Thailand TEFL

The idea of doing the TEFL course came about while I was on my travels last year. So many people I spoke to were, or knew of someone teaching English and it seemed like a good way to combine travel, immerse yourself in a culture and community and earn some money in the process. It was only when I was flying home after my 5 and a half months of travelling around SE Asia that I read an article saying 'why do the course in grey cold Britain when it can be taken in hot sunny Thailand'. And of course there is the added bonus of getting to do the practical teaching lessons within a Thai school with Thai children who are learning English, perfect!
That is what I wanted to write about, the schools and the children.
Twice a week during the course my group of 12 leave at 7.50am for any one of 8 schools to teach a one hour lesson.
Within our groups of 3 we teach a lesson each to different classes of different ages. And so, we get the experience of teaching our own lesson, and also to watch 2 of our peers and learn from them (or not as the case may be).
It is a tough morning for all of us as we have had to plan the lesson the day before that has often taken well into the late evening.
Only one of the group has ever taught before and many of us have not had children of our own so it is a tough gig to find yourself in a totally new situation faced with up to 22 children who are waiting to learn, and in addition, there is the matter of keeping them interested and disciplining them. Thai children in general are good kids, they are very mild mannered compared to children back home and they stay children until they are 16 in that the girls all still wear ankle socks and flat shoes, none of them wear make up and they all have their hair tied in ribbons. The boys are more interested in messing around and there is a lot of prodding one another, especially when one is trying to speak in English. It's hard not to laugh when I have got one of them standing to dialogue with me and one of his mates pokes a pencil in his backside!
They do not wander around at night in menacing packs and fashion is far from their mind, they are simply being children and having fun.
Some of the government schools are better than others while some are in desperate need of a lick of paint and new furniture.
On my second assignment I found myself teaching in an open air place, it had a ceiling and floor but no walls. As it never was intended to be a classroom there were no facilities, the children sat in an arc on the floor and I had to make do with a white board balanced on 2 chairs that had me crouching down to write on, it was a sixth of the size of the one we have at our learning classroom and so I had to improvise and erase as I went.
When I spoke of this to my tutor later he said it was good practice as some schools in some countries may not even have a black board and a stick in the sand is often as good as it gets!
The school I went to this week was definitely in need of some tlc but the atmosphere was lovely and there were some beautiful children running around no older than 4 years of age.
The grounds were fairly large and, as usual the children were not being supervised, instead, running free over rubble (there was a big Buddha being built in the grounds), climbing trees and at lunch time many of them were sitting just about any where eating their lunch.
It seems so alien to witness the freedom that these children have as I am conditioned into the 'nanny state' that we now have While I am sure accidents do happen here from time to time, I think that we protect our kids far too much and have gone too far in protecting them, I believe they are not even allowed to play with conkers on string any more?
One of the first lessons we had on the course was of Thai traditions, culture and what is not acceptable. Some of these have to be taken into the classroom.
As the sole of the foot is the lowest part of the body it is considered dirty (and for the most they are due to wearing flip flops or barefoot) and so, pointing with your foot is an absolute no no. If the children are sitting on the floor in class for example it would be very disrespectful to push a pencil or piece of paper towards a student with my foot.
The Thais never want to 'lose face' in that they will not shout or lose their temper in the street, make themselves or others look foolish, they mainly look out for one another. In the classroom, we must be careful not to tell a child he/she is wrong or humiliate them in front of their peers, instead tell them it's not right but was a good try. The children will always help one another if they are struggling with a question.
If you ask any one (including Police) directions, they won't say they don't know, instead lead you the wrong way, this one can be bloody annoying, I would rather they lose face than send me on a wild goose chase in the heat of the day!
Dress code is strict in that revealing or see through items of clothing are never worn by women unless they are 'bar girls' you just don't see girls/women with flesh on show apart from their legs and their arms below a short sleeve. They never display their cleavage, (not that many have one as they are all so tiny) and us would be teachers have to dress accordingly.
The King is highly revered here, indeed it is a punishable offence to disrespect him in any way, therefore it is best not to mention him in case it is misconstrued. If you drop a coin on the floor, it would be considered very bad to stamp on it as in effect you are stamping on the Kings head.
The longer I am in the country the more I enjoy it,  away from the  main tourist areas the locals are friendly, accommodating and happy to chat with you.  I guess the weather has a lot to do with the overall ambience of the place, people smile and are relaxed, never hurrying. Activities are taken outdoors, the streets are constantly full of people eating from the hundreds of street vendors that line the roads. Most of the homes are only really used for sleeping and the indoor living space is minimal as living is done outside, even the rice cookers and gas rings over calorgas containers are in an outside porch.
The whole experience is really very interesting.

TEFL and flowers

Having completed my first week of the TEFL course which included lots of written homework, it was nice to have some down time this weekend.
On Friday night a few of us went out for a few beers (some a few more than others) I bailed out by 11pm but 3 of them continued until 3.30am and all felt most unwell on saturday.
I was bright eyed and bushy tailed and went off into town and then spent the late part of the day reading my epic 940 page novel 'Shantaram' a true story of a guy who escapes a New Zealand prison and ends up in Bombay,  and among other things, ends up living in the slums. I am only up to page 200 but it is a really good read so far.
And so today, a lovely girl called Kay from Derby and I met at 9am this morning and went into the old town of Chiang Mai to have a walk around the annual flower festival.
The main event was yestarday morning where they have a 2 hour procession thru town with amazing flower girls and floats.
Luckily the floats were there albeit stationary, but it meant we got to see them close up.
The intricacy was amazing, thousands upon thousands of flower heads stuck onto polystyrene figures with pins, all done by hand.
Rather than trying to describe it I will let the photos do the talking.

Remember, these are all made from individual flower heards put on by hand

Close up

 And now for something a little bit random, these knitted pieces were to promote a wool shop, they were really great and so original

 Yup, they had even knitted sox for a tree trunk and its branches,

and of course, the obligatory food pics..

My favourite one.

I have to say, it was a lovely day, the weather was perfect, there was a wonderful flower and plantmarket as well as hundreds of other stalls selling just about everything.

We enjoyed a late brunch and then both had a relaxing one hour Thai massage in a lovely place with fans to cool us, complete with soothing music and a sweet cup of  Thai tea afterwards for a little over £3 each, amazing value!

Back to class tomorrow, I don't relish it as we have 3 days of grammar and 2 more classes to plan for and teach, but I will give it my best...



Bangkok-Khosan road

I left Nong Khai at 6.30pm on the overnight sleeper train. It is such a good service and run with exact precision. The carriages are like any other, each with their own assistant to change the seats into beds. The bottom bunk is made up from the two facing seats pulled towards one another and a mattress placed on top  complete with a clean white sheet, pillow case and blanket. The top bunk is affixed to the ceiling and pulls down.

luThe journey took 12 hours, the bed was very comfortable ( I booked the bottom bunk) I slept fairly well, all too soon the sun was up and the train was arriving in Bangkok station. I shared a tuk tuk with a couple who were going to the same area as I was, the infamous Khosan road, a place frequented by backpackers from all over the world. I walked a couple of roads away to a pre booked guest house and was at the reception desk attempting to check in at 7.20am. I was told by a very rude girl that the room would not be ready until 12pm and to leave my rucksack in the luggage room. And so, I walked back to the Khosan road and sat at one of the many cafes and ordered  a bowl of fresh fruit with yogurt and a cup of coffee and watched as shops and street vendors opened their businesses for another crazy day. Originally Khosan road was like many others in Bangkok, lined with homes and the odd shop, but, one year, there was a big affair at the Palace and it led to locals opening their homes to tourists who needed a bed.

From then on, a few turned their homes into guest houses, and then a few more until what it is today, a road that never sleeps. There is a constant turn around from the shops and cafes and street vendors during the day, giving way to the restaurants, street stalls and loud music bars that continue well into the night.

It's a melting pot for people watching, all roads lead to Bangkok, when travelling almost anywhere in Thailand or from one country to another in S.E Asia, and indeed as a stop over on route to Australia, people from all over the world stop here for at least one night.

I sat in one seat for quite some time and took some photos from the same spot...

Check out the girl in beige wearing fluffy slippers!

Having spent the past 5 weeks in the nondescript town of Nong Khai with very little to tantalise the camera, it was great to have my senses awoken with the sights, smells and colours of this part of the city. I decided to walk up one side and down the other side of the Khosan road and took some photos of many of things offered to the tourist...

It began with the Mother of scarf shops

How fab!

 Any thing you want can be bought here, maybe I needn't have bothered taking the TEFL course, I could have just got my certificate here, far easier

 This lady was on hand to repair and alter clothes and bags

 This old boy was trying to sell me a hammock, not quite sure where I would have tied it?

 I decided to give the Rasta hair do a miss

 There is nowhere better to make your coleslaw than the side of the road

 This block of flats is just inside the road, goodness knows how they ever sleep

 These 2 pooches were taking a nap and both had a fan to cool them, very impressive.

Sandbags were still evident as a reminder of the tremendous floods only recently receded.

It was very hot both day and night while I was there, luckily my pit of a room had a/c and it was  a relief to put it on when I was in it. I chose to stay in an area a little way from the madness of the Khosan road purposely thinking it would be quieter. No such luck, I had managed to get a room at the front directly opposite an outside bar that seemed to attract people who didn't want to go to bed.

There was a small sound system that despite being turned down at around 1pm still continued albeit at a lower level until 6.30am this morning. That, coupled with the sound of talking and laughter, and, can you believe, a bloody cockeral at 5am didn't do much for a restful  nights sleep.

By 8am I was on a mini bus being taken to the airport ready for my flight to Chiang Mai. I will stay in the old town until Sunday when I will go to my final guest house where I have a large room reserved for a month while I do my TEFL course. That is where the hard work begins...