Volunteer Stories  |  Jenny

Jenny is from England and began her 8-week trip around Thailand, Laos and Vietnam with three weeks of teaching English in Namsom. Being one of our first two pioneering volunteers in Namsom, and charged with several schools and classes on different levels, she was given a challenge out of the ordinary.

My first week in Namsom...

If the teachers at Nangwa School, Namsom had been able to speak enough English, (or I enough Thai) I would have understood that I hadn't simply arrived at school on my first day to arrange a schedule. Instead I was thrown to the lions at 9am and left to figure out for myself that I was to teach not only for the next 3 hours solid, with no materials or course book, but also to teach for the next 3 hours simultaneously! Interesting.

And by Thursday the entire school had decided they wanted to come to my class and stare at the strange new pale skinned teacher. The problem was, they all wanted to do it at once and with every single other teacher engrossed in a staff meeting, there was nobody to stop them.

Dozens of pairs of hands and eyes appeared at every crack of wood between the classrooms and even when the doors were bolted and blocked shut, the simultaneous efforts of 50 to 60 kids pounding the doors and walls meant that they didn't stay shut for long. Unbelievable.

And outside the classroom was no different. Being the only white skinned female in Namsom it wasn't hard to see me coming. And by the end of the first week, having been paraded round like a prize winning bull in front of 4 or 5 different households every day, (not to mention the extended friends and family who came to look, poke and prod me each day) there wasn't a single person in town who didn't know my name.

"Jen-neee!" The market traders would cry as I tried to wander the market inconspicuously. "Falang! Falang! Falang!' The nearest child would scream if I dared step outside my front door causing a torrent of children to come cascading down the street, appearing from seemingly nowhere!

So yes, my first week in Namsom was quite an experience. I didn't just learn about teaching English but also I learned more about Thai life and Thai people than I thought possible, the rural setting ensuring I was fully integrated into day to day life, unlike in Nong Khai. Students and teachers alike went out of their way to be kind and warm towards me. It was an unforgettable time and I would like to finally thank the wonderful people I met in Namsom and wish them good luck for the future!

Jenny Hill, July 2003