Our week is off to a great start!  Group 1 loved their jungle cooking experience this morning and they are now off campus taking part in Batik art.  Group 2 is staying on campus all day today and are loving every minute of it.  They enjoyed Thai cooking this morning and now have a recreation and/or rest session where they can go swimming, biking, play basketball or enjoy some time resting in their apartment.  The students are having an awesome time!Here is what some of the students have to say about our trip so far……

Andy: We boarded an Air Asia flight and although it’s a budget airline, the flight was very comfortable. I played Monopoly with two friends for the whole flight and had loads of fun. Time passed quickly and in 2 hours, though it seemed like 20 minutes, we landed at Chiang Mai airport and went on a large bus headed for PREM, our final destination

. The bus ride was half an hour and the scenery was beautiful. Soon, our environment turned from the bustling city to the quiet countryside. We went through a narrow, twisting road and at the end of it, where you will expect there to be nothing, was our ultimate destination, PREM. We had a light supper and after a good chat on our favourite activity with my roommates, we went to bed, thinking that we can’t wait for the next day.

May: The apartment here is good, even though the room is not that big.  It makes us more close to each other because each room has three or four beds, and at least two people are staying
together in one room. I think that it is fun, and much better than staying at a hotel.

Marco: On the second day, we learned how to cook some Thai-style food, such as: Kao Pad Kraphrao, Gaeng Jued Tang-gwa, and Gluai Buad Chee. They taught us how to cook and we ate the food that we made, so to me, it was very fun interesting.

Lauren: When we stepped into the area where we were going to cook, the cooks welcomed us with open arms. They explained all the dishes, the procedures, and the ingredients, and then it was time for us cook

! The students got into pairs and worked cooperatively. We enjoyed a three course homemade meal for lunch. Clear Soup with Stuffed Cucumber for the appetizer; “Kao Pad Kraphrao”, a mouth watering Stir-fried pork with hot basil leaves for the entre; and a creamy Banana with Coconut Milk dessert to top it all off. We were all left satisfied and rubbing our stomachs. It was an educational experience for we could learn about the Thai culture AND enjoy cooking at the same time. What an awesome way to start off the trip!

Emily: This year for experience week, we have plenty of down time to relax, swim, and bike around the gorgeous PREM campus. We started off day 1 with Thai cooking, and now we have a few hours to relax and do what we want. I think this is important because it gives us a choice about what we get to do. I’m looking forward to the rest of our experience week trip!

Wendy: We had lots of fun on the second day! I’m looking forward to visiting the Elephant Nature Park; that will be so much fun! I also want to go to the night market. I will buy lots of special things and enjoy some delicious food! I want to try all of the fun activities here. I can’t wait!

Mr.Voykin is taking lots of great photographs of the students.  Some photographs will be posted this evening.