In 2009-2010 i was in Thailand living in Laemchabang for 1 year as an exchange student. I hope to return in the summer of 2012 from june to august because i will just be graduating from highschool. I was wondering how difficult it would be to get a visa for traveling to thailand and if it is very exepensive. Does having connections in Thailand or being able to speak thai help determine this? Thanks!

Btw, im from america.

No to all of your questions, getting a tourist visa is very easy. Portland Consulate is very user friendly. You donot say how long you want to stay but it sounds like a tourist visa is what you will need. Tourist visa 60 days for entry and 30 day extension at immigration will give you 90 days total. Call Portland and she will let you know what you need to apply. You may want to do some reading here on Thaivisa for information.

Yes a Tourist Visa will get you 3 months with an extension.

Cost of the Visa is equivalent of 1000 Baht.

Extension is 1,900 Baht.

The closest Consulate is Miami and tourist visa is not hard to obtain. Travel can be done without language knowledge (but suspect you have some if an exchange student).

http://www.thaiconsulatemiami.com/