Hannah’s Weblog

Well this week has been a little strange for a number of reasons. I arrived back to Surin form Siam Reap Sunday evening to the welcoming faces of lots of new voluteers! I think there are 12 of us at the moment. I had so much to say, they had so much to say….we ent for a beer and it was a nice welcome back

Monday most of them went to the elephant village for the week. So immeadiately it was back to 4 in BIG C house, Hayley, Kim and I (teachers) and Fatima. Then Amanda, who I briefly met last night, but lives in another house. So it’s been a quiet week. Quiet without Ruth who I miss dearly, and quiet as I haven’t been too well, so I have been trying to keep it low key. School was great as usual, Kim spent the week observing my classes and taking in the students and their ability. Hayley, well has been Hayley This was my last week though, and today was my last day. Apple had a rranged for the principal and some of the teachers to observe me today, and seeing as I spent most of yesterday sleeping with a cold flannel on my face I was a little nervous. No doubt however that I couldn’t preform and give the students a great last day. I woke up early this morning to prepare, and I didn’t have the enegy last night. Apple had wanted me to show the teachers some of my teaching techniques and games, so I basically prepared a revision lesson of all the lessons I had taught over the past 5 weeks……

The pace was fast and the children were on TOP form! It was such a great way to end my time at this adorable little school. I was so happy that they had remembered and stored all the vocab, forms and language that I had been teaching. Nothing beats that feeling when you know you have done a good job and been appreciated. I have had my ups and downs with the teachers at this school, but today they seemed to enjoy my classes. Infact most of them were participating in the class, repeating the language and learning some English themselves…seriously Priceless.

After the first lesson, the Principal has prepared a certificate for us!!! hahahha If only I could convey how excited Ruth and I were about our last certificates, I wish Ruth could have been there to recieve hers….. Not only certificates, but gifts!! Loads of gitfts!!! It appeared that Miss Paeng had arranged this and the students had bought in their most beloved cuddly toys and silly cartoon gadgets to give o me! WOW I was blown away. Unfortunately Hayley didn’t make it in today, so didn’t get to recieve hers, but she nearly cried when I gave them to her later on. P4 were also dreams today, they had so many drawings and pieces of paper painstakingly folded into hearts it was wonderful.

Ok so I might well up again. What a day

Tonight all the volunteers are off to Ko Samet for a weekend of beach fun. I was tempted, but feel I should get my energy back for my new school starting on Monday. Kim is staying too so we are going to treat ourselves to some pizza and a salad bar tonight at Surin Plaza!!! mmmm Can’t wait!!!  I think this weekend I am going to spend one day at an English camp, hopefully get to visit my students homes tomorrow with the teachers and maybe even a silver village with Da and Sugar….so it’s still going to be pretty hectic!!

This post is coming….

Well, I am not completely sure where to start! I have had the most amazing 10 days travelling with my friend Ruth. We were planning on a weekend in Laos, and it turned out my school closed for the week, so I ended up going with her to Cambodia aswell. So little time, such an incredible experince. The more I travel the more I am realising that the people I meet are sooo important to my experience there. Of course the place is always first and foremost, but this trip and my memories of this trip have been truely affected by the people I was fortunate enough to meet. Ruth and I were so lucky as we met some great travellers who helped make my mini trip unforgettable.

We started last Thursday. we took a train, a bus, a truck and a mini van to get across the border to Southern Laos. 4 000 Islands was our destination, and it was worth the trek! The Great Mekong river unusually splits, weaving and winding and surrounding these 4 000 islands. We stayed on Don Det, the smaller of the inhabited islands… We took a long narrow boat from the mainland…sitting so close to the chocolate coloured river. We spent the next few days chilling out. At first it was difficult doing nothing, as we had been so busy teaching, it took us a while to be able to relax….well I say a while…not too long. Before we knew it we were chilling in hammocks, drinking ice cold beerlao and enjoying the sleepy laos way of life. Laos is so different from thailand. I mean what I have seen of it. Laos is a sleepy, dreamy place. Where people dont bother you, hassle you, they don’t even notice you. Hahah so many times we would have to wake people from their slumped state or from their swinging hammock to get served or to pay for something from their shop. Ruth and I stayed on Don Det 3 nights, 4 days and it was wonderful. We met some really cool Israli guys who we explored the islands with.  We saw rare Irawaddy dolfins, got caught in a mighty storm and shared our room with coackraches!! ha! So the place we stayed was pretty basic, but had everything we needed, two hammocks, the Mekong river on our doorsteps and a secure mosquito net. Mosquitoes though I didn’t see, it was the cockroaches and other creepy crawlies that kept me awake at night. One night we stayed out later than the electricity lasted. So going back to our little hut in complete darkness….we stood on the little wooden balcony and kicked the door open! Without a torch I took out my camera and pointed it into the darkness with the flash! haahhah it was soo funny. Quicky clicking the switch to play and we could see the cockroaches all over the bed!!! Luckily we had tucked the mosquito net into the bed, but they were all under the bed, and climbing on the net!! GROSS!!!hahah…slept well though, and due to the price we were paying, couldn’t really complain!

So Don Det is a tiny island, that you can cycle around in an hour or so. On Sunday however we decided to take a walk, and it was the nicest walk ever. The dusty sliver of a path that surrounds Don det is quiet except the odd chicken that darts in front of you, or a huge butterfly that heads straight for you. We followed the road and wandered taking in the beauty and simplicity of the island life. The palm trees, the blue blue sky, the green rice paddies….so so beautiful and peaceful. We chatted with some women farming, some gorgeous goreous Lao girls, skipping in and out of the water that floods the fields…monks wandered, their bright orange robes lovely against the green landscape….it was a lovely day, and a day I will always remember. Life is good when it’s simple I was sad to leave, and would recomend anyone to go……I can’t wait to explore more of this amazing country and am excited at what is install on my next visit!

This Hindu Temple ws built between 10th and 12th century AD. It has been wonderfully restored, and to this day is well maintained and cared for by the royal family. It is the best example of Khmer architecture in Thailand. It is a (Much) smaller version of the temples of Angor Wot that I will visit when I get to Cambodia. Infact there is still ongoing dispute about who these belong to as they are very near the Cambodia border, and are unlike most Buddhist temples in Thailand. This is positioned on top of a extinct volcano, and with Surin being so so flat, it was lovely to be up high and have views over the lower land, and Cambodia in the distance. The great golden Buddah is also on a volcano, and has a great staircase built into it, 297 steps up, and in the extream heat….. (have to go, times running out, will finish soon!! )

So from my previous post, you kind of got the impression I wasn’t look forward to the TEFL conference. And that was true, Ruth and I begrudged loosing our weekend, but how wrong we were. lesson learned this weekend…’Give everything a try, you may be peasantly surprised!’ So we had to meet at 8.30 Saturday morning at the office. O met us, and we walked together 5 minutes to a nearby hotel. It turned out O hadn’t given us any info about this seminar and the ladies running it had prepared stuff for us, which we hadn’t recieved. This Conference was an annual TEFL training seminar which guided Thai secondary teachers in ways to teach and improve their English lessons. About 60 teachers attended, and when I saw the microphones, power point presentation and boardroom-like set up I was a little nervous. But it turned out they just wanted our assistance in reading out certain parts of the seminar in English. It was a methodology seminar on day one, so we were not needed that much as the lady realised she had to teach it in Thai. We had coffee breaks, with sweet hot coffee and mini delicious thai cakes.  For lunch we sat with the important people and were spoilt with an amazing feast of delicious Thai food We were introduced to lots of important, but extremely amiable education directors. The levels of respect shown were so humbling. Like in Japan the women literally bent to a forty-five degree angle as they passed these men, bowing timidly. Speaking and spending times with the teachers ws also amazing. They are doing such a great job teaching English and apparently struggling to keep up with the the neighbouring countries in regards to their childrens level of English. With few native English speakers working in Thailand, they have an enormous task ahead of them. Especially as many of them were struggling with learning the English language themselves. It made us realise how important it is for Surin that Starfish ventures brings out English teachers, and to volunteer is even better! For me. even though the teaching is challenging, its almost a bonus for me to have the opportunity to be able to teach in a Thai school (a glorified travelling experience as it were). But for them its an experinece of a lifetime, and will really give these young students a chance at a place at university and a decent career.

Saturday night we all went out together, Stuart, Ruth, Fatima and I with our Thai collegues (and friends)…It was a great night, and I know I have made friends for life here in Surin.

The second day, Sunday we had a more important role to play. This was a practical seminar in teaching techniques and Wasana ( a lady who studied in Melborne) was going to deliver it in English. Ruth and I helped her with pronunciations and ran whole exercises.  Luckily I have teaching experience and only did my CELTA last year so I was fortunate to use my knowledge to help the teachers, giving them advise and suggestions on ways to keep their students engaged and having fun. It was another great day, which finished with a certificate ceremony. The teachers (98% women) graciously bowed as they recieved their certificates from the director of education. It was lush!Then when I though it couldn’t get any better, they called our names!!! Ruth and I were speechless that they had even thought to include us in this. A million photos were taken of us and thanks was given. We have also been invited to lunch with Wasana next week

To think we didn’t want to go, and to think how much we got out of participating! We were on a high when we left, an adrenalin buzz only achievable form the fact we were volunteering but also the kind and wonderful people we were fortunate enough to spend the weekend with….. I have e new outlook on teaching out here now, and this week I think that has showed! My solo lessons are going fabulously, I have a wondeful relationship with all the teachers, and am seriously thinking this is the career for me……

So I have been in Thailand two weeks now. I am now settling into Thai life and loving it more everyday. This week has flown by, and I am still loving teaching at the school. We have had to make some alterations which I hope will work out for the best. Basically the way this volunteering teaching is set up, is that 3 of us teach each class, plus one translator. The first week this was fine, as we were just finding our feet and discovering how much the different classes know. But now its too many teachers spoiling the english broth….Ruth and I are pretty strong minded people and we week really well together but have decided that we will get more out of the lessons if we teach alone. The children too, will receive more classes. So a few conversations with the school and some rescheduling and we are set to start on Monday. This way we will teach classes simultaneously, teaching from 8.30 until 11. I only hope that this will work, as finishing everyday at 11am is pretty early. Hopefully we can and will find some other projects to work on…The children though are simply delightful! Most mornings I am given drawings and notes from them, they love the attention that we give them , and definitely love learning English! This weekend, we have been invited to a teachers conference. Kind of sucks as its our weekend, and meant I couldn’t go to Chang Mai with the others, but I will have to see how that goes……

This week I have been exploring Surin by bicycle. It reminds me of Japan, and is such a wonderful way of getting around! I have my basket and my bell, and am very happy The roads are a little hairy though, especially around schools where the students on mopeds seem to flow is every direction regardless of the main flow of traffic! But seriously I know everyone says it, it is even written at the airport, that Thailand is the land of smile. But it seriously is!! I can only speak for Surin, but everywhere we cycle people smile, and great us in the adorable Thai style ( hands in a prayer position and a  bow) smiles smiles smiles…..I love this kind spirit!

So this week Ruth and I came across a huge festival. 100’s of monks wearing bright orange robes, with yellow sashes ( as they are youngsters) crowded around the temples near the starfish office. It was such an amazing sight! We stood and watched for ages, taking in the special occassion. All of the young boys clasped huge bouquets of plastic red and pink flowers, teddies and certificates. I am not sure what the event was celebrating, but a few broken conversations with soem of the older monks, we gathered it was some sort of graduation. It was magical! The temples are also truly beautiful. The colours, gold, pink bright blue. I have found them so peaceful and love sitting and thinking near them. Bhudism is such a peaceful and forgiven religion, while Ruth and I were in the company of all these monks the air literally felt calm and peaceful.

So as I have this teachers conference this weekend I couldn’t go to Chang Mai with the others, they set off yesterday for a 15 hour bus ride. Stuart, Ruth and I were left to ourselves and decided we needed a night out! We were sat on the verander about to go out and the rains came….We couldn’t let it stop us so grabbed hooded jackets and headed up to Big C to grab a tuc-tuc. Now this is something I have noticed in Surin and it’s kind of annoying…anytime you want to walk or are not in need of a ride tuc-tuc riders pester you. Whenever you NEED a ride, they all hide away!!! We stood in the rain about 15 minutes and not one single one passed by….finally we saw one at the traffic lights, so frantically started jumping up and down true ferang style….! He stopped We headed to a place we had eaten before, but this time sat outside, there was a band playing and lots of Thai men getting drunk. I had phad thai…its sooooo good! A few beers later we decided to continue on somewhere else. The next street looked lively so we strolled down. Mmmmm…a kind of dodgy street….blacked out windows, girls hanging around. One of them was definitely a strip club as they hadn’t even bothered tinting it out. You could see the girls dancing on the stages inside. We didn’t fancy going in any of these so thought we would check out Speed3, a club we had heard about. By now it was 10.30 and early in Surin, as the place was practically empty! The ratio of staff to customers was kind of uncomfortable. They either sat slumped in a corner, or sat drinking whisky at one of the little tables. We were ushered to one of the tables, and ordered 3 singha beers.  There was a huge stage and a young girl was singing. I remember thinking, why is she so genky? There’s no one here…I was in for a surprise. About 20 minutes and 6 acts later the lighting dimmed and the smoke machines began clouding the stage. I am surprised the drummer at the back could breath as everyone disappeared from sight. Out came 3 dancers. White shirts sleezly undone to their belly buttons, skinny black jeans and sparkly waistcoats. They busted some awesome rountines, one step left and kick. Two steps right and kick. Turn around and look sexy! The female singer was adorning a white skimpy leotard witha black corset. She had long white feathers coming out of her hair!! We all looked at eachother and were like what the f***!hahahahha… The next hour proceeded pretty much the same. the costumes and dancing just got better and better. Bikinis with tassles, lycra,sequins, leather, pvc…..yup. you name it they were sporting it! It was fabulous! Then they took a well deserved break. And this was when the party started. The club exploded into a dance fest, we boogied to eminem, pussy cat dolls and some wicked clubbing classics!! The club filled up. everyone orders bottle of whisky and soda water….so you can imagine it was messy. The Thais sure do know how to party though! It was a great night!

We started our weekend in Thasawang silk village. Not too far from our house, but through beautiful green paddy fields…..Rice is what surrounds surin. The village exports their silk all over the world, and I was amazed what a slow labourious process it is. The women told us the achieve about 5 cm a day, so to finish one piece can take up to 6 months, if not more…. maybe give us a greater appreciation for all the silk we have on sale at home …. We wandered around the workshop and the little shops around the village. I bought a gorgeous silk bag, and a camera case…

Next stop was Surin’s elephant study center. An amazing place where they care for and breed 63 elephants. Most elephants work in thailand, so it was lovely to see them well looked after and really happy We spent an hour or so watching the elephants feed and play. They are sooo incredible, and it was amazing to be so up close to them. At 2 o’clock there was to be a show. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy an elephant show, but they genuinely looked happy and like they were really enjoying themselves. All sorts of tricks were performed. One elephant painted a picture, another popped balloons with darts. They played football and basketball and even stood on two legs!

The best part of the day was when we went into the village. The head of the village had allowed all 8 of us to stay with him, and ride his elephants. I was soooo scared at first. O just shouted “choose your elephant, and get on!” “what??” “get on how?? exactly??” hahahha so we were eventually helped onto the elephant. I shared with Hayley but sat right by this head so that I was sure I was going to fall over and down her trunk! her huge ears flapped to cool her and also wipped at my bare feet. we were suddenly in the trees, bending to avoid branches, we meandered through the village and toward the river. Yes! The river!! Elephants are covered in long spiky, wiery hairs which itched my legs, but It was fun…it was the river I was worried about. I shouted to O, to take my camera and sunglasses…this was a big mistake, as when we got to the river he was kind of attacked and hit by one of the larger elephants trunk…he was thrown into a ditch and my sun glasses were crushed at least O was ok, if not a little sore…. We hot deeper and deeper into the river, and I was terrified I’d get thrown off and crushed myself as they role and play. But i managed to stay aboard, even when my elephant totally emerged into the muddy river!! Stuarts elephant though it would be funny to spray me with her trunk!! hahahah I got completely soaked!!! Wandering around the rice paddies was amazing……

Back at the village we began to make diiner. yellow and red curry and phad Thai. O gave us the instructions and we helped make it. It was wonderful creating dinner, then all sitting down to eat, Thai style up on the table…..We ate, then played cards, whilst an amazing electric storm brightened the sky. It was an incredible day !!