Last Days of the First Course: September 24, 2012 to October 5, 2012

The Public Health Management of Thailand course is coming to an end as we begin our Community Public Health course. 

So far in this class, we turned in two interest papers over 1500 words, prepared a 60 minute presentation on the Thai healthcare system, turned in a 3000 word research paper and gave a 30 minute presentation on the Indonesian health care system after our study visit to Makassar, Indonesia (which I will talk about in my next blog). It is a relatively busy work load for a seven week course considering that we had lectures everyday from 9am to 4pm. Although we had free weekends, it was mostly consumed with writing papers and catching up on some personal time. It is definitely a little disappointing that we did not have much time to travel and sightsee Thailand, but our site visits to the different hospitals slightly make up for this disappointment.

Srinakarind Hospital was the last site visit in Thailand.

We had an opportunity to speak to several patients, visit different buildings and departments within the hospital and interview several nurses and physicians about their daily responsibilities at the hospital.

Karen, our translator, walking around the hospital and interviewing different patients.

Some of these patients must travel over 3 hours to get to the hospital and then wait in line to see a doctor for another 3 hours or more. The hospital does not open until 8am, but some patients arrive as early at 5am in order to make sure that they can see a doctor that day. The clinics close around 5pm, but doctors will continue to see patients who are already in the queuing system. The nurses specified that they hardly ever not take every patient who comes to the hospital, but they might need to wait for an entire day to see a doctor.

It makes me wonder about the efficiency of the appointment versus the queuing systems between the US and Thailand. Some patients in the US may make an appointment as far as several months in advance, while patients in Thailand would be able to see a doctor the same day as long as they are willing to lose an entire work day, travel hundreds of miles and lounge around the waiting area until their number is called.

Talking to the different health personnel around the hospital. We learned about the different services that the hospital provides, the types of patients who come to the University hospital and were given a tour around the different clinics within the hospital

Some of the views within the hospital.

Privacy curtains between patient's beds, comfortable bedding available, large and open queuing areas for the patients....

Another interesting point at this hospital was that the family of the patient must wait outside of the hospital. They simply camp out in the outside hallways of the hospital, bring blankets and wait for a doctor's notice of the patient's health status. Even though this hospital is considered to be an excellent care center (and of course it is because of the number of equipment and human resources available), there are no specific waiting areas for the families. In fact, the families are not welcome to the hospitals as the hospital wants to prevent the continuous spread of the disease.

 

Different equipment available at the physical rehabilitation center at the University Hospital.

I truly appreciate having the opportunity to not only learn about the Thai health care system through lectures, but also put the lectures into perspective through these hospital site visits. Not only am I interested in visiting these hospitals because I want to be a physician in the future, but it allows me to get the realistic side of what we learn in class. It would be great to visit all of the hospital levels in America and do a comparison between the quality of care of the two countries-- including the accessibility of care through insurance in addition to the equipment, medicine and staff available.

Thai Class: Always Amazing

I don't think I have ever enjoyed learning a foreign language as much as I have enjoyed learning Thai. We always have a regular lecture and learn the new unit's vocabulary, but then we continue to practice the material through conversations and friendly competitions. This week, we learned the vocabulary related to the different body parts and what a better way to practice the vocabulary than to draw monsters with specified numbers of heads, eyes, ears, arms, feet, etc.... 

Learning languages should always include using the right and left brain... I have realized that I am very logical and depend highly on the left side of my brain that I should utilize my right brain more! Coming to study abroad in Thailand I knew that I would not only learn the course content that I signed up for, but also learn things about myself that would be difficult to do without leaving my comfort zone at home. I have learned about my true personality, my preferred role in a group setting, my learning habits, my values etc. It has certainly been an insightful journey and I can't wait to continue to find out more things about myself!

 

As another Thai fun activity, we came to a Thai restaurant and learned how to cook Tom Yam Kung soup. In fact, it was a cooking challenge and our team won second place! Although we did not get first place, we were still very happy because I think it came as a surprise how much the judges enjoyed our soup. I think one of us paid off the judges :)

Overall: The first course of the Public Health Program has been very busy, but I have definitely enjoyed my time here in Khon Kaen. Yes, perhaps I have not had as much time to travel as I would have first imagined, but I am also not here on vacation. Plus, we have been able to visit Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai and we will travel to Makassar and Bali in Indonesia in just a couple of days. Also, this program does a great job of including great activities outside of lectures and there are times when I feel like I am at camp instead of school because it is still very hot here and we have structured activities from the morning until the evening. 

I also can't say that this program is academically challenging. I am worried to come back to UIC and have a full load semester during my last semester as a senior. I feel like I have fallen out of the rhythm of studying and preparing for examinations that it will come as a shock to me once the spring semester begins.

In general, my perception of this program is positive because I have been able to visit hospitals, speak to health personnel, participate in fun Thai activities, meet amazing people and stay in rural, slum and urban homestays. However, I do wish that the academic content could be more challenging and that I took a bigger advantage of the free weekends we have in order to plan more short trips. However, I am happy to be here and continue this program; although I am missing everyone at home. 

I will leave Thailand soon and be back home in states in just a matter of several weeks.

Chiang Mai Trip: Thursday September 20, 2012 to Monday September 24, 2012

Thursday's Plan

Take Chiang Mai Bus at 8pm after class

Sleep on the bus during the 11 hour bus ride

Excited to leave Khon Kaen for the weekend!

All eight of us are ready to embark on our journey to Chiang Mai!

Bus ride experience: Unforgettable. 

So, we bought tickets for basically a first class bus ride that had reclining and massaging chairs (which was a great plus but not completely necessary) and air conditioning because we wanted to avoid melting in Thailand weather. Little did we know, air conditioning meant that you would be placed into a freezer that was set way below zero degrees Celsius  Literally.

Of course, I was unprepared with my little short sleeve Indian shirt and leggings. They gave us blankets (which without I probably would have died from frost) with which I covered my body and face and yet I still saw fog leaving my mouth with every breath I took. Honestly, there was no way that anyone was comfortable on that bus (don't Thai's love hot weather?) and there was no need to waste so much energy on air conditioning.

Not only that, but the bus stopped almost every hour to pick up new travelers, a guy was feeding critters and buns to a rather large (and unknown) animal stuck in a box and police came to search everyone on the bus. I suppose even though it was a "first class" bus ride, the price of $18 clearly illustrated that we were not royals.

Friday Plans

Arrive to Chiang Mai at 7am

Settle into the hostel

Eat delicious western food, walk around town and plan the schedule for the rest of the trip

SOHO Hostel: Perfect.

It looked like a completely new hostel that has barely been used. The rooms were so clean, the bathrooms had amazing shower-head pressure, the beds were very comfortable and the price was amazing (about $12 for two nights). The eight of us stayed in a single room that had four bunk beds.

Breakfast at Blackhouse Coffee Cafe

I missed sandwiches and fries so much! No more rice for the whole weekend! In fact, we made a pack to not eat any Thai food while in Chiang Mai and to take advantage of all the western food that is available. YUM!

Walking around town (or getting lost around town).

We just walked around, got a great sense of Chiang Mai and found a travelling agency with a really sweet lady who gave us really great deals for activities for us to do in Chiang Mai. For two days of full activities (which I will describe below), we each paid 2100 Baht (which is $70) total for an orchid and butterfly farm, elephant riding, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, elephant show, hiking, swimming in a waterfall and ziplining (lunch is included for both days too). I would say a pretty great deal and I am so happy we found her!

Lunch at a Miguel's Cafe

I got a taco, while others ordered burittos, tacos and quesadillas. It was a nice refresher from Thai food, but it definitely did not compare to the Mexican food that is available in the states.

Dinner at an Indian Restaurant

Eating Indian food made me miss home so much and even after eating the meal, I wanted to order many more dishes because I did not want to let go of the comfortable feeling of being in Chicago. I never thought that food could be such a big influence on emotions and how quickly it can make a day become into the best one you have ever had.

After dinner, we went to the Kalare Night Bazaar market that sells so many wonderful things

Bargaining: A must

It was so interesting to bargain. As soon as you start looking at something, a person comes out of nowhere stating that they have in many different sizes and colors and names the price of the product. Then, of course you can lower the price. However, if you are still not satisfied with the price, I learned the power of walking away. As soon as I took one step away from the stand, the price dropped significantly and continued to drop with every step I took away from the vendor. It was nice to have the vendors shout out across the street to you and lower the price. Even with the lower price, I probably still over paid for some items that I bought since I am a farang (white foreigner).

Silly poster

Saturday Plans

Tour: Visit Orchid Farm and Butterfly Garden, Ride Elephants, Go White Water and Bamboo Rafting, Go Hiking and Swimming in a Waterfall

Price: 550 Baht (about $18)

Van came to pick us up from the hostel around 8:30 and 9am

Excited to start our full day adventure!

Beautiful orchid flowers in the orchid garden-- my mom's favorite.

First stop: Orchid farm and Butterfly Garden

Riding Elephants! It was such an intense feeling. 

I was worried the whole time that I was hurting the elephant and I could not stop thinking about the unfair treatment of the elephants-- how they are chained up, how the tour guide picked at them, how we sat on the elephants, etc. We actually found out a couple weeks later that it is really bad to ride an elephant on it's back (especially sitting on a bench) because the back is relatively weak to rest of it's body. Instead, one should ride the elephant on it's neck. I definitely did enjoy riding the elephants and it is a must because it is so beautiful and Thailand is known for it's elephants, but I felt so bad that I was hurting them and that they had to walk on very small pathways with their feces laying across the ground. Also, there was a point during our elephant ride where we stopped by a hut that had a large supply of bananas and we were asked if we wanted to purchase the bananas for the elephants. It just broke my heart that the company tried to slyly make more money by making us feel bad that the elephants would love to eat the bananas and we should buy it for them.

At the end, I did not get the experience I was hoping for, but it was definitely an eye opening experience on the treatment of animals.

Unfortunately we were unable to take our cameras with us during White Water Rafting so I can't show any visuals. However, it was such a blast for my first time!

We were on a level 3 white water course (which is low-intermediate step), but there were many breaks in the river without much action. I would have wished that there could have been more "rapids" but it was still very fun and very scary during the moments that we did swim through the rapids. One of the most exciting parts was when Roren actually fell out of her boat!

After White Water Rafting, we saw an elephant show.

The elephants played harmonicas, hula hooped, kneeled down, danced and did many other tricks. Again, it was an amazing show, but I just hoped that they were trained humanely and get nice treats for the wonderful things they do!

Bamboo Rafting: Peaceful

After a long day filled with very active activities, it was nice to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the view as we slowly descended down the river.

The hike through a jungle... so beautiful... no words can describe it...

There was a forest fire as we were hiking through the jungle! I could not believe my eyes because no one had stopped who was in front of us and it did not seem like help was on the way. I am still very confused by this fire and I have no idea how it all ended... I hope that the forest is still as beautiful as I first saw it...

The whole group swimming in the waterfall.

It was nice to relax and swim in the waterfall.

Dinner at an Italian restaurant. I split a carbanara pasta and a margarita pizza with Roren. It was so delicious! I have missed pizza so much!

It has been such an amazing day packed with so many activities!

Sunday Plans

Ziplining through the Thailand forest

Swimming in a pool

Leave for Khon Kaen

Ziplining through Thailand's Forests: Unreal.

Never in my life did I think I would get to experience this. The weather was perfect, the tour guides were hilarious, the view was spectacular and my heart filled with so much joy.

We chose to do the long course and I am glad that we did because even the long course flew by. We ziplined for about four hours and it felt as if only 30 minutes had passed. Not only did we zipline by ourselves, but we were able to zipline with a partner, skateboard 50 meters in the air, climb high-ropes and free fall for 15, 30 and 40 meters. It was so exciting and it satisfied my need of adventure and my view of Thailand.

After ziplining, the four of us went to a nearby hotel for a swim in the pool. Look at the beautiful architecture and design of the pool area.

View from the fourth floor of the hotel where the pool was located. You can see beautiful mountains in the far distance (probably the mountains we ziplined through earlier that morning) and the bright blue sky. It is completely magical and I am honestly so thankful for having the means and the opportunity to travel and be aware of the beauty that our world has to offer.

Just as soon as we arrived to Chiang Mai, we had to leave.

We left on Sunday evening and arrived on Monday morning, just an hour before we class.

We settled back into our freezing bus and tried to fall asleep as we lost feeling in our extremities. I attempted to utilize my Thai speaking skills (and gesturing) to explain to the driver and bus host that I was extremely cold and that the air conditioning should be turned off. She definitely understood because the air conditioning shut off. It only lasted for so long though. Literally 4 minutes later, the air conditioning was back.

One of my favorite parts of being on the bus was near the end of our trip. We were getting closer to Khon Kaen and although we rode the bus overnight, I barely slept because the temperature was unbearable, the roads were bumpy and a man was coughing so loudly that I was hoping that he was not infected with Tuberculosis because he literally almost coughed up a lung. So, after a sleepless night and shaking under my blanket, the hostess comes up to us, starts to shake us awake so that we can get our stuff together and leave the bus soon, she hands us a frozen wet towel. FROZEN! Did I really need this? I am obviously awake and did not need to shock my body system any more. That was probably the most frustrating part of the journey to Chiang Mai.

Despite the horror bus experience, it is an eventful story to tell. Perhaps the trip would not have been as memorable and exciting if we did not have such a bad bus experience during our trek to Chiang Mai. Also, maybe we would not have appreciated Chiang Mai as much as we did because we had no bad experiences to compare it to. All I know is is that it has been such an amazing vacation. It was perfectly timed, we were in great company and we all had a beautiful experience. Honestly, it was an incredible three days of adventure and I am not sure whether I could have asked for more.