Let The Teaching Begin...

I have officially become a teacher. Monday morning Andrew, Ciana and I were picked up by our coordinator and brought to the school for a teachers meeting. After almost falling asleep because it was all in Thai we had to get up and introduce ourselves in front of the entire faculty. Afterwards there was a big luncheon where we were again put on stage, but this time to receive flowers from the principle. This was the schools way of saying welcome.

Tuesday morning school officially began. I got my schedule and the student rosters for the grades I will be teaching. I have the American equivalent of 7th graders and 11th graders. I have 18 classes per week and only see the classes once a week, which means I have exactly 808 students. This week we have just been making name tags and playing basic games so I can judge their level of English. Some of the classes are really well behaved and know a fair amount, while others are hard to keep quiet because they can't really understand a word I say.

The classroom atmosphere is very different here than in the States. Every time I walk by a student in the hall they bow their head to me or say hello teacher. Whenever I walk into a room to teach every student stands up and says either good morning or good afternoon teacher and when the class is over they all stand and say thank you teacher. In general their behavior seems to be much more controlled then students of similar age in the States. This is a relief because it makes my job a little bit easier.

We are still getting into the swing of things, but I think we've started on a pretty good note. This weekend were going into the city center of Bangkok to do some exploring, something we didn't really get a chance to do during orientation.

Even though we have started teaching, we are still finding time to explore, hang out with friends from orientation and try new foods...

A display of local vegetables for sale at the market

The Samchuk Market...over 100 years old and a tourist spot for Thai people

Andrew, Me, Ciana and our local coordinator Wattana (she has been absolutely amazing, randomly taking us on trips, making us dinner at her house and taking us shopping)

Ciana and me eating one of our new favorite snacks, grilled bananas

Grand Palace and Kanchanaburi

During our 7 day orientation, which just ended two days ago, we got the chance to do a couple of touristy activities. The first was going to see the Grand Palace. This is the most holy temple to all Thai people and is located in central Bangkok. It was originally built as a home and temple for the monarch, but has since become a sacred landmark/very large tourist attraction. On the piece of land are the king's home and temple, as well as roughly 100 other buildings used for different ceremonies and practices. The largest temple is now the most sacred because it is the home of the Emerald Buddha, a rather small Buddha statue which is actually made of jade. It sits on top of a HUGE decorative alter and attracts Buddhists from all over the world. It was a really cool experience seeing such elaborate buildings and grounds while learning all about the Buddhist religion and history in Thailand.

As a treat on our final day, we got to travel to Kanchanaburi, which is about 2.5 hours west of Bangkok. This town is notorious for being the home of the Bridge of the River Kwai. This bridge is known as the 'Death Railway' because it was built by the Japanese using American POWs, thousands of which died because of the brutal treatment. Today the bridge is still used but there are numerous cemeteries, memorials and museums commemorating all the Americans who lost their lives. We arrived at Kanchanaburi two nights ago, so we got to see the bridge while it was lit up at night which was pretty spectacular. After exploring and having dinner on the river we went back to the hotel to celebrate our friend Olivia's birthday and our final night together as a group. The next morning morning we all got up very early to head to the Taweechai Elephant Camp where we got to ride elephants!! It was such a cool experience and quite a crazy ride...

Afterwards we headed to the river where we got to ride on bamboo rafts. We rode them down a small portion of the river and got to swim in the deeper sections. This was a great way to relax after the excitement of the elephants. Once everyone finished with the morning activities we went back to the hotel where we could shower and eat some lunch. After lunch Ciana, Andrew and I had to say goodbye to the group because our school coordinator came to pick us up. Suphanburi is only about an hour northeast of Kanchanaburi which is really exciting because they also have some great waterfalls that we want to go back and explore. When we first arrived we were taken right to our apartments...let me tell you, we lucked out. We each have a one bedroom apartment that is furnished with an armour, TV, bed, desk, bookshelf and AC (thank goodness!). We also have private bathrooms with a toilet, sink and shower. The interesting part about the shower is that it's just a shower head on the wall, there is no curtain or door, so when you're showering the whole bathroom literally becomes the shower. It seemed a little weird at first but actually isn't that bad. In the grand scheme of things I would say we are very very lucky.

After we moved our stuff in we headed to Tesco to get some basic food and supplies and then we went to see the school. It is quite large, but a really beautiful place. We start teaching on Tuesday and I'm excited to explore it a little bit. After we left the school we came back to our apartments to unpack a little then had dinner with our coordinator. The hardest part about not speaking Thai is definitely ordering food, so she was introducing us to different dishes and giving us the Thai names. Also, when Thai people eat in groups they almost always eat family style, so they order multiple dishes with rice, and share everything. When we eat we all try and order our own thing, and thus far it has failed every time. One way or another we don't get everything we ordered or we only get one order of a dish when multiple people wanted it, because it is meant to share. At some point I'm sure we'll get it down. After dinner we all just came back to our apartments and crashed.

Yesterday we spent the day exploring the city. We basically walked in circles trying to find different landmarks and food stalls that we wanted to try. In this process we've already come across a little food market and convenience store that we like. The shop owner, Tony, helped us out with our Thai and was extremely generous both times we went to see him. Being in a smaller town, that doesn't usually get any American tourists, is a little like being a celebrity. Walking down the street people are always looking at us, saying hi and asking where we came from. When we sat down to have lunch the restaurant owners got so excited that we picked their place they all came over to help take our order. It is actually a pretty good feeling knowing that everyone is excited to have us here and would be more then welcome to help us out where they can. Today I think we're going to do some more exploring and hopefully come across some more cool people!

Orientation

Sorry this first blog has taken me so long to post, but orientation thus far has been a whirlwind. It's been exhausting these past four days having so much information thrown at us. We have been taking classes about teaching English to Thais, basic Thai language and various information sessions that will help us once we head to our schools. With each day I get more excited and more nervous about teaching. The thing that scares me the most is I really have no idea what level my students will be. I'm going in blind to my first class and basically have to make a snap judgement. One huge relief came when I learned that I am not there to teach grammar (thank goodness!) because Thais are generally sticklers for rules. My main job is to work on their pronunciation and conversational skills. Thankfully I'll be working with another guy, Andrew, and another girl, Ciana, and we plan on bouncing a lot of ideas off of each other and sharing our lesson plans. As for orientation our last day is tomorrow, and Tuesday we all leave for our various schools. It will be weird leaving the comfort of our hotel and the cushion of 80 other Americans, but I'm excited to explore my town. I'll get there Tuesday afternoon and will have just about a week to get situated before I have to start teaching. I'm sure I will have lots to update once that day comes...

As for Bangkok it has been quite an interesting experience. If you look at a map of greater Bangkok our hotel isn't on it. This presents one huge problem-the people here don't speak any English. If you're in the city center almost everyone speaks English and it's fairly easy to get around, not so much here. This has made me feel pretty helpless on more then one occasion (particularly when it comes to ordering food.) On a positive note it has really motivated me to pick up as many Thai words as I can in the short time I've been here.

For me, one big question has stemmed from this language barrier. I came to Thailand because I fell in love with traveling and wanted to explore the world. However, the places I've spent extended periods of time in have all been English speaking, or I have been surrounded by people who speak English. That is clearly not the case here. When I travel will I seek out meeting other foreigners, or will I want to meet Thai people? In New Zealand and Australia it was always about avoiding the tourist spots and finding that little hole in the wall to meet locals. But here I can't really communicate with the locals...so does that priority change? I know as my time here increases I will pick up more of the language and feel more comfortable in my surroundings, but will I crave the presence of other native English speakers? Or will my desire to explore those little local places remain? I really have no idea.

I really do look forward to the next couple of weeks, but I know they are going to be hard. We keep being told we are in the 'honeymoon stage', which is totally true, because everything is new and exciting. I'm nervous for the time when that fades away. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I will keep this blog updated as time goes on, so keep checking in! Please update me on all of your lives! I will post pictures soon from my adventures so far, including my school and apartment! Miss you all!