Featuring Foreign Exchange Student -- Thailand

My name is Pongkarn Thammapuech, and I am a foreign exchange student from Thailand. I decided to study abroad because I want to meet new people and learn a new culture. I want to experience new things and improve my language. When I got to the U.S., what surprised me the most was that you guys wear shoes in the house and drive on the opposite side of the road. Now that I’m here, my favorite parts of American culture are the food, the freedom in school, festivals like Halloween, and sports in school. My school is very large and unlike your school, we only have one day when we do sports during the whole year. Our food is wonderful, full of spices and fresh flavors. We have many holidays and celebrations including Songkran Festival, which is the Thai New Year, and lasts for three days in April. Some common misconceptions about my culture are; we don’t eat dogs, and we don’t ride elephants to school. Thank you for sharing your culture and making me feel welcome in your school.                                 Never miss the local news -- read more on The Fallon Post home page. If you enjoy The Fallon Post, please support our effort to provide local, independent news and make a contribution today.  Your contribution makes possible this online news source for all things Fallon.