First Semester: Peaks, Pits and Everything In-between #HogsAbroad
5 months down and I have officially survived my first semester as a
Fulbright ETA. Here are a few stories I want to share! I know I’m
forgetting a ton so meet me for coffee in 7 months and not only will I
have first semester stories but a million others as well.
Half Marathon: Check that off the bucket list!
In January I ran my first half marathon! Eight of us runnin’ lovin’
Fulbrighters met in Khon Kaen for the race and not only did we relish
being together again but got to experience the excitement of race day.
Bands were playing, people were dancing and the princess of Thailand was
even running with her bubble of fit body guards. Normally the heat is
blaring by 9am so the race was set to start at 5:30am. Fortunately, in
the wee hours of the morning Sunday the tables turned and the 100+ heat
index of Saturday melted into the cool 50s range. Not only was the
weather perfect but it was
incredibly freeing to actually run, no dogs, cars, trucks, motorcycles,
etc. I actually trained running circles around three parking lots.
I
finished the race with energy to spare and it felt GOOOD!! I met my
friends at the finish and then proceeded to eat 2 huge helpings of Pad
Thai while simultaneously drinking a liter of straight coconut water.
Once our bodies started to cool down we danced around and
huddled together for warmth. We couldn’t even hang around long enough
after the race to see Edie accept her trophy for 2nd place! Instead we
headed to the hotel for hot showers and spent the rest of the day
cuddling for warmth proclaiming our own “snow day.” America was
experiencing a snowpocalypse, so obviously we feel like we deserved one
as well.
The 7/11 Girl
So there is this girl. She’s in Pratom 3 and she is the cutest human I
think I’ve ever seen. She’s rather small for her age and is extremely
shy. About a month ago I saw her at 7/11, she was behind Christine and I
in line. I wanted to buy her a piece of candy or something so Christine
grabbed the little toy she was about to buy, I payed for it, and then
gave it back to her. Her face lit up and she sweetly waied to me (prayer
hands and a little bow) but said nothing (she hadn’t uttered a word to
me up until this point). She then ran out to her mom and was jumping up
and down as, I’m guessing, she told her mom.
She’s the one on the right!
The next day in class she didn’t participate in the game and come to
find out she had been working on craft for me. After class she came up
to me and gave me a little cut out heart with a drawn picture of me and
her.
Almost everyday I walk to the main road and look to see if her mom’s
tom tom cart is parked outside 7/11 hoping they’re there. Sometimes
she’s sitting in the coffee shop watching tv or playing games with her
sister outside.
Before I left for Chiang Mai I was at 7/11 and went to say hi to her
family. We played paddy cake for a little bit and I tried to speak with
her both in English and Thai, which she had yet to reply in either
language. And for the first time she spoke to me when I said “how are
you?” she said quiet but confidently, “I’m fine thank you.”
Thai Kindness
The weeks leading up to our Christmas celebration at school were
filled with extreme DIY
decorating. The E Learning room was filled with
snowflakes and Christmas cheer littered all around. One day after school
a few students were helping us finish. After one boy had left he came
back seconds later looking defeated. He told us that someone had taken
his shoes (students don’t wear their
shoes in the classroom, they leave them on little racks outside.)
Without hesitating Biew gave him her shoes to wear and he headed home.
It’s hard to explain how I felt in this moment but this is the Thai
kindness that you always hear about. Thai society is one of community.
They all help each other and the “it takes a village to raise a child”
mentality really sums it up. My friend and fellow teacher Biew is such a
wonderful example of that. She is the kindest, most hard working,
caring teacher and she inspires me to be better. She cares so much about
our students and I love this story because you can see that through her
actions.
Superbowl Monday
Since I arrived here I have been teaching some of my students how to
throw an American football. In an effort to create a unique American
cultural experience for them I planned a Super Bowl watch party. Along
with watching the game the students were each give a “Superbowl Monday
Scorecard.” To get a prize at the end of class they had to collect
stamps by completing four different activities. These activities
included: sign your autograph, make a paper football, do a cheer and
guess which team will win. Sharing the excitement of a live event with
my students that was taking place in America was such a fun cultural
experience.
Travel Unit and Final
The last unit I taught in Mattayom (13-15 year olds) was all about
travel. I wanted to give my students the basic words and phrases they
need to travel to an English speaking country. Through this unit we
focused on having conversations based on different traveling situations.
We watched travel commercials and talked about reasons we would go to
different locations around the world. By posing these questions I was
also able to get an idea of their English level based off of the words
they would give me.
Here are some of my favorite answers to these questions we focused on:
The younger students made travel brochures.
Where are you going? In one class they told me every planet in the solar system (including Pluto) so I’m guessing they were studying that with their Thai English teacher.
How are you getting there? Running, Jumping, Teleporting, Rocketship
Who are you going with? Boyfriend, girlfriend, cat, dog, “my darling”
Why are you going there?
For the final I sat down with each student and they simply had to
answer those four questions in a complete sentence. Many students did
exceptionally well and rightfully so since we’d been working on it for 2
months. While other students looked at me in confusion and terror. My
heart sank as months of lessons fell from their memory like paper stuck
to the wall with weak glue wafting through the air. But my favorite
conversation entailed one of my goofy students telling me about his
plans to travel to Neptune by jumping with his cat in tow and they had
plans to go swimming upon arrival. Not only did he get the questions but
he got the real meaning of this whole unit….to just have fun with it!
Valentines Day
I sure felt the love this V day. The students loved giving roses to
their teachers and friends. I even taught “Will you accept this rose?”
to my older students. Yes, it’s Bachelor inspired (and yes along with
virtual bookclub we also have a Bachelor Nation group text). One
mattayom student, Garfield, even came up to me, handed me a real rose
and said, “I love you Teacher Amy!” Not only is that the sweetest thing
ever but FULL SENTENCE PEOPLE!
Boy Scouts
How cute are my little boy and girls scouts?? They had a whole day
dedicated to practicing their skills. They tied knots, did obstacle
courses and crawled through the “jungle” which ended in them earning
their stripes.
Pai
Between the end of the semester and starting out internships we had a
week off. I was supposed to head to Laos with Meg and Jacob but
unfortunately couldn’t make it due to a less than ideal few days in the
hospital. So instead I recovered a few days in Bowin, recovered a few
days in Bangkok, and then finished up my week of rest in the hippy town
of Pai. Most days I went straight back to bed after a late breakfast,
and reemerged at night for dinner and maybe hammock chilling while
listening to live music if I was really feeling energized. The last day
however, to my surprise, I didn’t nap so Edie and I rode around town
lazily exploring the sites, sitting in coffee shops and seeing the
sunset at Pai Canyon. It was the perfect recovery week my body so
desperately craved.
Whats next….
Now I’m currently in Chiang Mai and will be spending the next 5 weeks
interning with USAC and I couldn’t be more excited. USAC is the
organization I went abroad with to Italy. I’m so excited to take a
little break from teaching and learn about the world of study abroad
from an office in country. In addition I’ll be living around other
Fulbrighters, Edie, Danielle, and Christine. Plus Lyna and Rachel,
friends from home, are in CM as well!
AND my parents and Erin are coming in about a week, then Hanna and
Maggie are coming, THEN Eden is coming!!! It’s definitely a time in the
year when I need to see some familiar encouraging faces and I CAN’T
WAIT!
Also, writing this post and looking through pictures made me realize
how much I love my kids and how thankful I am to be here. It’s been the
most challenging.Much love always,
Amy-
In January I ran my first half marathon! Eight of us runnin’ lovin’
Fulbrighters met in Khon Kaen for the race and not only did we relish
being together again but got to experience the excitement of race day.
Bands were playing, people were dancing and the princess of Thailand was
even running with her bubble of fit body guards. Normally the heat is
blaring by 9am so the race was set to start at 5:30am. Fortunately, in
the wee hours of the morning Sunday the tables turned and the 100+ heat
index of Saturday melted into the cool 50s range. Not only was the
weather perfect but it was
incredibly freeing to actually run, no dogs, cars, trucks, motorcycles,
etc. I actually trained running circles around three parking lots.
