I took an entrance exam to enter the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University in 1973. The main reason behind my choice of faculty is without doubt similar to that of other students. This faculty admits students with top scores. The other reason was that I was taken ill during the exam period so I had to settle for a faculty, which did not require one to take an exam in many subjects nor in a specialty subject. Had I been well I would have chosen a faculty, which required specialty subjects such as a Faculty of Archeology or a Faculty of Education with PE as an option. However, in all likelihood I would be able to make it into the Faculty of Arts because my exam grade was quite satisfactory.

     I remember the announcement of the entrance exam result. The newspaper ran its headline “Lower rank for the first”. This is because I was ranked first in the high school final exam but came out fourth when I entered the Faculty of Arts.

     As I remember, my first year study was not smooth sailing but exciting, challenging and great fun. This was because I had to become acquainted with my teachers and lots of new friends at my faculty and from other faculties. Some were my seniors, others my fellow freshmen. Sometimes I could not remember them all. At my former Chitralada School, there were only a small number of students, so we all knew each other. Consequently I had to adjust myself accordingly. Looking back, my feeling is that my teachers and my friends were quite patient with me. I was a slow speaker and had a stutter. They did not interrupt me when I spoke. Sometimes they ended up by telling me that my way of talking was boring. Later when I made some progress they rewarded me with words of encouragement. Once I could speak more fluently, I never stopped talking. I became talkative. In my classes, I always kept the ball going by putting questions to my teachers or answering them. Sometimes it was not an easy task for newcomers to commit teachers' and friends' names to memory. Some teachers have many names, real or given by students. We had to have both of them ready in mind so that when our seniors had us turn in assignments, we could go to the right desk. As for friends' names, I was not any the wiser either. For example, when our twin friends Pom and Oun did not appear together, it was really difficult to tell who was who.

     During my first year I had to accompany my parents, His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen to the provinces. I had to submit an official letter for special dispensation from my class attendance, which was granted. If not, I would have had to resign and continue my studies in an open university. I learned by having all my class lectures tape-recorded and then I listened to them while in the provinces. I handed in my class assignments, reports and sat for the exam like other students. I called my teachers whose lectures I listened to from the tapes “recturers” a word coined by me which came from “ record” and “ lecturer”.

     Learning with my “recturers” was not as much fun as when you learnt with “real lecturers”. You could not ask questions. You could not see anything. You could not see the blackboard. At that time videotapes were not very common and means of transportation were not as easy as they are nowadays. It took several days for me to receive a tape. Luckily enough, I had friends to keep sheets and lecture notes for me. When I was back in Bangkok, my fellow students would arrange group tutoring for me. I also helped them review the subjects in which I was good. I once made a good guess about the exam questions to the amazement of my teachers who thought there was a leak. Although my guess was good, I was not any better off when it came to answering them. For this I had to turn to my teachers. They must have had quite a hard time giving me an explanation. Talking about our own tutoring, one teacher plaintively raised one point. For her it was not understandable that when students had questions, they preferred to put them to each other, instead of asking their teachers.

     I myself liked to listen to my seniors and friends. One thing was sure. Our tutoring invalidates the claim that the credit system would bring about disunity among students because of keen competition. As far as my study went, my friends were all helpful.

     In short, I learnt my lessons more with my “recturers” than with my lecturers. I did not like it very much. But those around me did like it because this did them a service. We may deduce that the Faculty of Arts had started distance learning (and distance it really was because it took several hours to travel by air) a long time back. The subjects that I chose were quite compatible with this system. It was enough to read textbooks and listen to tapes. If I studied other disciplines, I would be confined to my campus to do tutorials.

     There were various kinds of student activities, both short-term and long-term. Maintenance activities for the faculty are cleaning the building, tidying up the compound area, planting trees, etc. I was quite at home in all this. We could also baby sit for our teachers' children. There were also various club activities. I was mostly involved with the Thai Music Club. I played Thai music at the club and at the Faculty. Oddly enough, most of what I did was not playing music but arranging food for a ceremony to pay homage to music teachers. I often took care of the food.

At the Faculty of Arts, we published a journal which involved various types of work: 1. writing texts for the book. 2. asking for “it” (articles) or asking for manuscripts that our teachers or other people had promised to submit. 3. looking for sponsors. 4. making arrangements with the printing house. 5. proofreading. If we spotted misprints after the journal had been printed, we had to sit down and correct them. The worst chore came from a French text which came out with no accents. We had to go over 2000 copies to put in accents. 6. doing artistic work myself (occasionally)

     Poem writing. One of the activities for freshmen was poem writing in its four main genres in which they developed a specific given subject. We went about it as a team and had to train every day under the supervision of our seniors. Before, I was not very good at metrical composition. I could do it now. When I was a freshman, our Faculty shared the contest trophy with the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy. I don't remember what it was all about any more. I could not find my note pads. What I do remember is the poem improvised by the team from the Faculty of Architecture in which they were required to incorporate a line imposed by the jury which ran: “While in the show I chanced a look back onto my good soul.”

As for sport activities, I was not very active in spite of the fact that I played several kinds of sports before entering Chula and had to train everyday. In my early first year, I was not in the best of health indeed, but later I was doing fine. Nevertheless I feigned weakness and acted as if I could hardly walk. I took medication for weakness, moving all to pity. Had I given in and played sports, I would have taken it very earnestly, as if possessed by a sports demon, and goodbye to my studies for which I did not have much time any way. Only on rare occasions did I have a go at it but then nothing near the way I formerly did. I went in for a tug-of-war, chair ball and football. But back in my former school, my PE teacher once suggested that, if I made it to Chula, I should play volleyball because I was very good at it. As it turned out, I did not play it at all.

     Apart from this, there were a lot of other activities. I liked to help around and try my hands at this and that. So much so that many asked me what my major and my minor were. For them, I was ostensibly omnipresent at my faculty (like a mover and shaker) and helped with exhibitions such as painting posters, organizing a country music band (million-dollar band) and even sang French songs, organized by the French Club or organized a tour (I did organize it but I did not go).

     I knew quite a few teachers and friends, both my seniors and juniors. This was possibly because I did not take a keen interest in any particular subject but preferred to talk with people in all departments (formerly called sections). I liked every group of friends. Apart from teachers and friends, there were also janitors and other staff. They were all nice to me. In addition to those who belonged to our faculty, there were also people who sold all and sundry. For example, there were vendors like the popular Tiemmy, selling preserved guava and another selling bean curd in ginger tea. Before that, I was not familiar with bean curd in ginger tea but developed a taste for it at the faculty. There was also an Indian selling sweet silk thread rolls which were very tasty but expensive, one baht a piece. This was quite expensive at that time. To give you an idea a serving of welfare food supported by the government cost 1 baht. Later he had his own car to drive in to sell his “sweets”. Eventually he did such a good business that he soon could buy a plane ticket to return to India.

     Even more hilarious was the Indian nut vendor. He was a jovial fellow who always wore a smile. One of our teachers could speak Hindi, an ability which often won him free nuts. One day I went to buy his nuts and teased him by saying. “If you don't sing me an Indian song, I won't buy any of your nuts.” He acquiesced and started dancing, singing and beating the table as a makeshift drum. I granted that his singing was beautiful but then he went on singing without stop until my car came to pick me up (and this in spite of the fact that my car turned up quite late on that day); so I couldn't help but say “ You might as well stop now as I am leaving”.

     Our talented Indian entertainer wouldn't stop singing; thus pre-empting my chance to buy nuts. And off he went putting his tray of wares on his head while waving at me good-naturedly.

     The other vendors whom I patronized regularly were children. I had been told that there were 10 of them, all brothers and sisters helping each other in this business. If my memory was right, there were Tuk-Ta, Kai and Fon among them. Pre-school children that they were, these children were also good at figures and returned the change correctly in a business-like manner. First, we were just their ordinary clients who then turned regular and ended up by being their friends.

     I could go on and on with the food and desserts. But then, I would not have room for other things. Further details in this regard will serve no purpose. Indeed, not far back, I asked some of the freshmen about the food at the Faculty, they all seemed to be fluent in their descriptions.

     Apart from the human members at the Faculty, there were also many dogs. For example, our janitor's dog, Mr. Bear, was a huge black dog. Of all the dogs at the Faculty, Mr. Bear seemed to be the cock, or rather the dog of the walk. It was said that he slept in a mosquito net. In the evening class, Mr. Bear, not yet under the mosquito net, suffered from mosquito bites more than any human or animal for that matter.

     Margaret was a local dog who ruled the roost. No one knew how long she had been around. The color of her hair defied exact description. I assume that she once had long white hair. She looked like a cross. As she refused any contact with water, she looked dirty with a bad smell thrown in. I once challenged that whoever managed to bathe Margaret, would get a reward. As it turned out, those who wanted the reward were invariably bitten by her. Nobody, therefore, won the reward. I went through the trouble of looking for a person to bathe Margaret because she was quite interested in the classes that I attended. During my Pali and Greek Philosophy classes, she would sleep on my feet. When I tried to move my feet from underneath, she would snarl at me. When the class ended, she would go away on her own accord. You may wonder why I did not do it myself, if I wanted her to be bathed. Well, I had to admit that I did try but to no avail. This goes to prove that I was not one of those believed to have a winning personality.

     There were still other dogs; red-haired or green-haired. I cannot name all the names, some of which were given by me but I forget them. One of them was a real rogue haunting the canteen. He would impose himself for free food on whoever were eating by tapping the table with people ordering food. If we did not buy some for him, we would be in trouble. All the dogs were vaccinated against rabies. One of the teachers took care of this.

     Apart from the dogs I still had as my friends, the Nagas supporting the roof eave of Building I. While in class, I would steal a glance out of the door to greet them with a smile. Sometimes I had the impression that they reciprocated my greeting.

     To cut the story short, I studied at the Faculty of Arts for several years, 4 years as an undergraduate and another 4 for my postgraduate studies. Those years were so packed with events that I don't remember their exact sequence. If I were to write my biography, my life at the faculty alone would already take several volumes of a traditonal Thai folded page book.

     Not long ago there was a big flood in Bangkok that disrupted everybody's life without exception. Chula was involved in the study of the flood. But this time Chula seemed to be spared by the elements. There was a flood when I was still a student though. That time, it rained heavily and the water level was high. When it rained I liked to wear my raincoat. My friends would laugh when they spotted me sporting one. For me, it was a good thing which kept one dry. Sometimes, the walkway was flooded after a downpour and we had to wade. The janitor was very thoughtful to use a large umbrella to shelter me into the building. On the way, my seniors shouted to each other that today the princess proceeded by waterway. Sometimes the flood was so bad that transport was laborious. Our teachers found it hard to make it to the classroom. Classes had to be postponed. I once saw Acharn Rong wading with his shoes hanging from his hand. This reminded me of the Barefoot Doctor Project. Well, we too, had a barefoot professor.

     As far as knowledge goes, we can say that all knowledge is useful and can be used in our work both at home and abroad. Looking back I sometimes regret that I did not pay more attention in class. If I did, I would be much more knowledgeable. Even in development and agricultural work, we need prior knowledge, we also pass on previously acquired knowledge when we ourselves teach. In writing books, we use our knowledge from various disciplines. People often expect graduates in Arts to be well-versed in writing prose and verse in all genres. This is why they often ask for our service. We have to be able to deliver the goods. Apart from the academic theories, many of our teachers taught us do's and don't's and guided us along. This helps us to lead our life. I will not go over this again here because I had already given a talk about this at the Information Center.

     Apart from knowledge and a mindframe acquired from the Faculty of Arts, I have been consulting my teachers at the Faculty and begging them for help in many a way until now. My friends at the Faculty also proved very helpful in many ways. In terms of information, they were of great help. Whatever I wanted to know, I didn't have to read books or go after them myself. I just asked friends knowledgeable in their respective ways. Some served as honorary secretaries. Others engaged in business (charities, of course, not making money for themselves). They gave a hand in all kinds of tasks. I can go on talking volumes about what was going on at the Faculty of Arts. No amount of writing can do justice to all that came to in my mind. This sitting is not very productive, nor is the way I write beautiful enough to befit a lady of letters because it is only that my teacher and editor asked me for my overdue text (Pass the buck!)

* A term fondly used by Arts students to refer to their Faculty of Arts of which the main building is in the style of an ancient temple with bas-relief of divinities. [back to top]