Joschua Mueller

After relaxing at the beach in Pattaya for a couple of days celebrating Chinese New Year, we decided to head into the countryside to explore a more historical facet of Thailand. Before heading north, I didn't have a single clue about Ayutthaya and its cultural significance. I will give a quick summary of the information I should have looked up before going there. According to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention , Ayutthaya, the capital of the Siamese Kingdom, used to be "one of the world's largest, most cosmopolitan urban areas and a centre for global diplomacy." After being burned down by the Burmese in the 18th century, only ruins of monasteries and temples spread out across the countryside remain. The Ayutthaya Historical Park has since been named a world heritage site and is a popular tourist attraction not too far from Bangkok. Our day trip was rather spontaneous. In the morning, the kind host at the " Neighbor Phuthon " bed and breakfast organis

Introduction For the past six months as a high school senior, my life has been centred around universities. Every moment of free time was either spent doing college research or writing application essays, but, unquestionably, the highlight of this journey was receiving an invitation to the NYU Abu Dhabi EDII Candidate Weekend for the Class of 2023. For those that don't know, attendance of the candidate weekend is a mandatory part of the NYUAD admissions process. The university typically flies each applicant in over a four-day period, where candidates undergo a somewhat secretive evaluation process. The activities are both for students to get to know the university and for admissions to learn more about an applicant. Only the "finalists" in the admissions process are usually invited, so, understandably, I was ecstatic to receive an invitation to attend. Arrival Day Because I spent the Chinese New Year holiday with my family in Thailand, I flew into Abu Dhabi dir