Summer School: A Cultural Exchange in Thailand

Lynda Lopez, 17, a PEARL reporter and high school senior from Chicago, won a scholarship from the American Field Service exchange program to spend the summer in Thailand. But she didn't get to spend all of her time there lounging on Thailand's famous beaches. Schools in the United States may break for the summer but in Thailand the school year runs from May through March.

While enrolled at Suan Dusit Rajabhat University in Hua Hin, a resort town on Thailand's central coast, Lopez studied German, English for Communications, and Business Management. She also took a few trips to northern Thailand, further exploring and absorbing the Thai culture. In her spare moments, she began chronicling the lives of young people there -- having fun, studying, working, eating, and zipping around the streets -- through photographs, interviews, and shared experiences.

"I have this innate curiosity to learn about the world’s cultures, so studying abroad seemed suitable for me," Lopez said. "I have gained knowledge past my wildest dreams and this slideshow is just my way of passing along pieces of Thailand’s culture."

She said she was struck as much by the differences between American and Thai teenagers as by their many similarities.

"Different does not mean better or worse," she said. "It just means that's a distinct way of living and people should know that different is okay."