I arrived Sao Paulo at about 9 pm and by the time I got to the hotel where I stayed with Helen from Sydney uni, it was almost 11 pm. We had to get up early on the next day as our flight from Sao Paulo to Florianopolis was at 8 am. That means we had to leave the hotel at 6 am. Getting up early is always a big task for me. Interestingly though, the name of their national airline is 'TAM' :)

Brazil (Aug. 13th -18th 2007)- Florianopolis

Top view of the bridge connecting Florianopolis to mainland.

Beautiful Sand Dune at Florianopolis

When we arrived there, they were having initiation ceremony for new students. I reallised that the activities were similar to what Thai students do to welcome the freshmen : painting thier faces and body and playing games..

When arriving Florianopolis, we met Helen's friends, who were a local Brazillian couple (Anderson and his wife). As we had to catch a bus to another city where the conference was held(Tubarao), we decided to catch the last one in the evening (6.30 pm) and Anderson and his wife offered us a full day trip to take a sight around Florianopolis. Then, my lonely journey turned to be impressive. As Florianopolis is an island, it's picturesque everywhere. I had the same feeling as going to Phuket or Samui islands in Thailand. We also went to Anderson's university, where he 's doing his PhD and visited the notable attractions. After this full day trip, we were full of good memories and were impressed with the ways that local people live their lives. Many thanks to Helen, Anderson and his wife.

Chile (August 12th)

I was sleeping all they way to Chile as it was already a long and tiring trip from Sydney to Oakland and it was already another day when we were landing Chile. I noticed that some people were getting ready and were excited as it was their destination to return home. That reminded me about myself when I flied back to Thailand. I was always the same as those people. I told myself that this was not my final destination, rather my (lonely) trip had just started. I must be patient and wait for my turn in the end when I would fly back home after the conference.

I looked further and saw that some people were excited with a nice view and were taking some photos. Trying to shift my attention from those who were happy to go back home, I just followed another group, taking some pictures. But, by the time I could find my camera, we almost passed the really scenic one, poor me!!

Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, July 2005

I was there during 11- 15 July, 2005 to present my paper at the International Postgraduate Conference. It was the first presentation in my PhD journey, where I got my paper published for the first time as well....was so exciting trip, but it turned to be a rewarding experience in the end..I met some nice people and received useful feedback for my study.