If I could start over

After being here for 5 months, I would have done some things differently, especially in the beginning.

Things I should have bought from the start:

1. Coffee maker
Instant is the most common form of coffee here and real coffee from a coffee shop can cost as much as $2 (which is a hell of a lot of money here for food or drink). Ice coffees from 7-Eleven are filled with sugar and cream and just don't taste good. I bought my coffee-maker in March and it rejuvenated my days and gave me a reason to get out of bed on the mornings when I didn't have school.

2. Fan
I bought fan in week 5 and it was a great investment. It was a nice alternative to the air-con on the nights that weren't extremely hot. It also decreased my electricity bill because I had to use the air-con less.

3. Deck of Cards
Leo and I bought a deck of cards a few weeks ago and have played so many hands of rummy. Playing cards is a great way to kill time. But it is illegal to play cards in public here, so that is a bit of a drag.

4. Bicycle 
I have walked AT LEAST 300 kilometers just going to 7-Eleven. Buying a bike for $40 would have made transportation near the university much easier.

All of these investments would have added to less than $75 and would have probably actually earned their worth by cutting down on coffee and transport costs.

Things I should have done:

1. Intensive Thai Language Course
I took introduction to Thai in school, but once a week for two hours just is not enough to learn a language. I should have taken an intensive Thai language course for the 6 weeks here. I'm talking 3 or 4 days a week for a few hours each day. This would have made living here 10x easier. And I would have gained a valuable language skill.

2. I should have spent more time in the North

3. I should have worked out more
I was under the impression that there was a state of the art gym and fitness center at the university. Technically there is, but it is still under construction so it isn't open yet. I should have gone to the pool but I wasn't down with speedos and swim caps. I did play basketball for a while, but eventually i was excluded because I don't speak Thai and I am not on any of the school sanctioned teams. I should have run more, but it is so hot and humid that it's impossible to slowly 800 meters to school without sweating through every item of clothing, including your leather watch band. I didn't gain wait, but I didn't lose weight either. I attribute this to heavy beer drinking.

Things I wish had happened:

1. I wish that my friends from home had come. While I did meet lots of people here, I would have loved to have experienced this 6 months with some friends from home.

2. (Because none of my friends came with me) I wish that I could have gotten a house closer to Bangkok with some other exchange students. Having a house with bedrooms and living room and a kitchen would have been amazing. We would have had so much fun...maybe too much fun.

In the next 5 years, Rangsit (where I live outside of Bangkok) will be the place to do an exchange. It is a suburb of Bangkok so the city is accessible but, it's still possible to escape the urban jungle. I am a small town boy, too much time in any city gives me anxiety and claustrophobia. In the next 5 years, Rangsit will have a BTS sky train that will make transit to the city much easier and much cheaper. Rangsit University will also have a state of the art gym and fitness center as well as a mall on campus.