Volunteer Stories | Erin
When I told my great-grandmother that I was going to Thailand she turned to me, horrified, and told me she would pray that I couldn’t go because she didn’t want me killed. Apparently this technique had worked for her before, when some other family member was planning on heading off to a remote, dangerous part of the world, probably Dubai or Japan. Thankfully, God was pre-occupied that afternoon and I have spent the past five weeks not fighting off murderers and rabid, disease-ridden soi dogs, but teaching English to monks, drinking Oreo shakes and eating banana pancakes.
I have been teaching at two different temples. Everyday at 12 o’clock, Lisa and I are picked up and taken to Wat Pratad Wittaya. On our busiest day we teach for four hours and on the quietest two. The van back to Nongkhai picks us up at five thirty, so we usually have time to plan lessons while we are waiting. We can also use the internet at school when there is a computer free, and there is no shortage of people wanting to chat, from the headmaster to students from the nearby high school.
On our second day at Wat Pratad Wittaya, Lena and I were warned by one of the monks, ‘Some of my students are wise. Some of my students are idiots.’ His point was that he just wants them to be happy and confident English speakers, which means we get to play lots of games in class. It has been amazing getting to know the kids. I will never be able to memorize fifty different names when they all sound like the same single syllable, but I know which kid does the awesome animal impressions and which one is going to laugh every time I break the chalk.
Then there is the smallest child, who used to shake when I spoke to him but now he never stops smiling at me. And the boy who I was sure hated me until he started writing ‘where are you, pretty?’ in his work book and coming into my other classes to yell 'I love you!' and I realised he was just a fifteen year old with a bit of a crush.
In the evening four nights a week all the volunteers in Nongkhai teach for an hour at Wat Sri Sumang. This is an optional English lesson, so the level of English of the monks who come is quite good. I have been teaching the advanced group, who are all students studying to be teachers at the Buddhist University. It might be an exaggeration to call them geniuses, but they’re pretty close.
They can’t tell you the meaning of life but they can tell you the code you have to dial to get your phone card to work internationally. In return you should be prepared to answer questions such as "How old do you have to be to be a prime-minister in Australia?" and "Are you shy in real life?" You will probably also have to explain the entire history of your country and complicated grammar rules you never even realised existed.
On the weekends we are free to travel around Thailand and Laos, but so far I’ve found it difficult to tear myself away from Nongkhai. I feel more content than I could have hoped and I am surrounded by beautiful, kind people and delicious food. As a strong contender for the title of world’s most sensitive person, a culture where raised voices are avoided and women will leave their noodle shop to show you where the forks are kept sits well with me. The staff at Travel-to-Teach are terrific. I’ve tested out the twenty four hour support and can confirm that someone will be on hand to help you at ten o’clock on a Friday night if the need arises, or will accompany you to the hospital.
To anyone considering coming to Nongkhai with Travel-to-Teach, I would say ignore your grandmother’s advice. Chances are you will have the time of your life.
