Dave at Lampee Primary School

Back in Sydney, Australia, for 2 months now, and I still think of the kids at Lampee Primary School, Anders, Nett, and all the new friends I made in Thai Mueang on an almost daily basis. Though I only spent a week in Thai Mueang with Anders and Nett, I can honestly say that it was the most fulfilling chapter of my life. It felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be – where all my experiences, skills, training, and decisions I’ve made throughout my life brought me to Thai Mueang.

Dave with the sixth graders at Lampee Primary School

In Australia, I am an educator at a university. However, it felt as though I created more value for the kids at Lumpee Primary School in one week than I did in a year of teaching and research at a university. Why? The kids at Lumpee Primary School were disadvantaged, with many having fled Burma to seek refuge in Thailand. These kids were like sponges, attentively listening to every word I uttered, and their enthusiasm was endless. When I speak of creating “value”, I refer to it as meaning, “Is what I am doing easily replaceable and, if I were to leave, would I be missed?” And I must admit, in my everyday job, what I do is indeed quite replaceable and the institution will run as a well-oiled machine – with or without me.

Classroom setting at Lampee Primary School

But compared to the connection I made with the kids at Lumpee Primary School? The connection between myself and the kids is invaluable – to them and to myself. Contrary to teaching at a tertiary level, I’ve come to learn that teaching children involves giving them your full attention, listening to them, and just showing that you care about their welfare. I’ve learnt that this is crucial in developing their sense of self-worth by showing them an adult can take them seriously. More so for the kids at Lumpee Primary School, where most come from a disadvantaged background.

Ice cream on a hot day for the students at Lampee

In terms of logistics, TM Volunteers were great! Anders and Nett were awesome hosts, always ensuring that I was comfortable and happy with my time there in Thai Mueang. The food in Thai Mueang is wonderful, and the people were so warm and friendly. I found the experience to be very nourishing on the soul, giving me a new perspective on my life and the opportunity to re-assess the values many of us take for granted in Australia. I look forward to coming back to Thai Mueang on an annual basis to teach at Lumpee Primary School.

Traditional Burmese song and dance at an ASEAN conference

My favourite memories: Nawin (one of my students in my year 3 class) bawling his eyes out when I was leaving; one of my students giving me a small present (a really pretty key-ring) after class; the kids performing traditional Burmese song and dance at an ASEAN conference.

This is a brief overview of my experiences while volunteering. During my time here I have been lucky enough to form a new friendship group of truly unique and wonderful people, who have challenged, irritated and overwhelmed me.
Over the month of October (school holidays) we taught as a group, in hotels, health centers and even a group of Buddhist monks. Teaching and lesson planning as a group was difficult as I felt overly self-contuse about making small and (looking back on it) irrelevant mistakes. Lesson planning was hard going, but really necessary. However, laughing with a class of monks, who had the energy and humor very similar to that found in any group of boys, hearing the quietest member of staff at a hotel greeting me confidently in English, more than made up for lesson planning blues.

The students where ever we were teaching were a little shy at first but it was clear that they were eager to learn.
In November we moved back to Net and Anders home town of Thai Mueang, this took a bit of getting used to their were five of us living in one small house and the usual issues with who was going to do the washing up and who purchased toilet roll last, but all in all it was really good fun. Lots of nights in playing cards, star gazing and putting the world to rights. The food also got a lot better and a lot cheaper thanks to Sue-jin at Bam Bam’s restaurant, Georges Pizza at the beach and Towy’s cooking at Lucky restaurant!

With the start of a new term all the volunteers got a school each to go and teach English in grades 1-6. I have been teaching at Wat Patchatikaram School, I don’t think I can accurately describe my school, its pupils, teachers and charmingly eccentric headmaster. You just have to meet them to and you would understand what I mean.

However here are some tips for volunteers!

• Make the most of your free time, you will only teach on average 3/4 hours a day, go cycling exploring the national park etc!
• Plan a few weekend trips away, Anders and Net can always give lots of advice but its best to do a little reading before you leave.
• Bring smart (cotton) clothes and for teaching at a yellow, green, pink, purple and blue polo top or shirt, I wish I’d known this but Thai teachers wear a different colour for each school day, it’s such a small gesture but would be much appreciated.
• There will be children with learning and behavioral difficulties in your classes partially in the younger years, I know it sounds like something that shouldn’t need saying, but don’t just write them off or ignore them. A little love and interaction goes along way for these children in particular.
• At Patchatikaram have lunch with the Headmaster, he doesn’t speak a lot of English but he will give you very entertaining Thai lessons, he will make you laugh a lot! (I avoid the school canteen it made me sick the first day). Then go and get some dancing or tackro lessons of your Grade 5-6 who are keen to practice their English and teach you Thai!
• No lesson plan is full proof! Always have a work search or a crossword to whip out if case of emergency (did I mention the canteen food!).

This sort of volunteering is a big commitment; it has been frustrating and tiring at times. The teaching has been challenging work, but for me the real challenge was to slow down, and coming to terms with how much time you have time to think here. Not working 12 hour days and not really being very useful, or independent as Net and Anders are so good at organising and sorting things, it really unnerved me. This little bit of Thailand will find even your most deeply hidden faults and floors, but love you anyway.

I have just finished my first year at Uni, and I wanted to push my limits and figured volunteering would be a good bet. Thailand is one of the best places to do volunteering. The people, the culture, the atmosphere and so much more make this experience like nothing you will get at home. I remember first arriving here and meeting Anders, Net and the other volunteers. Instant friendship. Without each and everyone of them I am sure Thailand wouldn’t have been the same.

I had no idea how teaching was going to go. I mean it all sounded pretty straight forward, all you need to do is follow procedure. Screw procedure, I thought, I can do things my way, I don’t need to lesson plan. I will improvise. If I was ever wrong, well, that was the moment. Lesson planning is like the Holy Grail of teaching English as a second language. Make sure to go into the lessons over prepared. Better to be safe than sorry. But once you are in the lessons, you just feed off the kids energy, it’s like your adrenaline is pumping 3 hours straight, every day. There would always be laughter, and the concentration some of them had was just remarkable. Also make sure to cover your ears when you say the word ‘Game’. The kids just go nuts. Best way to end a lesson.

As a volunteer I not only taught English at a public school, but I also experienced Thailand from a non-tourist perspective. Which in my books equals towards: Priceless. Net, the other volunteers and I went to Khao Lak (semi-touristy, but not anywhere close to Patong), to a Waterfall, to shopping malls and almost everyday we went to the beach. Bliss. There is a 13km beach here, just for our pleasure. Not another soul is on the beach. Sweet as. The weekends were filled with fun stuff, and meeting just cool people. The friends that I have made here, will go down in history with me.

The memories are also priceless. I mean how many people can say that they have eaten chicken feet and crocodile, been stung by a scorpion, driving a motorbike everyday and been given fresh coconuts almost every day.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end. And my one month (Not nearly enough, next time I am going for 3 months, for sure) volunteering came to a quick end. Saying goodbye to the kids went alright up until the point where the wanted to hug me and kiss me on the cheek. Crying my eyes out is an understatement, I literally balled my eyes out. And what happens when 25 kids see a ‘farang” (foreigner) cry, well, they all cry, which made it even worse. Cheers. Off I go back to the ‘land of the long white cloud’ aka New Zealand. But as Arnold Schwarzenegger says “I’ll be back!”

Thank you Net, Anders, Rose, Lisa, Tom, Chris, Matt, the lovely people at Bam-Bam’s Restaurant (where we had Dinner almost every night) and the crazy cool people in Khao Lak. This ride has been AWESOME! Cant wait to catch you again soon.
Also future volunteers, a tip: You will have an amazing time here in Thai Mueang. No matter where you come from, how old you are or what your profession is you will love it! I promise!

Smile!

Photography Lesson with Michele and the students

Phratom 3 and Michele volunteer English teacherVolunteers in Thailand swimming in the waterfallMichele having fun with RoseAt Tonprai Waterfall in Phang Nga Province

Just before I left the UK I felt so stressed. Scared about my whole trip I set off anyway and spent two anxious days getting to Phuket. When I arrived and saw Nett standing there with a sign in purple bubble writing with my name on, all my fear instantly dissolved and I’ve been relaxed ever since. Nett is absolutely fantastic and can sort anything out for you within minutes. She has taken us to two weddings, a funeral, shopping at Central (where we managed to find tea bags!!), to local festivals and always knows the best places to eat and what to order. If anything I think I may have been too well looked after because now I don’t want to leave!

Basically, I came out here because I am thinking about becoming a teacher in the UK when I head home. I wanted to test myself and see whether this was something I enjoyed and was capable of. Now that I’m leaving I am seriously considering doing a TEFL course instead and coming back to Thailand. I have found so much satisfaction when a lesson goes well. You just pray that the next day some of it will have gone in!

I arrived before the schools were open in October so spent a few weeks teaching adults from Health Centres, Hotels and some Monks at a local Temple. One of my favourite memories is when I learnt that, as a woman, you can’t pass anything to or accept anything from a Monk…unless they are throwing an inflatable world globe beach ball at you! In this scenario it’s best to catch it rather than dive the other way for fear of accidentally offending Big Monk. During this time there were five of us and we were team teaching. I think all of us found this a massive challenge and were all eager for the school holidays to finish so we could have classes of our own.

Anders has given us a lot of advice and been a bloody lifesaver with lesson plans at times but most importantly made me understand the importance of creating your own lessons. Personality is the most important thing to put across. You will have fun, the kids will have fun and if they enjoy it they’re more likely to learn.

I think I have found lesson planning the most difficult thing. It gets easier to think of things to do but I never seem to be able to find a good balance. I either plan way too much and nothing gets done, or to counteract this, plan hardly anything and then get stuck on what to do. There is nothing worse than have 40 pairs of eyes on you waiting for the next task when you’re trying to make it up on the spot!

I have been shocked by things I’ve now seen and heard about the education that Thai children get. Even though Anders had told me already I was still shocked the first time I walked into a classroom to find the class being taught by a television screen. Not even being supervised by a teacher! It’s been lovely as most of the kids are keen to learn and keen to please. Thai people are so friendly, you literally can’t walk down the road without people stopping to offer you a lift.

It has also been a massive challenge learning to share a house with four people and only one bathroom! It has been incredible how quickly you form attachments with people though. Being in this environment has meant I was a lot more open a lot more quickly.

One of my favourite days was our Barbeque down at Georges Pizza place. Weirdly, we had 5 people’s birthdays within 4 days so we had a big party with amazing steaks and copious amounts of vodka. Anders has taken some shockingly bad videos from that day which I’m not too happy about but all in all it was a great day with the group.

I have learnt so much about teaching and a lot more about myself. Before now I had no idea I would be able to cope when faced with 40 1st graders, all desperately trying to make me understand them and some practicing their fighting techniques on each other. I will definitely take a lot away from this entire experience. I would recommend Thai Mueang Volunteers to anyone. It’s a totally worthwhile experience but just make sure you are prepared for some hard work and some fun times!

Cheers now,
Cara xx

In less than a month, I shall arrive at Phuket airport, Thailand to start a three month stint as a volunteer English teacher. Believe me, that when I say that once the decision was made, it was plain sailing from there on in. I researched as much as possible about the culture, climate, food and exactly what I could do as a volunteer. I always figured it would be with animals but there’s only so much a person can do along the lines of salaried jobs with elephants, orang-utans and the like. I was so fortunate to find TM Volunteers and that by being a native English speaker I could help the Thai children learn English. That’s the plan anyway.

I’ve taken it one step further by taking an intensive course in teaching English as a foreign language so that with my practical experience of teaching in Thailand I’ll be better prepared to launch myself into the world of teaching.
Now to the important stuff….. preparation….

The Injections:
I was living in Germany and had a wonderful doctor who advised me on all things necessary. It’s important to know that some of the injections have to be taken at various stages and so a last minute decision is not always the best plan. It is entirely possible that some of the injections that I’ve had may not be considered necessary by some, but I admit to being one of those people that errs to the side of caution, every time. So here follows the list……

Tetanus x 3 Diphtheria x 2 Whooping cough x 1
Polio x 3 Hepatitis A & B x 3

Not so many! I also ordered in advance any of my regular medication – to cover all eventualities! My HRT being of the utmost importance.

The Visa:
An incredibly easy process, although it meant I had to fly back to UK to process. I went to The Royal Thai Embassy in London and put in my application on a Thursday and collected my visa the following Wednesday (the Monday was a bank holiday). No long tiresome queues, very friendly helpful people and at the cost of £45.00 I now have my ‘O’ type visa, valid for 90 days in my passport. As easy as that. A note: the visa cannot be applied for more than three months prior to travel. I leave UK on 04.11.09 and collected my visa on 02.09.09. The necessary paperwork is the letter of acceptance and recommendation from TM Volunteers, complete with registration number, passport and completed application form.

The Shopping:
Any excuse to buy new clothes – yippee – but then I realised that I wasn’t actually buying the clothes suitable for the climate of Thailand. Oh dear, so off I went again – this time being sure to buy 100% cotton and linen. Much better second time round but still had to resist the temptation of buying totally unsuitable clothing! I had to bear in mind what was suitable attire for school and what I’d need outside of school. Always a difficult task for me and I’m sure I’ll take far too much stuff. Trying to curtail the amount of cosmetics and toiletries as I’m sure I’ll be able to purchase the majority there. I veer between thinking that I’m going to a place that will have absolutely nothing suitable for a Westerner and then to the complete extreme that I’m doing them a grave injustice.

The Mind:
It’s an amazing thing, the mind. Can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Mine is firmly made up and once a decision has been made there’s no going back – it’s a God send in many ways. I am embarking on a completely new experience that will take me totally out of my comfort zone and throw all sorts of hurdles my way. Bring it on! Having said that, the fewer insects, creepy crawlies, large spiders, snakes etc, the better. I’m not the strongest of people when it comes to things of that nature, but I aim to do my best.

I’ve reached a stage in my life where, for a short time, I can put myself in to a position to help others. The majority of the time I am so excited that I can hardly contain myself. I can’t wait to meet Anders and the TM team, the children and students, to immerse myself in a totally different way of life, to discover the delights of Thailand, to understand what makes it the ‘Land of Smiles’ and to hopefully learn how to adopt some of the tranquility and serenity and be able to apply them to my own life, post Thailand.

However, and there is always a however, I do have moments of total doubt. What happens if I can’t make myself understood? That the children/students don’t like me. That the heat and humidity is unbearable. That there are so few English speaking people that I’ll be lonely. That I’ll hate the food…………..When this happens, I let it all come to the fore and then I try to answer in the positive.

I’ve bought a book and CD on Thai language and will endeavour to have a few Thai phrases under my belt to help me when I’m not being understood. There may well be children/students that don’t like me but I’m confident that equally there will be those that do. The heat and humidity will be an incredible contrast to what I’m used to, but I’ll adapt. I’ll have to make sure I spend as much time with people so that even though our conversations may well be limited, my Thai might improve as well as their English. I’ll live on salad and fruit if needs be but I’m certain it wont come to that.

I am totally open-minded; I have to be as how can one possibly know the unknown! Our lives should all be about discovery. I’ve played it fairly safe in the first 50 years of my life and now intend to walk on life’s edge for a while; you never know I might become a great adventurer! Wouldn’t that be something amazing to look back on in my twilight years!

Laney

I’m traveling with my older brother, Yoshi, and my good friend, Gina, and we’ve been in Thai Muang for a little over a week. We arrived at 6:30 in the morning on an overnight bus, and Anders and his friend, Tia, were kind enough to pick us up and drive us to the volunteer house about 1km from the main road.  It’s more enjoyable to walk at night time, after the sun has gone down.  People passing by have offered to give us rides to our destinations on numerous occasions.  We jump in the back of pick-up trucks, ride in the side carts of motorbikes, or sit on the back of motorbikes (this option, I’m not so fond of, since I crashed twice on a motorbike in Southern Thailand in December).

There is one bicycle shared between four volunteers at the moment, but since Yoshi rides the bike to his school a few kilometers away, he has priority on weekdays.  Gina and I don’t mind very much, because our school, Wat Muang Pracharam Primary School, is only a 25 minute walk from the volunteer house, and the beach is only a 20 minute walk from the school. (Yes, Gina and I are slow-paced walkers.)  The two of us have managed to be at the beach a minimum of once every day since we’ve arrived.  On our way to the beach, people on the streets shout out “Hello! Where you go?” to which, we reply “bai ta lay”.  This is one of the few Thai phrases I’ve mastered, and it means “Go to the sea.”  However, as wonderful as the beach has been, we have had the time of our lives teaching grades 1st through 6th.  We have each class once a week, and we have no classes on Thursday.  Gina and I have never taught before, and when we tell people that we are both 18 years old, they are always very surprised. The teachers thought we were 25.  On our first day, we arrived at 8am and watched their morning assembly- the band played music, each class stood in line for morning exercises and stretching, the flags were raised, and we made a brief speech to the school on a microphone to introduce ourselves.  Since then, we’ve said “hello” and “how are you?” a few hundred times, given loads of high-fives and handshakes (a.k.a. “shake hands”), and gotten more hugs than imaginable.  The kids have been wonderful.

I’ll write more later.

Myself and the other volunteer, Eileen. Organized a weekend away to Ao Nang. It is in the Krabi Province about two or three hours away from Thai Mueang. Getting there is very easy. You just need to speak to a Travel operator in Khok Kloi (20 min from Thai Mueang) and your transfers are done. I would recommend a website called Travelfish.com. I organized our accommodation there and it gives various choices of accommodation all over Thailand.

Once arriving you will see it is set amongst huge cliffs touring to the sky, Ideal for rock climbers.  A Golden beach laden with Longtails waiting to take you to copious islands and little hideaways. It is like any Western beach resort. From the Costa Del Sol to Cancun to Lanzarote to Bali. It has an assortment of restaurants and bars ranging from Italian, Swiss, German, Thai and Irish. The prices will vary but almost all restaurants and bars will be double what you pay in Thai Mueang. Market Stalls lining the road wanting to sell you bracelets, bags, clothes, pictures and sunglasses. It is all very nice to see but it is all the same after 10 min.

On the Saturday morning we had arranged a 4 Island Speed boat trip. It leaves from Ao Nang early. You will see Maya Bay, made famous by the world renowned film The Beach. Phi Phi Island is also on route; here it is nearly four/five times the price of Thai Mueang. You will also see Chicken Island and when you arrive at Bamboo Island its nice just to go a walk around after the long Speed boat journey. It is definitely worth a visit. There is loads to do in the area. I never done it on this trip but on a previous visit I done Kayaking, seen the world famous Thai Boxing and seen a couple of waterfalls.

Back in Thai Mueang you have a market there which is always interesting to visit. You have the Thai Fishmongers that have fish caught from the Andaman Sea that morning. Fresh fruit and vegetables which you never see at your local Tesco or Wal-Mart. Bakers selling loads of little Thai cakes. Curio stalls selling traditional Thai Jewellery and artefacts and loads of clothes stalls selling the Thai fashion and the fashion you will see back home.

In and around Thai Mueang you can go little adventures. I loved to jump on my Moped and just decide on a road and see where I ended up. Travelling through little villages amongst the Rubber and Palm Oil Tree Plantations definitely appealed to my British nature. We always love to see new and uncharted territories where the locals stare at you as if you are from outer space. Coming across a deserted beach with not a person in sight was always highlight. Sitting there with your thoughts, watching the sunset and listening to some Ben Harper, Explosions in the Sky, Ulrich Schnauss and Groove Armada on the I-pod made me realise that I needed a change in lifestyle. Thai Mueang or experiences like this is what I need.

If you come here for the beach, food, Thai culture or to get away from your nine to five. Always remember that the teaching is reason we are here. These kids do need our help and we can make a difference, however small.
It made every day here worthwhile. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Please visit tmvolunteers.org for more information about my volunteer experience.

Cheers

Dave

Friendly Bongalows - Ao Nang, Krabi

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering with Thai Mueang Volunteers, please visit our website HERE

Dave, volunteer at Wat Muang Pracharam Primary School.

One of Dave's classes.