Please notice this was first posted in the period 2012-2014 and can be outdated
When the email found his way to my inbox I must admit I felt a sort of relief, something comparable when I received exam results in the past or when the waitress in the restaurant brings exactly what I ordered. The email was short and to the point, and it all came down to that they are willing to take my money for the coming two years and give me tuition in return, that might sound bad but that is exactly what I had requested them to do.
The long-awaited notification that I am admitted
The big shock was not really that I was admitted, it was more a shock that classes would already begin on April 20th. That is about a month earlier than I had originally expected and it destroys my travel plans, visa request plans, and language classes plans up to a certain point. It would also mean I should make a start booking a trip back home to renew my visa, find a living space in Bangkok, and start working on plans how to get around in Bangkok and stay alive there. The email also mentioned a detailed letter coming my way by paper post and some forms I should start filling in to get the paperwork done on their side.
Mister, you got mail (I guess it says something like that, can’t read a word of this message…)
About 3 weeks later the forms finally arrived in Nakhon Ratchasima. Maybe the mailman had trouble finding the place, or someone had trouble reading the address which I had given which is written in Roman characters. Either way I knew already for sure I was unable to reach the given deadline in the letter to fill in the paperwork, since it left me about 2 days to get the forms back to the sender, something almost impossible with the mail working at this speed.
When filling in the paperwork (SMS form to receive updates by text messages, mentor program form to get somebody to show me around there and tell me what to do and what not to do, and a student registration form covering all basic things like name, previous occupation, parents, contact information in case of emergencies, etc) you know what to look for in Thailand, somewhere there will be a funny or strange questions that makes you wonder why they want to know the answer to the question. Here it was no different, a couple of questions raised an eyebrow like when they ask you your religion and the religion of your parents, and one question made me literally “laugh out loud” where they have a multiple choice question about the occupation of your spouse and one of the options is “deceased”.
Some of the paperwork that needs to be filled in
Coming weeks will be busy again since there is still a lot to arrange, hopefully the additional information that they promised to send will arrive shortly so I will be all set for the 20th of April.