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
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