Travel to Teach: Thailand Volunteer Story

Marleen, 21, The Netherlands

Read Marleen's volunteer story in Dutch.

Nong Khai

The first 2 weeks of my program I stayed in Nong Khai because the schools in Namsom were closed until the 1st of November. There was no teaching but instead restoration work in a primary school in the neighborhood. Every morning all the volunteers rode to the school together on our bicycles. From 9am to 3 pm we were cleaning, sand papering and painting the library and the first aid room. We would then have lunch together and at the end of the “workday” play volleyball on the school grounds. We had a great time and the end result was very rewarding.

Besides restoration work in the afternoons we had the option to go and help out in the orphanage. The children are so cute and it always was a pleasure going there. The highlight of my day was teaching the monks. The first hour was teaching grammar and the second hour was conversation. The nice thing is that their English is pretty good so you could have interesting conversations with them. The monks taught us a lot about Buddhism and their way of life. There were also monks from Laos and Bangladesh present so we did not just talk about Thai culture but also about different cultures. I found it very interesting and the time always flew by.

Besides volunteering there was plenty of free time for fun things. Visiting the sculpture park, Chinese market or just reading books along the Mekong river. Near Meechai dorm there is a big park where you could participate in many sports (football, aerobics, jogging) In the evening we went to Surreal bar to play some pool or just listen to the music.

The T2T staff is very outgoing, friendly and helpful. When we arrived they were waiting for us at the dorm to show us the house. The first weekend is introduction weekend with Thai cultural introduction, teaching introduction, Thai lessons, Thai cooking and the bike tour around town. At any time if you had questions you could always phone the T2T staff or just visit the office and they would help you.

It was very nice to know that if you had a problem the staff where always available to assist. If you want to change your location T2T is very flexible and they will try their best to make sure that your experience is great.

Namsom

Once I arrived in “Ban Farang”(the volunteer dorm) I felt at home straight away. It is a nice and cozy house with hammocks inside and a big balcony upstairs. It is located in the center and everything is close by. There were bicycles available to explore the town. I taught for 8 weeks in Ban Thasom primary school. The teaching was fun and the kids very willing to learn. The teaching was mainly games, songs and practice. The teachers at the school are so nice and really look after us. They always wanted to give us food and kept giving us food to take home. If for some reason you needed a day off it was never a problem especially around Christmas although sometimes they did forget to tell us if there was no teaching for some reason. In the village everyone wants to touch you and speak with you even if their English is bad. After school we had a lot of fun playing soccer or volleyball with the children.

Namsom is really beautiful. Because it is a village you really get to know the local Thai people and you really experience the Thai way of life. The people are really friendly and are always saying hello and calling out your name. Soon you feel more Thai than western in Namsom. You make friends so easilly in Namsom and very soon you will feel really at home there. We got cooking lessons in Namsom and the T2T staff regularly invite you to come to their houses and meet their friends and family’s. The T2T staff always informed us about all the activities that were going on in Namsom and that we really appreciated. Believe me there is absolutely no time to get bored in Namsom.

After 3 months I look back to a great, interesting and meaningfully period in Namsom. Namsom provided me with a great opportunity to really experience the Thai way of life. It is quieter than Nong Khai but like I said there is still plenty to do. I had the time of my life and I already miss it.

Thank you Namsom.