From August to December 2023, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork in several Chinatowns in Bangkok, Thailand. An early piece of advice I got was that no matter how comprehensively I planned the process, not much would go as expected. This guidance was unnerving to hear as an undergraduate about to fly halfway around the world for first-time fieldwork. Some conclusions that I drew will be useful for undergraduates planning research abroad: maintaining flexibility, building relationships with student participants (i.e., informants), and forming connections with scholars who have researched your topic. My research explored how residents of Chinatowns in Bangkok—whether Thai, Chinese, or [...]