Today is our second to last day here in Thailand and I am extremely sad to have to be leaving the warm climate, the delicious food, and Mahidol university. Two days ago we spent our last night in Uncle Tom’s Cabin and spent the day doing many hands-on activities. In the early morning we were taught by a handful of locals how to prepare seedings for planting, how to make soil mixtures, and also go an opportunity to plant a garden. This means we were getting a good work out tilling a plot of land by hand while planting seedlings ourselves. After this we were also shown how to make a mud hut out of mud blocks that we got to make by hand, or should I say foot. In order to make these bricks we had to stomp on a mixture of dirt, water, and rice husks to get a concoction we would then form into bricks and let dry. All of these activities were great learning experiences because it showed us sustainable practices and gave us a real feel of everyday activities done by the local community here in Thailand. We ended our day by visiting a wind farm that generates 20% of the provinces electricity and packed for our eight hour journey back home.
When we returned to our main campus in Salaya, we spent our last two days of the program preparing and presenting our research presentations focused on different aspects of sustainability as well as saying goodbye to out favorite places and friends at Mahidol. Since tomorrow is our last day before we leave to the airport, we will be spending it on the island of Ko sichang to get a taste of Thailand’s beach life. Very exciting!
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