Kiharoa Iversen
New Years
Hello and happy New Year’s from Thailand! This first week in Bangkok was definitely a new experience for me. Getting the opportunity to be immersed in a new culture and environment was somewhat surreal, especially in a continent I have never been to. We arrived here on the 30th of December, just in time for New Year’s, and it seemed that Bangkok was quite the hotspot, with hundreds of thousands of people flooding the city to see the performances and fireworks. Although it was reasonably chaotic, it was still mind blowing to see so many people in one area, something I’ve never experienced in New Zealand.
Work
I have the privilege of working for a company called Galaxy Kids. They created an app that specialises in teaching kids English and Chinese. The app uses AI technology to help with not just language but pronunciation as well. I was filled with nerves on my first day of work, like I’d been thrown into the deep end, in a new country, with no idea of what to expect. As I’m spending the next eight weeks here, working Monday to Friday, work could really influence my experience in Thailand. Thankfully, the company seems great; I get the opportunity to learn a variety of skills, including educational marketing and coding, which is giving me a taste of different types of work. My boss and co-workers have welcomed me warmly, although only a couple of them speak English, they go out of their way to greet me in the morning and evening and even bought me snacks as a welcoming gift. They all seem very nice.
Tourism
The first thing that comes to mind about what I love here is the food! Both the taste and the price. Full of flavour, located on the corner of every street, and costing only 2-3 New Zealand dollars for a meal! So far, my personal favourite has been the chicken and rice, although it sounds boring, the flavours and spice they add makes it better than anything I’ve tried back home. Within the first week, we have also already experienced many of the attractions Bangkok has to offer, with the railroad market being my personal favourite. Being so close to a train and watching it drive through a market is a sight I’d never thought I’d see in my life. Not only was it a crazy sight, but it was also reasonably scary; being within touching distance of such a big piece of heavy machinery, especially in a location so close-quartered and populated as a market, was a surreal experience.
