Each year several Thai youths go to Norway to study at Norwegian high schools, through the exchange study organisation AFS.
The Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok met three Thai students to talk about their experiences from their year in Norway. Pongpon «Papp» Bangvijit (to the right in the picture), Supawich «Pin» Phairo (to left) and Punsita «Poon» Tangkum (not in the photo) lived with a Norwegian family and attended a Norwegian school class for one year.
When they were only 16 years they travelled to Norway, without knowing the culture or the language. They met big challenges, but with their brave and open minded attitude, they managed to learn the language, to get a lot of Norwegian friends and they ended up with memories for their lives, they tell in the interview.
Some of the best things about Norway was the nature and the freedom to do whatever they wanted to. Even though it was quite cold and dark and far away from Thailand, they enjoyed their stay very much, and did things like skiing, hiking and sleeping under the stars. They even got to see mooses and the Northern lights.
Today, two years after they came back from Norway, they still speak Norwegian very well, and they miss Norwegian food, such as goat cheese (brunost), christmas soda (julebrus), Norwegian cheese and liver paté (leverpostei). They miss Norway and hope they can go back to visit their “Norwegian families” sometime.
Source: The Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok.
Read the full interview with the Thai youths by following this link. (Only in Norwegian)
