehow lost balance and fell. On my butt. That’s how you do it. Before you break arms or knees, fall on the butt. No problem. Little painful but no problem at all. Happens from time to time. So get up, stand up and go on practicing...

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When people ask me about my life at the Udon Thani Vocational College I usually tell them that I have the best students ever and that I would do everything for them. That they are simply amazing and worth all the hard work. And I still stick to this statement. Nevertheless there is another key factor influencing the life at the college. The time outside the classroom (even though I do not spend to much time outside the classroom this term – thx again, UVC). The time outside the classroom is not that easy since almost everybody pretends to not understand me or simply plays stupid. Latest example in the “oh are you kidding me” series: I’ve been asking for a key to the small door close to my room for over 8 months now...

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Since this is a ranting post I will keep it short. But it bothers me quite a lot so I have to let it out. Sorry.

I bought a new Olympus camera at the end of last year here in Thailand. One year warranty. Sure thing. The camera was quite ok and I had a lot of fun with my pictures. Like always it comes down to emergencies when you realize whether a brand is worth the trust or not. And Olympus is definitely not!

6 weeks ago I realized that the zoom isn’t working properly so I brought the camera to the next PowerBuy shop (where I bought it) over here in Udon Thani. They told (at least they tried with hand and feet – funny though since they write all their signs and ads in English but nobody of the staff can speak English…...

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One of the pretty cool things to work as teacher at a college is that you talk to a lot of different students. Obviously. The other day I started to talk about intercultural communication, we analyzed different cultural habbits and somehow ended up talking about one of the most common phenomenons in Thailand: The “old foreigner / young Thai girl couple”.

While I still look away most of the times I see such a couple thai people – at least students (95% girls) – seem to have a different point of view. I talked about that topic with 16-21 year old students and the results varied a little. Nevertheless it was somehow shocking for me to realize, that especially the younger girls seem to have no problem to have an old “boyfriend” as long as he brings money to the family...

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Thailand is an incredible country to visit, and has become very popular with visitors from all over the world.  As soon as you arrive you will be overwhelmed with the friendliness of the people, and amazed by the different aromas, and sights that you will see. Finding accommodation in any country can be daunting, and you will need to consider several different things.

The choice of cheap accommodation in Thailand is huge, however, many people prefer not to stay in hotels, and are looking for alternatives. If you are looking for a far more personal approach, and want to interact with the locals staying in their homes is an option. Although you may think this is strange at first, more and more people are using these services to save money, and learn more about the culture.

What better way to...

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