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Past Volunteers |
Ben's story |
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BIO:
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| Name: |
Benjamin Taylor
Age:22 |
| Born: |
Nottinghamshire / England |
| Status: |
Volunteering in Soa Hai district, Saraburi province for 6 months |
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My story looks back over the first two months of a planned six month volunteer teaching placement in Thailand. |
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I work in a relatively small rural school in the Saraburi province, which is approximately 100km north of Bangkok . When I first arrived at the school many of the students had never met a foreigner, so I was initially treated with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. But within the first week I had taught every class in the school and the students quickly warmed to me. Furthermore, the polite nature of the Thai social structure means that Thai students are typically very well mannered. So much so, that by my second week I could not walk across the school without being greeted by a chorus of "Good Mornings" or "Good Afternoons". |
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During the first week, teaching proved very difficult, primarily because the students did not understand me. I realised that had to adapt my English language in order to teach the students: I learnt to speak slowly, clearly and use only a simple vocabulary. I also learnt how to communicate through demonstration and illustration, without the need for spoken language. On reflection, I think that perfecting a new method of communication with the students was the most rewarding aspect of my first few weeks. |
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My duties as a teacher at the school have been extremely varied: In addition to my scheduled English Language classes, I have fixed computers for the teachers, played board games with the students, and set up the audio-visual system in the English department. On more than one occasion I have worked at the school during the weekend, helping both teachers and students alike. Although the teachers have ensured that I am always busy during school hours they are even more eager that I enjoy my free time. The generosity of the people of the Thai people is boundless. Most of the people I have met insisted that I go with them to travel, to have dinner, to stay with them or to meet their family. Consequently, my free time has been even busier than my time at school and to date I have visited 13 provinces in Thailand . |
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One of the most surprising aspects of my time here has been the enthusiasm of Thai people to learn English. I am frequently being asked to teach English, by both adults and children, after school. In fact, Thai people are so eager to study English that some people prefer to speak English when they are with foreigners and it can be very hard to get them to speak Thai. Although this can be frustrating when you want to learn Thai, the fact that the Thai people will usually try to speak English definitely helps ease you into the Thai language. |
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So far I have stayed with no less than four families, purely because of the generosity of the Thai people and their insistence that I spend at least one night at their house. I am currently living with a maths teacher from the school who insists that I call her 'Mere' (mother) and her husband 'Paw' (father). She also lives with her son and she has two daughters who live in Bangkok . Her children are of similar age to me so I have been able to socialise with Thai people and experience the real Thailand . I don't think that my homestay could be anymore perfect and I really feel that I am the sixth member of the family. |
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There is much more that I would like to write about such as the spectacular National Parks, teaching on English Camps and the time that I spent in Baan Nam Kem with the Dragonfly team. But right now I have a class full of students eager to learn English and I cannot think of a place that I would rather be. |
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