What is it like to teach in Thailand?

I've noticed that lately, my posts have been about our travels, our time off. Even though it doesn't sound like it, we do actually work here too! (Even though sometimes it feels like we spend more time vacationing than teaching). So let me delve a little bit into what it is like being a teacher in Thailand. [Disclaimer: Each person will have a different experience and it largely depends on which school you are placed.] But here's been our experience...

Your students call you by your first name. Of course, they add the "teacher" out of respect, but it's just easier for them to say our first names. And sometimes they even shorten 'teacher' to plain "-cher." Oh and they actually don't pronounce the "r" very well. So what I'm hearing all day is, "Teacha, teacha! Hello, Chah Nataly!" It's very endearing after a while :)

Just because your students take off their shoes outside the classroom doesn't mean you need to. I learned this one the embarrassing way. School, just like people's homes, are to be respected, so all the students remove their shoes before entering a classroom or office. I saw my students do this and not wanting to make a cultural faux pas, I did as well. For like the first 2 weeks! Haha. Then I finally had the sense to ask another foreign teacher if we needed to do so and I was responded with a chuckle. You live and learn I guess. Although I do have to say that it was kind of freeing walking around the classroom barefoot.

Don't try to learn the Thai alphabet and then show it off to your students in class. Considering 4 out of the first 6 letters are dreadfully close to obscenities, it's best to not even go there. I also learned this one the embarrassing way.

They love the fact that two of their teachers are married to each other. Seriously, they eat it up! My students will ask me what I did over the weekend, and I'll say something like, "Oh, we went to Bangkok and saw a movie." And then they'll get a little smile creeping on their faces, "Did you go with Teacher Jon?..." to which I reply, "Of course! We do everything together." Man, all the oohs, ahs, and nervous giggles I get... you would think that we were back in middle school! Which I guess we are technically. Jonathan let our students in on his secret trip for our anniversary and they couldn't stop talking about it! "Teacha Nataly! I know something that you don't! But I can't tell you! It has to do with Teacha Jon..." accompanied with giggles, smiles and shifty eyes. The novelty hasn't worn off yet!

 

Because you are a foreign English teacher, you are qualified to teach ANY subject in English...and more. We signed up to teach English, but then we showed up and found out that we are teaching English, Science, Health, and Computer Science. Mmhm, ok! Oh, you want us to teach for 3 hours on Saturdays too? No problem. Adding on Basketball class once a week, love it! Co-directing a skit for the provincial English Program Competition (including daily rehearsals)... all part of the job. I will tell you this: you will be utilized until there is almost nothing left of you.

You will at first feel guilty, but then relish when you cut students in line in the Cafeteria (or Canteen as they call it here). But it's totally kosher! And in fact, needed. I mean, you gotta get to class on time, right? Haha, maybe I take too much joy in it. Is it bad that I like the authority and privilege it gives me over my students who are mostly taller than me? Nah. It's normal. But seriously... I'm not the only one who does it.

This is basically what I have every day for lunch. It's awesome. And all for under $1!

You will literally be the LAST person to know anything. I cannot tell you how many times students have run into the classroom telling me that no one is coming because of this activity or meeting or what-have-you. We'll be told last-minute, there isn't going to be school tomorrow, oh and next Wednesday too. Or we'll walk into the office and be greeted with a "Good morning! We aren't having first or second period today." And you know, at first it was a bit frustrating, but now we just expect it. It's not that people keep information from you on purpose, I think it's just the Thai culture. I've noticed that disseminating information and communication in general are not high on their priority lists. Sometimes I'll try to be proactive and ask around, but most of the time the teachers don't know what's going on. Your best bet is to ask the students. They know what's up.

This is their daily morning meeting. And it always goes way over time :)

Students (who aren't yours) will be so excited to show you their English! Even if (and it usually is) minimal. I'll be walking around campus and groups of students will walk past me saying, "Hello, Teacha! How are you?" I'll say, "I'm fine, how are you?" And then after they look at me dumbfounded, they giggle and run away. There is a specific group of boys who sit outside, next to the Cafeteria and we pass by them on our way to lunch. And every day without fail they yell at Jonathan, "What's up?!" It's actually more like, whaaz ahp! It's hilarious. They are clearly too cool for school.

 

Don't be surprised when a student starts poking your belly or plops down on your lap. The Thais are certainly a touchy-feely bunch. If they start to like you, they will hold your hand, wrap their arms around your waist, or stroke your arm as you walk past their desks and tell you that you are soft (I had this happen my very first day). They also like to tell it how it is. There isn't any regard for sensitivity about your body here in Thailand. Every teacher has been poked in the stomach at one point and been told, "you have fat!" Almost every day, some student points to the bags under my eyes and asks me, "Teacha, why are your eyes like that?!" I just have to laugh and tell them, that's how I was born! Or I tell them that they make me tired :) They aren't trying to make fun or anything, that's just how it is here! Weight and appearance are nothing to be ashamed of. 

Even though your student is speaking English, you aren't always speaking the same language. Now that we've been here for 4 months, I feel like I've gotten pretty good at deciphering the Thai accent and substituting simple words in my instructions. (I've learned to say my directions 3 times, use charades, write them on the whiteboard and also walk around to make sure they are doing it right. You gotta make sure all the bases are covered.) But there are still many times that I have to ask a student to repeat their answer like 3 times before shamefully asking them to spell it out for me. One of the countless experiences of when things get lost in translation.

When in doubt, give them balloons! Ok, not really. But here's the point: Hands-on activities are the best way to shake things up and to help get over a language barrier. What better way to teach static electricity than to have 30 students rubbing balloons on each other's heads?! Never mind that 6 balloons were sacrificed in the process. It definitely made for some great pictures.

There is no greater feeling than seeing that one struggling student, who tries SO hard, get an answer right. Gosh, I never realized how tough the English language is until I started teaching it! I have to teach myself every day before walking into class! English grammar is no fun and many times makes no sense. And these poor students just want to know why. How are they supposed to learn and understand the 'loose' grammar rules when all the exercises in their books give them the exceptions? Gah! It's frustrating because most of the time I can't give them a reason. I just say, "English is hard. I don't know why. But that's what it is." They really try. But when that moment comes, when it finally clicks, you can see it on their faces. Their eyes light up, they break into a huge smile and I just want to squeeze them with all my might, jump up and down and say, "You did it!!!" Ah! There really is no better feeling. It makes all the frustration worth it. By far.

To sum it up, teaching in Thailand has been humbling, entertaining, frustrating, loads of fun, but most of all, rewarding. It's been awesome experience and if anyone is thinking about it, you should go for it!

Holiday in Chiang Mai

Ok, get ready for a super long post because it's been a while since I've last visited here. My family would joke that it's because we've been playing too hard! Haha. And it's true. During the middle of July, we hit the middle of the semester so we had a week off while our students took their midterms. And that week was preceded by a 4-day weekend due to the Buddhist Lent holidays. So we almost had 2 full weeks to ourselves and we chose to travel around Thailand!

If you're looking for the typical mountainous, green parts of Thailand, full of lush forests and rich with tribal culture, look no further! Chiang Mai is the place. I have to say that if for some reason we decided to live in Thailand for a long period of time (and I'm not saying anything by this hah), I would probably pick Chiang Mai. For me, it was the perfect blend of city life and mountain country. It is pretty international-friendly with diverse food options and many more people speaking English than where we live in Saraburi. But you can still find places tucked away from the old city that are less-touristy. We loved it and have already planned another trip to go back!

From Bangkok, we took the 12-hour train nearly all the way up to the northern tip of Thailand. I didn't actually think that I would enjoy being on a train all day, as much as I did. We had A/C, there was frequent complimentary beverage service and the seats did recline a little. We just spent the whole day munching on our snacks and watching the scenery transform from the plains and fields of the Central Region to the elevated rice fields and jungles of the North. We got into Chiang Mai around 9:00 pm, found the nearest hostel, battled the cockroach awaiting in our bathroom, and passed out for the night.

You can't stay in Chiang Mai without having at least one day of temple-seeing. And the wats (temples) in Chiang Mai are the coolest in all of Thailand! (We at least think so). I think we were used to seeing the Central Region architectural styles so having a change was very refreshing. Up there, they use a lot of different building materials, other than gold, and they have the 5-headed dragon serpent, Naga, incorporated on many of their wats. Here's a picture of Naga below. Our whole first day was spent exploring the Old City and running into as many temples as possible. And there were A LOT. Here are a couple of our favorites.

Wat Chedi Luang. Super big and super ornate. Gorgeous inside. This is where the Emerald Buddha was originally held before getting moved to the Grand Palace grounds in Bangkok.

Wat Pan Tao. This one is of special note because it is made entirely out of teak wood. After a while, all the temples kind of start to look the same... but not this one! 

And Wat Sri Suphan. The one and only temple in all of Thailand made out of silver (instead of the usual gold)! This one took us a bit of time driving in circles to find. It's a little more off the beaten path, at least for tourists. It was well worth the trouble though.

We just happened to miss the celebration of Wan Asana Bucha which was the night before we arrived in Chiang Mai. This holiday commemorates the Buddha's first sermon, outlining the 4 noble truths, and is also basically the birth of Buddhist sangha (monkhood). Buddhists celebrate by trekking back to the temples of their ancestors, listening to sermons and bringing offerings to monks. I didn't take this picture, but we saw the aftermath of all the candles the next day. So unfortunate that we missed it by only one day :/

We had an early morning the next day as we got picked up and taken to Baan Chang Elephant Park. Spent the better part of the day feeding, bathing, and riding elephants! We picked this particular park because we heard good reviews on how they treat these majestic animals. Apparently many of their elephants are from other camps where they were mistreated or their level of care was too low. I'm not going to judge or start a big thing here, but from what I saw, the mahouts at this camp seemed to really care for their elephants and we had a very positive experience.

This "Mahout Training," was fun to do because I felt like we got a lot more time and intimacy with the elephants. We got to be really close to them and I even stuck some bananas directly into an elephant's mouth! Ha! We were taught the commands to have the elephant briefly sit down (so you can get on and off) and the directions for go straight, turn, and stop. Basically we got elephant driving lessons! It was pretty awesome.

After a couple of pretty thorough showers, we headed back out to the city in the evening and spent a few hours (and a couple thousand baht) at the Sunday Walking Street. Basically a huge section of the Old City which is blocked off and lined with markets and vendors of fabrics, snacks, and home décor. We bought our first souvenirs since being in Thailand and it was oh so good.

On day 3 of our Chiang Mai trip, we took our rented motorbike up the mountain, Doi Suthep (west of the Old City) and had the most pleasant drive we've EVER had in Thailand! (And that's saying something because we've done a lot of driving and traveling). As we ascended the mountain, the air got crisp and was incredibly refreshing. That is the first time I've ever felt chilly outside! It was delightful! Halfway up, we were rewarded with a fantastic view of Chiang Mai city and then we headed up to the temple on the mountain, Wat Phra Doi Suthep.

Out of all the temples we've been to in Thailand, this one is our FAVORITE. Maybe it's because the drive up to it was so fantastic, or maybe it's because of this gorgeous 306-step Naga staircase. Whatever the reason, it was the highlight of our trip. The story behind this temple is that a monk strapped a Buddhist relic on a white elephant's back and let it loose to wander and 'choose' a spot for the temple to be built. The elephant continued to wander through the forests and ended up dying on this spot on the mountain, so that's where they built it. The temple mount itself is beautiful, of course, and if you walk around the grounds there is a breathtaking view of the city.

We spent a good amount of time walking around the grounds, in and out of little shrine rooms. As I walked into one of them there was a group of farang (foreigners) gathered and sitting in front of a monk. I knelt down by myself in the corner but then the monk called out to me and wanted me to join them. I've seen Thai people kneel before monks as they make merit and are in turn blessed, but I was not expecting to experience it myself! So I scooted over there while spotting Jonathan and urging him to go over there too. We got sprinkled with water by a lotus flower as this super outgoing monk blessed us in Thai and then ended it with the little English he knew, "happy, happy, happy, good, good, happy!" Happiness and goodness; that's all you need I guess!

Before leaving, we got to sign our names on a roll of golden fabric that was to be wrapped around the pagoda the next day! We have officially left our marks on Thailand. Oh and we stopped on our way back down the staircase for a photo-op with this little girl from one of the many hill tribes who inhabit Doi Suthep.

After driving further up the mountain (trying to find the summit, we were unsuccessful), we headed back down and had a late lunch at the best Mexican place EVER. It's the first and only time we'll probably get Mexican food in Thailand. It's called Salsa Kitchen, for anyone who wants to know. It was so good that we ate there multiple times during our trip haha. Anyways, we went back into the Old City and stopped by Wat Chedi Luang (to see if they were doing anything else for the continuing holiday) where we witnessed something unique. We came upon a huge meeting of all these monks. This day was Wan Khao Pansa, which I believe commemorates the beginning of the "Rains Retreat" which many people have dubbed 'Buddhist Lent.' It is historically when the Buddha urged monks to stay in one temple to prevent them from wandering the countryside and accidentally stepping on the rice fields during the few months of rain. Some Buddhists observe this holiday by giving up or withholding something from themselves for the duration of rainy season (July-Oct), hence the 'lent' reference. Anyways, I think this gathering had something to do with this holiday. But if not, it was still pretty cool.

Oh, I forgot like the coolest place we went to! I don't remember what day we went to it, it's all kind of a blur now, but it was a pleasant surprise! The Royal Flora Ratchaphruek. As part of celebrating His Majesty the King's 60th anniversary of reign (in 2006), a huge flower festival was put together as a 3-month long expo. Afterwards, it opened up to the public (it's been revamped a few times) and now you can easily spend 2-3 hours walking through 200 acres worth of various gardens, nature displays and flower pavilions. Jonathan and I happened to get there about 2 hours before it closed and we were almost the only ones there! (One of the benefits of traveling during off season). Basically had the whole park to ourselves.

We walked through the gates and had this view. Breathtaking! They also had music piped through a speaker system that was set up throughout the whole park playing a combination of piano instrumentals and elevator music. It was very relaxing.

SO many temples!

And another time during our trip (don't remember when), we stopped at Wiang Kum Kam which is the archaeological site of an ancient city. It's not too far from the old city of Chiang Mai, but it is much, much older. Neighborhoods have been built on top of it, so we drove around through the maze of sois (little streets) trying to find random ruins sprinkled here and there. We had no idea where we were going and even got chased out of someone's backyard by a super aggressive dog, hah! But we eventually found our way to the most beautiful and notable temple, Wat Chedi Liam.

There was almost NO photo editing done on this one. It really was a fantastically beautiful day! I've decided that Thailand has the best clouds.

Our final day in Chiang Mai definitely came too soon. I was already making a list of all the things I wanted to do and see next time! We made our way out to the forest wat, Wat U-Mong which, you guessed it - is out in the middle of the forest. What made this wat cool is that this was a popular temple for monks to retreat from the city and practice meditating and such. Beneath the temple they made a series of tunnels, I guess to really retreat and be one with the Earth. It was interesting and pretty. 
(Can you see me below?!)

Chiang Mai really does love its Naga staircases...

After one more stop to our favorite Mexican restaurant, we caught the overnight train back down to Bangkok and drove in the public van to Saraburi, just in time for proctoring our students' midterms for one day. Then back on the road we were, for a quick trip to Elephant Island! Here's the ferry boat that took us from the mainland to Koh Chang (it's real name in Thai).

The vacation itself wasn't ideal, but it was a vacation nonetheless. I'll give it to you in a 2-sentence recap: We were there for 3 days, two of which rained all day and all of which Jonathan was sick with a fever. However we did have one beautiful day on the beach and we spent the whole trip doing two of my favorite things - eating and relaxing. It was essentially a vacation from our (other busier) vacations!

This is how a lot of our time was spent. Jonathan sick in bed while I read a book or watched the waves outside our window. Poor guy.

One of the days, we slept in and went to this little hang out spot for brunch - called the Magic Garden. We took our sweet time there and then as soon as we were about to leave, a huge storm poured on us so we were stuck. We curled up with our books and waited it out. Next thing we know, we are hungry again for lunch! How convenient that we were already sitting in a restaurant haha. So basically we spent almost a whole day in this one spot. The ultimate definition of a lazy day.

Hammock reading in front of the ocean. Life doesn't get much better than this!

After nearly 2 weeks of straight traveling, we got a stinging slap back to reality. We headed back to school, to lesson planning, and back to grading stacks and stacks of midterms. I guess vacations do come with a price.