Submitted by a student on the 2020 winter session program in Australia and Thailand sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics…
It has been almost a full week since I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand. Over this past week, I have participated in various activities that introduced me to the Thai culture and customs. Upon my arrival, I didn’t really know what to expect from Thailand because I didn’t really know much about it, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. In the beginning of the week, we visited the Grand Palace where we were shown 16 different temples, ones honoring Buddha himself as well as others that value the current and past kings. We learned the history behind the architecture of the buildings, facts about the kings themselves, as well as developed a deeper understanding of Buddha and how he impacts the Thai culture. The most interesting thing I realized was that within this Grand Palace, if you wanted to step foot in the temple and pray to Buddha, your shoes would have to be taken off in respect to the god. I am so excited to see what the rest of this program has in store.
