Wonderful, Beautiful, Peaceful

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Oh the land of the Thai, is amazing. It’s full of green, water and wonderful people. I have been in Bangkok for 3 days and cant get enough of it. The first day was spent riding up and down on a tuk tuk to all the temples and shops that the city has to offer. I bought souvenirs and genie pants in different wild colors, to be in the “thai mood”! The tuk tuk driver was soo much fun and drove really fast weaving through traffic. It was a blast. Met cool people while staying in a youth hostel called “NapPark Hostel” in the side of Khao San. The second day we traveled to the other side of Bangkok to check in to another hotel where we met the rest of our friends that arrived that same day. We went to a local nearby market and did some more shopping and later during the night we all went out to dance and celebrate my birthday early! We had such a good time, I have pictures to prove it. Today, I rode an elephant… ahh that was soo cool, eventhough I felt bad for it half of the time I was on it, it was a really amazing experience. They are such peaceful creatures and their legs and hugeeee! Next we went to the floating market which is a bunch of little shops litterally floating. You ride by them on long canoes and choose which shops you want to stop at. I saw a little Komodo dragon and lots of fish. Tomorrow we have planned to go to another island called Koh Samui which is supposedly amazingly beautiful and the has the best beaches. I am sooo looking forward to sun bathing and the ocean. After Koh Samui, we head off to Koh Phangan, then Phuket,and then back to Bangkok to head back to China.

as always,

your caffeineited tourist guide..

Miranda Parvis

Ni Hao, My name is Miranda Parvis and I am a junior at Florida International University, Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. I am a student as well as employee in The Honors College at FIU. This fall semester of 2011 I was given the opportunity of a lifetime, to be able to study abroad in the Tianjin University of Commerce (TUC) an FIU cooperative school in Tianjin, China. Having overcome numerous obstacles throughout my life makes this study abroad experience even more fulfilling. Some years back my family was separated indefinitely, I was working full time in order to finance my education and going to school full time. I moved to the US when I was 5 years old from Argentina along with my family and since then have been living in Miami. I have an older brother and sister with whom Iโ€™m very close. Being an immigrant is difficult but I believe that it gives you certain training that no other experience can give you. You learn to adapt. For this reason traveling and studying abroad is extremely important for not only my career but my personal growth. During my time in China I plan to visit places like Beijing, Xian (the largest city in the northwest), and the Great Wall of China amongst many other places. I also intend to soak in as many Asian traditions and culture differences as possible. As a major country in the forefront of hospitality; I believe China will be an important stepping stone for me. The Asian culture and language is a huge part of not only the world, but the tourism industry as a whole. Learning about the differences that exist between modern day China and old traditional ways are essential in truly learning what traveler's expectations and needs are. I honestly couldnโ€™t be happier to be the student chosen for the scholarship.