Teaching English in Thailand

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The last 5 months….where do we start! Trying to cram 5 months into 1 blog entry isn’t easy especially when so much has happened.

After a months TEFL training course in Thailand (where we met) we were both (by pure chance) placed in the same area in North East Thailand (Issan). We spent the last 4 months teaching English to secondary school students in Kalasin Province in Issan.

Issan is the poorest, driest area of Thailand and the main industry is farming. Issan people still lead a very traditional Thai way of life, not many tourists visit the area but it has some beautiful countryside and Buddhist temples.

Although we lived quite close to each other (about 20ks apart) we ended up working in very different locations, the two towns even spoke a different variation of Thai! But we both experienced traditional Thai life in a beautiful but poor, undeveloped and unwesternised area of the country.

It wasn’t always easy and there were times when we found some aspects of the culture difficult to understand/accept, times when struggled to communicate because of the language barrier (simple things like ordering food were difficult) and times when we craved western luxuries (like a hot water shower and sit on toilet!). But looking back it has been a fantastic experience, we’ve made some new friends and learnt that you don’t need bucket loads of money and a big TV to be happy. In Issan (North East Thailand) family and friends (and eating!) are the most important things not material possessions.

Cick here to see more photos

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Comments

[Jane Harris]

Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Tom - best wishes from all of us at Nord Anglia eLearning!! :)

[Prim 201]

HA.....
Happy Brithday Tom