Travel to Teach: Thailand Volunteer Story

Pat helping the locals prepare lunch.

Therese Lundin, 21, Sweden

The butterflies vanished after two minutes in the classroom

I didn't even have time to get nervous when I first arrived in Nong khai, I was thrown into a tumultuous situation. Within an hour I was put on a bus to Phu Rua to go camping.It was an intense experience for a newly arrived without any change of clothes to sleep on stones with nothing but a towel as a blanket during one of the coldest night in Thailand and then go trekking in sandals, but it made my return back to Nong khai so much more sweet. I immediately felt like home, even the bucket shower and the mattress on the floor looked inviting and the other volunteers were so easy-going and kindhearted that it wasn't hard to fit in.

Next challenge was teaching, the first day I was a wreck, mostly because I didn't know if I knew enough English to teach students in my own age, but also because I was expecting them to have fun at my expense, an insecure substitute.

The butterflies vanished after two minutes in the classroom. Their English level was clearly not in an advanced stage and their behavior would have been to good for angels. Laughing, singing songs and giving compliments are Thai students favorite occupations.

I never did get used to the interaction between the students and the teachers though. They would always have them fetching for food, candy, mopeds, copies etc. It was explained with, as the students have so much respect for their teachers the way to show it is acting like a busboy. The irony was that the students were constantly late for classes, hardly never did their homework's, answering their cellphones during class etc. but still the way of paying respect to the teachers as professionals is to erase the white board rather than making a bigger effort as a student.

But the teachers don't seem to mind this kind of behavior though, the attitude is more like "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" and they follow that saying themselves. The hours in the schools consists of what western people would call a lot of quantity time. Dancing, singing songs, watching movies, gossiping, playing games and eating candy are everyday happenings in the teachers lounge which was frustrating for me in the beginning though it felt so inefficient, but the Thai people just have different priorities in life and it's very easy to adapt to the "thaiway"!

And as you are teaching it helps that everyone, teachers and students are very receptive to your ideas and suggestions and they try to put them into action which at least made me feel like I was actually contributing with something. Thai people are not satisfied until you are happy, some explain it with that they only want to avoid conflict 'cause they find it uncomfortable, but I like to imagine myself that Thailand is just slightly more altruistic.

To be surrounded by Thais who speaks good English and are familiar with the western culture (Yimpan, Moy and Poo) helps you to get a deeper look into the Thai culture. You can ask them questions you'll never dare to ask other Thai people and the answers will amaze and amuse you.

You have the opportunity to take time of from teaching to do other things, maybe you want to rent a moped, go to a national park, go to the beaches, take a yoga course etc. But remember that the simple life in Nongkhai is also very enjoyable, participating in half naked tuktukraces, barking back at the dogs, draining Joe in water, sneaking in to the men's toilet in hollywood for a massage, playing bra-scrabble, obsessing over nam nung, taking weird pictures in boredom to create one of the best nights ever, shaking with a moose-sign on stage (go Travis), calling in to farang-radio station pretending to be Barbara, the mistreated ladyboy (go Joe) or simply just lying in the hammocks on the balcony with representations from all over the world comparing words, laws and traditions from our countries are just a couple of things you can do to make your stay worth while.

Volunteers come and go with their life stories and being together with all this different kinds of people with varied backgrounds will make you see yourself and the place you come from differently, in a good and bad way, but you'll definitely leave this place a little more self-conscious than when you arrived and that can only be a great thing.

Email: Tess