The sixth amazing summer program in the “Land of Smiles” was successfully arranged by the PSU International Affairs Office, Hat Yai Campus from July 7-27, 2019. It was a 21-day enriching cultural camp about Thailand, its traditions and way of life, for 42 students from Austria, Brunei Darussalam, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Myanmar, P.R. China, Taiwan, UK and Vietnam. Participants enjoyed learning Thai language, cooking Thai dishes, playing on traditional Thai music instruments, practicing traditional Thai medicine, and learning about Thai culture and way of life. Beside the IAO staff, 10 enthusiastic Thai students also accompanied the foreign participants to classes, activities and trips.

          The field trips to the Handicraft Learning Center Varni Krajood in Phatthalung province and to a local village in Sating Pra, Songkhla province, were really appreciated by all participants, who discovered the way of life of communities in southern Thailand. Furthermore, the excursion in Krabi, which also included a one-day trip to white-sand islands and snorkeling, was fun and full of joy for all. Participants also experienced the rafting in tropical rivers of Satun, and enjoyed visiting many cultural and historical places in Songkhla.

          The PSU Thai Cultural Camp 2019 was a memorable and wonderful experience for all participants and organizers and created new strong friendships among PSU students and participating international students, promoting inter-cultural understanding and appreciation. 

        Another amazing summer program in the “Land of Smiles”, arranged by the PSU International Affairs Office from July 1-21, 2018, marked the beginning of strong friendships among 53 participants from Brunei, Cambodia, China, Germany, Myanmar, Taiwan and Vietnam. Long-lasting bonds were also made among the foreign participants and the 14 Thai students who accompanied them during the camp.

        The fifth PSU Thai Cultural Camp, a three-week summer program, was designed to help students from foreign universities learn more about Thailand, its culture, language, and traditions. All participants had the chance to benefit from this wonderful program and discovered more about the Thai culture such as language, cooking, music, boxing, dancing, traditional medicine, Thai way of life and environment, and the philosophy of sufficiency economy.

        Classes were taught by qualified experts in real practical settings, as for example participants prepared their own Thai-food lunch under the close coordination of a knowledgeable PSU lecturer for the Thai Cooking class. Similarly, they learned how to prepare traditional Thai herbal medicine and had field trips to see the real way of life of Thai people in villages.

        All participants also enjoyed a wide variety of activities and trips to many tourist attractions around southern Thailand, in the provinces of Songkhla, Satun, Phuket and Phatthalung. They had fun on the beaches of Phuket and Songkhla, adventured on the whitewater rafting in the tropical rivers of Satun, and enjoyed the Handicraft Learning Center in Phatthalung.

The summer camp was a great success for both organizer and international participants who expressed their enjoyment in such phrases as: 

PSU THAI SUMMER CULTURAL CAMP 2017
“THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR”

        Being able to participate in the PSU Thai summer cultural camp 2017 was an eye-opening experience. I am glad that I got the opportunity to participate and meet the other 51 participants from different parts of the globe like Cambodia, China, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, Taiwan, UK, USA and Vietnam. I would highly recommend anyone to join this program, as it is just “life-changing.”

        The duration of the program was three weeks long. At first, it seemed like the camp would last forever and the days would be long, but next thing I knew, time flew by so fast and it was time to leave behind the beautiful moments and friends. Even though the camp was only three weeks, it was filled with challenging, but yet exciting, events and activities.

        The first week of the camp kicked off with group activities. This consisted of learning about and practicing Thai language, Thai cooking, Thai boxing, Thai traditional medicine, Thai music and Thai dance. These activities were remarkably challenging; however, the beautiful aspect of this week was that people came across cultural exchange, predominantly cultural shock for some people. Despite our different cultures, religions, and beliefs, the camp had a mutual respect for one another and everyone within the camp acted as if they were one big family. Learning about Thai culture was extremely mind-refreshing because it gave participants a different perspective of undertaking everyday tasks. Everyone enjoyed making some delicious Thai food such as tom yum kung soup and a Thai dessert called bua-loy. The food turned out phenomenal!

        The second week of the cultural camp was filled with thrilling and exhilarating events such as a 4-day trip to Phuket, the “Pearl of the Andaman Sea”. In Phuket, we visited the Chill-wa night market, Nai Harn Beach and the old town. We also got the option to go snorkeling at the beautiful Coral Island and Racha Islands. In addition, we visited the famous Wat Chalong and went to Laem Promthep Cape to watch the sunset. Many unforgettable memories were shared amongst the group as we got to know one another more. This would not have been possible without the help of the Thai buddies, who supported the participants all the way through this cultural camp. The visit to Ton Nga Chang Waterfall was another unforgettable moment during the week because we got to play and splash around in the water and even climb a rope to get to another level of the waterfall. The view was unimaginable.

PSU International Affairs Office, Hat Yai Campus, organized the third Thai Cultural Program, a three-week summer course that introduced Thailand's culture and traditions to students from foreign universities, from July 3-24, 2016. 

The 39 participants from Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, P.R. China, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam enjoyed a wide variety of activities. Apart from the 39 foreign students, 11 PSU students also participated in the program to facilitate their friends during their stay in Hat Yai. All of them learned cooking Thai dishes, playing traditional Thai music, and speaking Thai language, courses taught by qualified experts in their field. Participants also had the opportunity to practice traditional Thai medicine, and learn about contemporary Thai culture by watching and discussing Thai movies with their Thai buddies.

Field trips also played a significant part in this year's Thai Cultural Camp. Participants had fun on the beaches of Phuket, tried whitewater rafting in the tropical rivers of Satun, and enjoyed the scenery of the Songkhla seaside hills. The cultural highlight of the camp was an educational trip to the rural Tha Hin village project, where camp members witnessed first-hand the agricultural and fishing practices of a Southern Thai community.

We look forward to welcoming even more foreign students to our next amazing Thai Cultural Camp in July 2017, where everyone can discover the “Land of Smiles” via enjoyable activities and field trips.