Travel to Teach: Thailand Volunteer Story

Teaching class

Lawrence Woo, 22, from New York, USA

Having just graduated from college I knew that I wanted to get out of New York and I knew that I wanted to travel and experience something unique and meaningful. I had taught English in Costa Rica but the program had been expensive and only available to American college students. I found Travel to Teach through a web search and as soon as I laid eyes on the program I knew that it was the right one. I was excited by the opportunity to live with an international body of volunteers and the program's fee fit my budget.

I arrived in Nongkhai, not knowing a single word of Thai and the thought of teaching English to Thai students without having any knowledge of their language was especially nerve racking. I was hesitant to walk into my first class but as soon as I stepped foot into the classroom, I was greeted by smiles and their eagerness to learn really allowed me to settle comfortably into my class lesson for the day. I have definitely encountered frustrating experiences within the classroom, but all the problems and communication barriers always become resolved in the end, because the students genuinely respect your effort and desire to teach them.

The most important thing that I've learned through my experience in Thailand with T2T is that patience pays. There are going to be days when it seems like you're never going to be able to communicate the rules of superlative and comparative forms of adjectives, but through persistence and the effort to understand their thought process you can accomplish your goals.

Travel to Teach is also a program that invites an international crowd of volunteers and as a result of this you live and breathe different cultures on a daily basis. Just within my dorm I live with German, Dutch, French, Swiss and English roommates and I learn new things from them everyday. Not only are the volunteers international, but the staff members are just as diverse and they are simply amazing at what they do. Each person brings something fresh and new to the table which makes for a very active and lively dorm experience, and although I've only known some of them for roughly 2 weeks, I can honestly say that I have created bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Tomorrow I'm leaving T2T to travel around the rest of this amazing country. I don't know if I'll ever make it back to Nongkhai, but I know that I've made a lasting impression on this place and that it's done the same for me.

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