I never thought happening to be with ECC and involve in working with Learn2Give and volunteering at Srikoonwitthayabunlung School in the Chanlan Sub-District, Phana District, Amnatcharoen which closes to Ubon Ratchathani this summer vacation would be an excellent way to experience life changing and learn much, much more.
For the second time traveling in Thailand, I decided to get a closer look at the culture that resides in this part of the world. The key to open the chest was, for me, doing volunteer service and the choice came upon English Crazy Club as it was one of the few organizations that could assist me in such a short notice and also it was in the northeastern of Thailand that I soon discovered was the best place to approach.
I contacted ECC with a few e-mails before I arrived in Ubon Ratchathani. Getting off the train and Giving Aom a ring, I was greeted first by Netting, a smart and easygoing girl in quite early morning. Half hour later I was greeted by pretty Jan and Aom. I felt welcome and great with them. And then they drove me to have a breakfast and invited me to join the activities of ECC next Tuesday which I was keen to accept and learn more about the club and meet up more members. Fortunately, I would stay with nice Jan and her lovely family for few days.
I had a big time with Jan and her best friends Eve and Ying in Ubon before heading to the school outside of Ubon. Tuesday morning, I welcomed a new volunteer Patricia at Jan’s house, she is a nice lady from Spain. After having breakfast we went to UBU(Ubon Ratchathani University) to join with ECC members who would hold a sale of goods for supporting their running. I helped them sell fine T-shirts, bags and wonderful photos and enjoyed their company at this fabulous moment.
That same day afternoon, two teachers P’ dan and P’ oi picked me up at UBU. They drove me to the supermarket first to buy some daily necessities and made our way to school. On the way, the teachers told me how excited the kids were to wait and see me, I was a little nervous and wasn’t sure what to expect. One and half hours later we got to school and it was too dark to look around. Then they took me to visit the director and we just had a short conversation. Finally, I was settled in a house with one English teacher Kheng, is a beautiful and kind-hearted girl who would take great care of me during my stay, and one Thai language teacher lak and one student. Everything was great and I felt at home totally and was looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow.
Next day, my good friend Kheng drove me to school by her motorcycle in early morning. When we got to school I saw all the kids standing in line around a small stage and the teacher told they can’t wait to see and stay with me because I’m the first foreign volunteer for them. I was pretty excited and got on the stage and said a few words to everyone, all the kids and teachers gave me a big welcome. You know what, I forgot to bring my camera to take some photos, what a shame! The other thing was they made a mistake that I come from Taiwan but actually I told the truth to them I come from China. Eventually I found that they are really into Chinese culture.
There are 600 students at our school, the teachers tried to make sure that I spent time in different classrooms with different aged students and I taught an average of three hours a day. It’s awesome that I can work and play with all of the students. I started to work that morning and fell for it completely. My lovely kids, ranged in age from about 12 to17，though they barely speak any English, were so sincere and cute to appeal to me and say hello to me, were eager to learn anything from me. It’s a same and big problem for Thai kids and Chinese kids to learn English. They can read listen and write but can’t speak. I was trying to figure out some cheerful and delightful ways and plan class well to inspire the students to further their English learning.
Arriving every day was like the first day and the Thai students were amazing. I was greeted by the smiling and active kids with namaste every morning when we rode a motorcycle into school. While I was in class some curious kids would take a look at what I was doing. I would always try to spend time with the students – talk about the Chinese culture and chat and play with them. I didn’t get burnt out or tired or bored and rather, I found myself looking forward to teaching as much as possible, and my last day of teaching, I was truly upset that it was over. I loved helping the students learn and grow, and seeing them smile and laugh and be proud when they learned something knew or realized they already knew more than they first believed. Nothing made my heart glow more than seeing the look of excitement on the kids when they see me every time saying “hello” and “I love u” in Chinese and knowing the answers and volunteering to read.
After school we would go back home and get ready for dinner, placing the woven mat on the floor and carrying on the dishes. Kheng would make some of the best Issan dishes and bought some sweet fruits that I have ever tried. Sometimes we would go out for dinner with P’ noy who was like my sister took care of me and they showed me around and took me to the fantastic weekend market. When they were talking in Thai and laughing I would pretend to understand what they were talking about. I did really like Thai language and try to learn a bit. It was perfect I enjoyed being a Thai people and into real Thai life.
My school was incredibly supportive of my presence and this was also my first experience teaching English and it did present some challenges. In fact, it was also a great learning opportunity for me in that it forced me to consider issues of public education in rural areas, cultural differences in teaching styles, and lack of some resources in English teaching entirely than I had before. And, importantly, I came to consider my nice and responsible director, many of the teachers I worked with, as well as the students, to be friends. They made me feel a sense of belonging and be a part of their world!
At the first weekend, I spent a great time with P’ dan and her warm family and they took me to Pha Taem National Park, closing to Mekong river, and the wonderful golden temple. During my third weekend I participated in the English Crazy Camp with 9 ECC members and headed to Sisaket which bring together around 70 or so pupils and teach them funny English songs and games and hope to inspire them learning English.
My big and incredible day at school was a bittersweet day where the entire school participated in a program to thank me for coming to stay. The students all sit around me and a male teacher Guo who would leave for another school and Cambodian master with beautiful and marvelous flowers and candle, and then all the students and teachers all honored me by tying a short white string around my wrist as a way of showing respect and giving wishes. The teachers even spent all day preparing a special meal in celebration of our time together. It is definitely I memory I cherish and a day and experience I will never forget. In closure I’d like to say that everybody at Srikoonwitthayabunlung has left a mark in my heart and it’s my wish to keep in touch and to help them in the future to indeed prosper.
From start to finish, my experience was amazing! The ECC crew is absolutely wonderful and many thanks to them for offering me this super great life changing experience. Thank you to my school, my director, Sukit，the teachers - P’dan, P’oi, P’noy, Kheng I worked with and took great care of me and the kids I taught where provided me with one of the best learning and cultural experiences of my life that I am sure will never break!
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