This is going to be a long post since I had questionable
Internet in the past couple of days. Starting from the day before, so the 20th.
We woke up at 5:45 in the morning to give alms to the monks.
It is such a humbling experience because these men have devoted their lives to
helping others and in turn live as simply as possible. Unfortunately, I didn’t
get any photos but I’m sure there are millions around. Afterwards we hiked up
to the temple. It sits on a hill overlooking the entire surrounding area and is
absolutely magnificent. The temple is so peaceful as are the monks. After
working on learning directions in Thai we headed back to the school. We have
been taking Thai lessons and working on lesson plans.
These past couple of days we have been to every school
around Khao Sai, where we have been staying. You would think we were
celebrities! Everywhere we go they have prepared some form of celebration.
We’ve received flowers from the students, had amazing buffets prepared for us,
and even had a dance performance. It is a big deal for them to have students
come and volunteer their time to teach something as important as English
(Thailand ranks far behind its other Asian neighbors in English proficiency).
It’s been a packed past couple of days – we finally requested a nap. I was
lucky that I’m not jetlagged, but even still the heat makes it hard to stay
awake sometimes.
Then today came, apprehensively to say the least. Today we
met our host families. After 5 days of bonding over the heat, the
sometimes-strange food, the overwhelming amount of photos, and the questionable
facilities our group was sad to break up. Next time we meet will be in July for
midpoint break. My host family… I’ve never met kinder people. My host sister is
an English teacher at the school I’m going to be teaching at. She lives with
her parents in one of the bigger cities of Phichit province called Taphan Hin.
They live in a little enclosed area alongside my host sister’s aunts and
uncles. It’s really wonderful that they get to go from house to house. She was
kind enough to buy me all sorts of toiletries and move into a separate room! It
seems that Thai people are inexhaustibly welcoming.
I have very good housing, with my own room with AC! I have
yet to fully explore, so I’ll post pictures of the house when I have. In terms
of facilities, this is one of the nicest in the area I believe – we have a
Western toilet and Internet. They’re even planning to take my somewhere! It’s
really astounding to me… The Country Coordinator, Supa, told them to treat me
like family and they really have gone above and beyond.
Thai people are so appreciative of every effort you make. We
learned basic Thai phrases and every time I use them they’re so impressed! It’s
a hard language though so it’s going to take a lot of effort.
In terms of teaching, my host sister (May) asked me what
grade I would prefer to teach. I told her that I preferred younger children and
she was shocked. Apparently most foreigners (called falang in Thai, also means
guava) don’t like to teach young kids because they thing that they’re too
unruly. She had initially planned to have me teach older kids, but I think
we’ll see. After school we are planning on going to dance aerobics, which is a
big community thing here. Some days I will go to the temple with May to learn
to meditate and on Saturdays I’m going to help her tutor.
Food so far has been very good. I am obsessed with these
fruits called long – I’m going to try and find a photo. They’re yellow and
looking like lychees on the outside. On the inside they also look like lychees
but are sectioned and sometimes have seeds. They’re amazing. Also, Thai bananas
have pits!
Observations that I find hilarious/interesting:
-Monks on motorcycles/with leaf blowers
-7/11s everywhere
-Motorcycles with seats for babies built right behind the
handlebars. You legitimately see babies all over motorcycles – whether being
held by the driver, in a seat, or strapped into a backpack
-To be perfectly frank, Thailand isn’t that different from
Texas – everyone drives pickup trucks, it’s hot, in rural areas there are dirt
roads, people wear cowboy hats…
BTW sorry for my photos... Definitely not skilled
All of us and the host families
All of us at one of the schools
All of us in front of the school at Khao Sai where we stayed
The temple on the hill with the monks walking towards it
Gate to the temple
Graves by the temple
View from the temple
View from the temple
Buddha at the temple
Buddha and his hot water maker
Not sure what this is... pretty building?
Another view of the building
Another Thai building
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