Aaron Sokol
Class of 2004

March 30, 2005

I had been working in the US for a few months when I received an email from a teacher at Thammasat University in Bangkok who I had befriended during my semester abroad. Thanet told me that there was a chance a position would become available at the Fiscal Policy Office of the Thai Ministry of Finance, and that if I was interested I should inquire. I landed the job and booked a flight.

My work here is fascinating. I have been assigned to compose, design and publish two English-language informational booklets that will be distributed to potential investors across the English speaking world. Currently there is no collected repository of the information I will need to complete the task, so with the help of my superiors I have arranged personal interviews with many key members of the senior management staff. We have discussed the current policies formulated and implemented by each of the 5 bureaus of the Fiscal Policy Office, and I have been tape recording the interviews to prepare for the possibility of future research and analysis. I have also been editing and re-drafting English language speeches given by the Director General of the Fiscal Policy Office, who as it turns out is a hilarious and gifted economist. Although the position is temporary, I have been thinking about applying for a Master's in International Economics at Chulalongkorn University.

Bangkok is awesome and insane and hot. As far as I can tell, this city of 10 million is the hub of Southeast Asia. I live in a highrise sandwiched between the Arabic Corner and Siam Square, so I ride the monorail to work packed between swaying Thai professionals. Lunch is so spicy it makes my ears pop, soccer is always on concrete and always furious, and if I leave the office at 4 on a Friday I can be snorkeling next to a white sand beach by 9 am Saturday.

Aaron Sokol
aasokol@gmail.com

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