---
title: "Growing Up Between Thailand and China: A 12-Year-Old's Perspective"
slug: "kids-perspective"
type: "podcast"
url: "https://globalfromanywhere.com/podcasts/kids-perspective/"
canonical_url: "https://globalfromanywhere.com/podcasts/kids-perspective/"
date_published: "2026-08-11T11:00:00"
date_modified: "2026-08-11T06:09:13.780493"
description: "Mike interviews his 12-year-old son Miles about growing up in China and Thailand, different schools, COVID-era moves, robotics, and finding home."
image: "https://media.globalfromanywhere.com/7b5f6db2b094437dbc45d88066de65da.webp"
episode_number: "495"
audio_url: "https://m.globalfromanywhere.com/C0SjrDmMM49d.mp3"
youtube_url: "https://youtu.be/ayYAq31fSno"
---

# Growing Up Between Thailand and China: A 12-Year-Old's Perspective

In GFA495, **Mike Michelini interviews his 12-year-old son Miles about growing up between Thailand and China**. Recorded at Benjakitti Forest Park in Bangkok, this father-son conversation explores what home, school, travel, and learning look like through a child's eyes.

Born in Shenzhen and raised across China and Thailand, Miles shares memories of early childhood in Shenzhen, family time and school in Shenyang, COVID-era lockdowns and travel, and returning to Chiang Mai.

The conversation also moves into hands-on learning. Miles explains what happened when he built an improvised sumo robot for a hardware competition, why the motors and wiring caused problems, and what he learned from hours of debugging even though the robot did not win.

Miles also discusses his public blog and his idea for Chiang Mai Studio, a maker community where young people can build projects, troubleshoot problems, and learn together.

_This episode reflects Miles's personal experiences. It is not intended as a universal comparison of countries, cities, or education systems._

## Topics Covered

-   Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City through a child's eyes
-   Growing up in Shenzhen, Shenyang, and Chiang Mai
-   Family movement and schooling during COVID restrictions
-   Different experiences of structure, class size, and flexibility in school
-   Building and debugging an Arduino-based sumo robot
-   Learning through failure, making, and self-directed projects
-   Why Chiang Mai currently feels most like home

## People and Resources Mentioned

-   Mike Michelini — host of Global From Anywhere
-   Miles Michelini — student and young maker
-   [MilesMichelini.com](https://milesmichelini.com/) — Miles's stories and projects
-   [ChiangMaiStudio.com](https://chiangmaistudio.com/) — the repositioned maker-community project

## About This Episode

This field interview was recorded in Bangkok, Thailand. Final video, audio, chapter timestamps, and media links will be added after production review.

![](https://media.globalfromanywhere.com/7f378474a99846edb84e286a7f142c27.webp)