Next Wednesday, 8 students (Daniel, Rick, Ashley, Chris, Supranee, Mika, Farah and Mai) and I will be traveling to Thailand for our 2nd University of Arizona summer study abroad trip. As some of you know, last summer 14 students and went to Japan, and based on the success of that trip and requests by students, we decided to venture to Thailand this summer. Two of the students, Rich and Ashley went to Japan last summer, so the trip to Thailand will allow them to compare their experiences in 2 different Asian countries. One of the students joining us, Mai, is actually a student of mine at Kobe Gakuin University in Japan and one of our hosts last summer in Japan, so she will be an honorary UA student for 12 days.
Ot time is Thailand, mostly spent in Bangkok, will be about half pharmacy related experiences and half cultural and social (see schedule below). I feel that the students cultural and social experiences is at least as important as the professional experiences, and the relationships that develop between the UA students and students in the host country can be life-changing.
Why Thailand? Well, the easy answer is that I personally and the UA College of Pharmacy institutionally has a strong, long-term relationship with Thailand. UA COP was a charter member of the US-Thai Pharmacy Consortium, and I currently serve as the Co-Chair (with my Thai friend and colleague Dr. Surakit Nathisuan) of the Consortium. Several UACOP students complete 6 week rotations in Thailand, and several pharmacy residents in our UA-affiliated programs are from Thailand. I have been fortunate to be able to travel to Thailand several times--this will be my third trip this year. Professionally, pharmacy education and practice is different in many ways than in the US, and of course Thai culture is very different than American culture.
While the students who went to Japan last summer became accustomed to greeting people by bowing and saying konnichiwa, in Thailand they will learn to wai (see Ronald McD in Bangkok above) and say suwadeeka.
We will be hosted by 3 different pharmacy schools--Mahidol, Chulalongkorn and Huachiew Chalerprakiet Universities in and around Bangkok. The help of my faculty colleagues at these schools--Drs. Surakit, Usa, Top and Gade is much appreciated.
Our schedule:
Ot time is Thailand, mostly spent in Bangkok, will be about half pharmacy related experiences and half cultural and social (see schedule below). I feel that the students cultural and social experiences is at least as important as the professional experiences, and the relationships that develop between the UA students and students in the host country can be life-changing.
Why Thailand? Well, the easy answer is that I personally and the UA College of Pharmacy institutionally has a strong, long-term relationship with Thailand. UA COP was a charter member of the US-Thai Pharmacy Consortium, and I currently serve as the Co-Chair (with my Thai friend and colleague Dr. Surakit Nathisuan) of the Consortium. Several UACOP students complete 6 week rotations in Thailand, and several pharmacy residents in our UA-affiliated programs are from Thailand. I have been fortunate to be able to travel to Thailand several times--this will be my third trip this year. Professionally, pharmacy education and practice is different in many ways than in the US, and of course Thai culture is very different than American culture.
We will be hosted by 3 different pharmacy schools--Mahidol, Chulalongkorn and Huachiew Chalerprakiet Universities in and around Bangkok. The help of my faculty colleagues at these schools--Drs. Surakit, Usa, Top and Gade is much appreciated.
 |
| Dr, Surakit from Mahidol University at left |
 |
| Dr. Krittin (Top) in middle) |
Our schedule:
Date
|
Time
|
Location
|
Activities
|
August 6
(THU)
|
Bangkok
|
Arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport
Airline UA (ANA)
Flight no: 7971
Departure time:18:25 (from Tokyo Narita)
Arrival time: 22.55 pm
|
|
August 7
(FRI)
|
08.00 – 12.00
|
Bangkok
|
Free time
|
13.30 – 16.00
|
Pick-up @ hotel lobby at 13.30 by MU van
Meet Dean Chuthamanee Suthisisang
Briefing of Thai Pharmacy Practice &
Education System
Faculty tour & student meeting
Location: R309, Rajarat Bldg., Faculty of
Pharmacy,
Mahidol University (http://www.pharmacy.mahidol.ac.th/eng/)
|
||
August 8
(SAT)
|
08.30 – 17.00
|
Visit to Grand Palace (http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-palace/grand-palace.htm),
Wat Pho (http://www.watpho.com/index.php?lang=en), Teakwood Palace (http://bangkokforvisitors.com/vimanmek/),
Ananta Samakom Throne Hall, & Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn, http://www.bangkok.com/attraction-temple/wat-arun.htm)
Lunch @ The Deck, Arun Residence
|
|
17.00 – 20.00
|
Dinner & Shopping time
|
||
August 9
(SUN)
|
08.30 – 18.00
|
Ayutthaya
(80km north of Bangkok)
http://thailandforvisitors.com
/central/ayuthaya/
|
Ayutthaya (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Bang Pa-In Summer Palace
Elephant Riding
Boat Tour
|
August 10
(Mon)
|
09.00 – 16.30
19:00
|
Bangkok
|
Hospital Visit @ Siriraj Hospital
Thai Traditional Medicine School &
Hospital
Museum @ Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol
University
Vertigo Bar (http://www.banyantree.com/en/ap-thailand-bangkok/vertigo-and-moon-bar)
|
August 11
(TUE)
|
07:00
09:00
10:00
12:00
13:30
17:00
|
Samutprakarn
(suburb of Bangkok)
|
Visit to Faculty of Pharmacy, Huachiew
Chalermprakiet University (http://www.hcu.ac.th/branch.php?id=5&title
=Faculty%20of%20Pharmacy)
Leave Ibis Hotel
Meet with Dean, faculty
Tour of Faculty of Pharmacy
Lunch
Visit Bangpor Hospital
Dinner BangPoo Seaside Park
|
August 12
(WED)
(Mother’s Day)
|
09.00 – 12.00
|
Bangkok
|
Community Pharmacy visit with Dr. Katha
Bunditanukul at Ruen Ya Drug Store
|
13.30 – 17.00
|
Free time
|
||
August 13
(THU)
August 13
(THU) cont'd
|
09.00 – 10.00
10:00-11:00
11:00-12:00
13:00-16:00
|
Bangkok
|
Visit to Faculty of Pharmaceutical
Science, Chulalongkorn University
(http://www.pharm.chula.ac.th/en/)
Students visit Osotsala Pharmacy (operated
by CU Faculty)
Students visit herbal museum
(Dr. Katz 9-11 faculty discussions on
Problem-Based Learning and Bedside Teaching)
Discussion with CU students about US and
Thai Pharmacy education
Visit King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital
|
August 14
(FRI)
|
09.00 – 16.00
|
Bangkok
|
Visit Ruen Ya Pharmacy--home health care
and screening activity
|
August 15
(SAT)
|
09.00 – 18.00
|
Nakorn Pathom
(56km west of Bangkok)
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
thailand/bangkok/nakhon-pathom
|
Floating Market
Sam Pran Riverside (Thai Cultural Show)
Phra Pathom Chedi (the tallest Stupa in
the world)
|
August 16
(SUN)
|
Bangkok
|
Shopping @ Chatuchak Weekend Market (http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-market/popular-markets.htm)
|
|
August 17
(MON)
|
Bangkok
|
Jim Thompson House (http://www.jimthompsonhouse.com/)
MBK Shopping Center (http://www.mbk-center.co.th/en/home/index.php)
|
|
August 18
(TUE)
|
Flight back to the USA
Airline ANA
Flight no: 806
Departure time: 06:50 (to Tokyo Narita)
Arrival time (NRT): 15:00 pm
|
Getting to Thailand is a pretty long trip--our route is Tucson-San Francisco-Tokyo-Bangkok. As you can see, it will be a busy trip, but we want to pack in as much as possible. One of the UA students on the trip, Supranee happens to be Thai, and by coincidence her aunt, Jonglak is a tour guide in Bangkok. Jonglak will be helping us with transportation which can be challenging in Bangkok.
I have asked the students on the trip to share their thoughts and experiences before, during and after.I hope you will follow their adventures, and feel free to comment and share your thoughts, impressions and own experiences.
 |
| Grand Palace, Bangkok |
 |
| Now faculty member Dr. Lisa Goldstone on Thailand rotation as 4th year student |
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