{"id":20351,"date":"2024-09-19T16:02:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=20351"},"modified":"2024-09-19T16:02:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T21:02:44","slug":"homesick-in-thailand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/2024\/09\/19\/homesick-in-thailand\/","title":{"rendered":"Homesick in Thailand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The idea of going abroad for the very first time intimidated me all summer before I flew to Thailand. I was worried that I wouldn\u2019t be able to navigate where I needed to be or that I would somehow mess up because I didn\u2019t know the cultural differences. However, when I realized this would be my last chance to study abroad before I graduate, I was determined to make it happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2qhoVHi\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54006792063_6dfc24d904_z.jpg\" alt=\"Abigail image 2\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">At the Golden Triangle\/Laos border!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When I arrived in Bangkok in late July, my fears of being lost dissipated. I felt immediately welcomed into the country and I became much more excited to explore and start making memories. For a while, it didn\u2019t even feel like I was that far from home \u2014 over 8,000 miles away \u2014 but then I began to feel homesick. I didn\u2019t anticipate how much I would miss my family and the foods, luxuries, and things I had taken for granted back home. It felt like being on a rollercoaster of excitement and exhaustion, and I was there for two whole weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> The experience is something I will always remember: no matter how much I missed home, I was living out my childhood dream of studying abroad. I toured ancient temples, spent a day learning about Thai cuisine, went on countless 7-11 runs with my amazing roommate, and saw elephants up close while staying at the incredible Elephant Nature Park. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2qhnLbs\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54006564886_8dc9f6e449_z.jpg\" alt=\"Abigail image 3\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elephants at ENP. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When we finally landed back in Missouri in August, I was in denial that it was over. But I brought home much more than a backpack full of souvenirs, or a thousand pictures. I brought lifelong memories, an amazing new best friend, and the empowerment to face my fears and thrive, thanks to the support of my family and Mizzou Study Abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/2qhnLaq\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54006564826_828957f416_z.jpg\" alt=\"abigail image 1\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">At the Grand Palace in Bangkok \u2014 on the King\u2019s birthday!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more about this blogger\u2019s study abroad program: <a href=\"https:\/\/mystudyabroad.missouri.edu\/_portal\/tds-program-brochure?programid=10843\">Global Service: Elephant Conservation in Northern Thailand<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The idea of going abroad for the very first time intimidated me all summer before I flew to Thailand. I was worried that I wouldn\u2019t be able to navigate where I needed to be or that I would somehow mess up because I didn\u2019t know the cultural differences. However, when I realized this would be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[242],"class_list":["post-20351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","tag-thailand"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20351"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20359,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20351\/revisions\/20359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/international.missouri.edu\/studyabroad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}