Blog Post By: Hayden Schmidt and Brenna Moore
Date: July 16, 2019

Today was the second day of the trip. Both of us woke up early to go down to breakfast, and had lots of interesting food like steamed pork buns and vegetables. After our breakfast, we loaded up on the trucks to go to ISDSI. At 9:00 AM, we started our first Thai language lesson. Some of the things we learned included how to say our names, ask others about their background, and where we were from. We also learned about the five tones in Thai, and how to say different vowels. After our lesson, at noon, we gathered around to have lunch downstairs. This included spicy chicken and green beans, fish, rice, and mangos. Soon after, we were able to meet in the conference room to listen to the guest speaker (Dr. Nisit), who discussed Thailand’s healthcare system in comparison to ours and different diseases that occur in Thailand. Since health care is government owned and (almost) free for everyone, we were able to discuss the vast differences between the United States’ and Thailand’s. The second lecture we listened to, also by Dr. Nisit, was regarding disease control. Since Dr. Nisit was an epidemiologist while he was practicing, he was able to give expert insight to what illnesses are a problem here. Some things discussed were One Health, the Global Fund, and common diseases such as Dengue, Tuberculosis, HIV, and Malaria. When the seminar was finished, we loaded the trucks and left ISDSI, returning back to the hotel. Since we had a two hour span before dinner, we were allowed free time to do what we wanted. This looked like a long nap for both of us, since we are still recovering from the twenty hour plane ride a few days prior. Finally, we loaded the trucks one last time to head to dinner, which happened to be Northern Thai Cuisine. Most options on the menu were spicy curries and soups, with stir fried vegetables and sticky rice to pair perfectly. After great conversation and full stomachs, we headed back to the hotel and prepared ourselves for tomorrow.