When Maggie Lohmann learned that Thailand was nicknamed “the land of smiles,” she was intrigued. After living in the southeast Asian land for a month and a half, she said the Thai people live up to that reputation and that she encountered some truly welcoming, happy people.

 

A 2016 graduate of Bridgeport High School and upcoming senior at West Virginia Wesleyan, Lohmann recently participated in a six-week study program at Kohn Kaen University in Thailand, studying Thai language and history, as well as global health issues.

 

“The program is through USAC (United Studies Abroad Consortium) which is not affiliated with Wesleyan, but I did receive a scholarship through Wesleyan studies. Maxine Bruhns, who is part of WVWC Alumni and Friends, wants to send students to places they wouldn’t necessarily usually go,” Lohmann said. “I’ve been able to study in Europe on an honors trip with Wesleyan, but this scholarship was to preferably travel to Asia or Africa.”

 

The global health issues class was the first to draw her interest.

 

“It focused more on the psychology of health and health/human rights. It was mostly discussion and a lot of presentation on how the environment has an effect on our health and more specific studies of case-like issues in the U.S., but also in Asia, and we looked at how a lot of people in the GMS region (Greater Mekong Subregion) region come to Thailand for healthcare because it’s more developed there,” she said.

 

Though she learned about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines - the history class primarily focused on the GMS region in the 20^th-21^st century era, as well as challenges faced within the most recent 50-60 years.

 

“We talked about how to really use the Mekong River as a resource. There’s so much fresh water, but the problem of the regional coop and getting countries to work together to use the river efficiently,” Lohmann said. “It was really interesting to talk about environmental issues we are still having in West Virginia and the surrounding region. It was exciting to see and make those connections.”

 

The language class concentrated on conversational Thai and it sure came in handy during her stay.

 

“We learned how to order food at the street market, how to make plans with Thai friends and how to tell time, etc., kind of a way to survive while in Thailand,” she said.

 

Classes combined, Lohmann picked up seven credit hours during her study abroad, keeping her busy throughout the work week.

 

“I didn’t realize how big the campus is. It’s nine square kilometers and I had classes in the public health building, on their humanities campus and the international college – about 15 minutes between all those buildings,” she said. “It was overwhelming at first, but I figured out which color buses I needed to get to those buildings and to the main library to study.”

 

Though bus and motor scooter were most students’ choice of travel, Lohmann discovered it was sometimes faster to walk. When she did so, she was certainly noticed.

 

“The bus drivers would come by and start laughing at me,” she said.

 

After completing her Monday through Friday studies, Lohmann spent weekends traveling and exploring Thailand and its outskirts.

 

“One of my favorite experiences was the silk tour. We went to a village about an hour away, learning how to use and produce silk and to make patterns,” she said. “We also got to have lunch at the house of one of the village women.”

 

The village women were amazing, hard-working and obviously tough. The food – heavy with sticky rice, pork and bread – was good, too, as were the views of the Khmer Ruins.

 

Other highlights of her trip included a dinosaur tour, as well as a weekend flight to Chiang Mai.

 

“It was in Chiang Mai where we did a tour of the elephant jungle sanctuary and got to see elephants, walk around with them, swim with them and even give them a mud bath,” she said. “It was one of the coolest experiences.”

 

The mountains of Chiang Mai reminded her of her West Virginia home, she said, but the experience there was very unique.

 

“We got to see some temples in the city up on the mountain and that was awesome,” she said. “It was a very cool view of the city below and we were blessed by a monk while we were there – each receiving a little bracelet to bring us good luck and good health.”

 

Not only was the architecture gorgeous, it was amazing to be part of the religious and cultural importance of the region, she said.

 

Rounding out her most memorable experiences as a visit to the Phi Phi Islands.

 

“Phi Phi means butterflies in Thai, so that is super cool,” Lohmann said. “I felt like I was in (Disney’s) ‘Moana’ the whole time – in the mountains in the middle of the ocean and the water color a blue I had never seen in my life.”

 

Though a regular part of her routine, visiting the Tha markets was among her favorite things about her stay. 

 

"Most people don't cook very often at home because it costs less money to eat out at a market, so most of my dinners during the week came from a small market on the Kohn Kaen University campus," she said. "But I also visited three other big markets in Khon Kaen that had tons of food, clothing stalls, jewelry and live music. "My roommate and I spent about four hours at the giant walking street market when we were in Chiang Mai. There was lots of food and tons of hamemade items. The markets were a great place to see lots of people and observe the Thai culture!" 

 

While living on the university campus, Lohmann also volunteered at a campus hospital.

 

“We did role playing, coloring, singing and dancing with the patients – most who were pediatric cancer patients,” she said. “It was a really humbling experience. They couldn’t speak English, but we were singing in English to them and they were grinning ear to ear.”

 

Thailand was the first place Lohmann visited where she physically stood out.

 

“But it wasn’t in a bad way,” she said. “People just wanted to know where I was from and I’m glad I experienced it. Everyone was just curious and intrigued. It was eye opening.”

 

Lohmann encountered some potential good friends. Including her roommate - who was from Nevada - she became close with Dhina, an Indonesian student from her health class.

 

“We went to several markets together, had dinner several times and visited the natural history museum together,” she said. “She saw me the morning I flew out, so she could say goodbye.”

 

It wasn’t easy saying goodbye to the land of smiles, but Lohmann admits her reunion with family was certainly another highlight of her six-week journey.

 

Lohmann is very open-minded about her future career choice. She is an English literature major, minoring in biology, history, political science and honors.