from tennis to Thailand

When I mention that I will be studying abroad this coming fall, the immediate questions I’m asked are “where?” and “why?!” The answer to the former (“Chiang Mai, Thailand”) is easy, but my response to the latter is different nearly every time. Fortunately, being asked this question over and over has forced me to articulate my motivation for wanting to travel halfway around the world to live in a place with an unfamiliar language, culture, and landscape. ​

However, that is precisely the reason that I have chosen Thailand as my destination. As someone studying International Development and Natural Resources Conservation, I think it is not only fascinating but imperative that we understand how individuals of other nations and cultures approach the sustainability challenges that we face collectively. This requires an awareness of the socio-cultural history and values shared by other groups, which then allows for collaboration on the policies and educational systems that will make it possible to address climate change and consumerism-related issues on an international scale.

While this all sounds relatively idealistic and somewhat nebulous, this was not actually my original reason for wanting to study abroad in Thailand. At around age 12, I began taking tennis lessons from a local poet and retired English teacher, Steve, who is now a close friend and mentor in my life. Steve now resides in Phichit, Thailand, with his wife, Wanida, for the majority of the year. Steve’s more recent poetry reflects the stark cultural contrast between Western society and Thailand’s largely Buddhist culture, and over the years, we have had conversations on and off the court about me coming to visit them there to experience what he writes about. After nearly 9 years of talking about it, these musings are becoming a reality.

In roughly one month, I will begin taking classes at Chiang Mai University through a program called USAC. So far, I know who my roommate will be, what courses and field trips I am taking, and how to say “hello” and “thank you” in Thai. (I have also been told that mangosteens will be in season when I arrive!) Aside from these details, not many other aspects of my 5 months abroad are certain – and that is all the more exhilarating.

I am certainly not without doubts and fears of living in an unfamiliar place for a longer amount of time than I have ever spent away from home, and there are plenty of aspects of my life here in the U.S. that I know I’ll miss: the familiar faces of friends and family, spending weekends backpacking in the White Mountains, and the landscape of the CT River Valley when the leaves change color. I am eager, however, to fill these temporary gaps in my life by forming new connections and exploring new places.

I like to think that people are like plants in the way that we reflect and are shaped by the environments and individuals with which we surround ourselves. So here I am, uprooting myself – and I am intrigued to see how I continue to grow.