Sangwan Talaphat left Bangkok on 13 August 1917 on the ship "Kuala" with almost 20 other Thai students. The trip took them to Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, and after six weeks, the group reached San Francisco. From there, she went to live with an American family, the Adamsens of Berkeley, California, for a year, attending Emerson School with her friend Ubol Palakawongse na Ayudhya, a member of the nobility. She also attended Sunday school to learn the ways of the Christian faith.