International Culture Classroom: Study Abroad in Thailand

2018 Wimpfheimer-Guggenheim Essay Competition Winner

By: Pradtana Tapanee, MSc


An international cross-cultural experience is one of the keys to a successful career. International experience provides students and interns the opportunity to increase their cultural awareness and understanding of other cultures. It promotes critical thinking while gaining an international perspective on their major area of study. The study abroad in Thailand program at Mississippi State University (MSU) was developed for undergraduate and graduate students from Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion majors or any other students interested in nutrition and health. It is lead by Assistant Professor Terezie Mosby, Dietetic Internship Director, and Miss Pradtana Tapanee, a PhD student in Nutrition at MSU. This program was a collaboration between MSU and institutes in Thailand such as Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University (INMU), Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok Hospital, and Golden Jubilee Medical Center. The purposes of this program were to provide new perspectives on dietetics through exposure to course work based in a different culture and to engage students in research or other projects with local students and faculty from Mahidol University.

Program: Study Abroad in Thailand was a 10 day trip. Nine students from MSU participated in the trip.

Day 1: Free time
Students spent their time in Koh Larn Island. Koh Larn is located in Pattaya which is about a two-hour drive south from Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. They were able to experience local seafood and tropical fruit for the first time.

Day 2: Explore Thai culture I
Students visited Jim Thompson’s house, a museum, which belonged to Jim Thompson who was American businessman and architect. There was a large collection of historical Buddhist statues and traditional Thai paintings made of wood, cloth, and paper that depicted the life of Buddha and the legend of Vessantara Jataka. After the museum tour, the group visited the Bangkok Art and Culture Center which features a collection of contemporary arts. At the end of the day, they went to the MBK center, a large local mall, for dinner. They had Thai style hotpot, a communal dish where diners dip meat, seafood, noodles, dumplings and vegetables into a pot of broth cooking at the table. The food is then dipped into a spicy sauce before eating. The experience was an excellent opportunity to learn how to use chopsticks.

Day 3: Explore Thai culture II
Students visited the Erawan Museum and Ancient City where opening the door is the entrance to the heritage of Thai wisdom.

Day 4: Visit the University
MSU students and course director, Dr. Mosby, met fellow nutrition and INMU staff members and shared experiences in nutrition and the dietetics area. MSU students also had a chance to participate in body composition research. Then they visited the Golden Jubilee Medical Center, where they learned about Chinese Traditional Medicine such as acupuncture, cupping, and other alternative medicine techniques.

Day 5: Cooking Class

Students and staffs attended a cooking class at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, where they made Pad Thai, spring rolls, and mock pomegranate seed.

Day 6: Hospital Tour
They visited the Ramathibodi Hospital, a government hospital, and explored their food service system and nutrition department. Next, they went to the Bangkok Hospital, which is a private hospital, to meet their staff members and also to visit their facilities.

Day 7 and 8: City tour
Students went to China town to explore Chinese culture and food. They also visited Wat Pra Keaw (temple) and Royal Grand Palace.

Day 9: Explore Thai culture
They visited the River Kwai bridge, which was built in World War II by British prisoners of war. Next, they visited Malika Land, a theme park that is a replica of the year 124th of Rattanakosin Era (1905 A.D.). Malika Land also had original Thai food and show.

Day 10: Farewell
Student had free time to explore the city and to purchase some souvenirs.

Transportation:
24 passengers mini bus

Budget:
$1,500 per person (did not include the air fare)

Outcome:

MSU students gained many experiences within the Thai culture and Chinese culture. They also gained experience in hospital setting and management. Moreover, they built an international network with multidisciplinary staff. All of students had 100% satisfaction with the trip and recommended this course to a friend or colleague.

Conclusion and Future Plans:

Study abroad provides individuals with a new perspective. Students had positive experiences during study abroad in Thailand. They had the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities related to nutrition, including visiting the Institute of Nutrition at Mahidol University, exploring Thai street food and the floating market, attending a Thai cooking class, learning about Thai traditional and alternative medicine, and visiting the governmental and private hospital kitchens. In addition, students participated in various activities to learn about the Thai culture including a visit to the Ancient City, attending the elephant show, and a visit to the Royal Grand Palace. For the next trip to Thailand, we will initiate the collaboration for the research between MSU and INMU.


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