Student Handbook and Gear
On admission, each student is sent an email which describes the next steps, as well as a like to the Student Handbook and the Gear List. The Student Handbook answers a lot of questions about daily life, medical care, how to receive mail and phone calls, etc. The students also get a link to the Gear List, which outlines what sort of clothing and equipment is required for their time studying in Thailand. Some students will already have some of the clothing they need for our expeditions, but even if they do not, by being careful to look for sales and keeping an eye on online sources for inexpensive outdoor equipment or buying secondhand, the clothing and equipment for the program does not have to be expensive. Most of the more expensive items a student will use are supplied by the program (e.g. backpacks, sleeping bags, etc.). The link to the Student Handbook and Gear list is here.
Safety and risk
Going on study abroad, especially in a developing country like Thailand, carries with it inherent risk. Many of the risks are similar to that faced by students on their home campus, but there are of course new risks in a new culture and a new country. ISDSI is an active participant in the US study abroad community, working to help push the field forward with best practices in risk management. Three areas are important for our risk management and the safety of our students. First, we spend a lot of time working with our students to help them to become culturally aware, since cultural competency helps them to stay safer. We cannot be with the all the time, and part of becoming safe in a new context is learning to be aware of what is, and is not, appropriate behavior. Secondly, we invest a lot of our time in developing risk management plans for our field activities, and our Field Instructors are all medically trained — most as Wilderness First Responders or Wilderness First Aid. Finally, we are engaged in on-going assessments of the specifics of our courses and program operations, both through deep involvement in the communities where we operate, as well as with regular communication with the US State Department (our Executive Director is a warden with the US Consulate in Chiang Mai).
Medical issues in Thailand
We are very fortunate that Thailand, and Chiang Mai in particular, has excellent health care available. There are a variety of world-class hospitals, and some of them, such as Bangkok Hospital Chiang Mai, will direct pay on insurance. Other places may require the patient to pay up front and be reimbursed later. Do check with your insurance company about this. If a student needs to visit a doctor, ISDSI staff will offer to accompany them, and we always urge students to contact parents about doctor visits. Often clinics and routine doctor visits are housed in the international standard hospitals, so “going to the hospital” does not always carry as serious an implication as it might in the US! If you have questions, ask your student, and we can help facilitate as we are able. As noted elsewhere, in the field students are accompanied by our medically trained staff (Wilderness First Responders) and we have a US medical doctor advising our program.
FAQ
A link to our FAQ is here. A lot of these questions will be helpful for parents as well.
Arrival
When students come on an ISDSI program, we meet them at the airport and take them to a guesthouse or other accommodations as needed. You might not hear from them right away! Often they arrive late at night, and while we always tell them to contact their parents, sometimes they forget or are too tired to do anything about it. So even if it is a couple of hours after they have arrived, there is no need to worry if you’ve not heard from them.
Following what is happening on the program
The best way to stay in touch with what is happening on the program is by following us on Facebook as well as on Instagram. We also have an online calendar that is updated before a program goes into the field.
Going off the grid
We spend a lot of time on our program in remote locations and communities studying. We have found over the years that this is best accomplished by student not bringing along their cell phones and other electronic devices (aside from cameras). While our staff travel with smart phones and satellite phones for emergencies, your students will usually go “off the grid” for 2-3 weeks at a time each month during the expedition phase of our courses. If you need to get in touch with them in an emergency, contact us and we can reach the course.
How to reach your student and us
There are several easy ways to get in touch with us.
Toll Free in the US: (800) 282-9352 (9-6 PST)
Office telephone in Thailand: 66-53-406-331 (9-5 Monday through Friday)
Fax in Thailand: 66-53-221-399
General Inquiries: [email protected] (this goes to the Executive Director, Mark Ritchie)
Admissions/applying: [email protected] (this goes to Admissions, Dana Ritchie
Airmail letters and packages:
PO Box 222
Prasingh
Chiang Mai, 50205
THAILAND
FedEx/DHL/UPS (etc.) that needs a street address:
48/1 Chiang Mai-Lampang Road (Superhighway)
Muang, Chiang Mai, 50300
THAILAND
Phone: +66-53-406-331
How to call Thailand
Country code: 66
Thai mobile phone numbers begin with “0” but you drop that when calling from overseas.
If you are using your own mobile phone you can use “+” to initiate and international call.
So to call 081-724-0860 from outside Thailand you call +66-81-724-0860.
Emergency contacts
Mark Ritchie, Executive Director: [email protected], 66-81-724-0860 (personal mobile phone)
This number will auto forward to Khun Subongkoch, ISDSI’s Administrative Coordinator, if the Director cannot be reached. If it does not forward, call Khun Subongkoch at +66-89-755-9711
Our Emergency Contact Phone number is on 24 / 7 while students are on a program. This can be reached at +66-
Re-entry
Post-program travel
