Goodbye Thailand!

Introduction My time in Thailand has come to an end. I was here for eleven months. In this report I will write about my view on my experiences, if some opinions have changed, how the work experience was, what changed within me and how I will introduce and use  some of my new skills that I accomplished in Thailand. 

My view about the year 

When I look back now, this year was one of the best years of my life. There were many highs but also a few lows. In the beginning I was a bit overwhelmed since I was diving into a foreign and very different culture. I was expecting a culture shock, but I never experienced one before.  So I wasn‘t prepared for the impact this would have on me. This is an experience I am now fond of. At the moment I felt so strange and like an outcast, but now that I can look back on it, I realize how much confidence I gained from it. Thanks to this extreme situation I don‘t feel as shy and strange anymore when I come into new situation.  

Through the months I was gaining more knowledge of the culture and thanks to all the welcoming people, I felt like home in Thailand. So when I had to leave the country for my Visa, I was always happy and relieved to be back in Thailand, and this was half a year in. I still had some moments of homesickness, when I missed my family, but these sad moments were always gone very soon. Since life was going so fast and I was experiencing so many new and amazing moments in such a short time.  

At the end of the year I felt very confident in Thailand and I knew how to manage myself on my own when I was traveling alone. I knew where to ask and how to ask for things. There are still moments where I could have acted differently, but I am still thankful for every experience I was lucky enough to make. 

About my work 

The work there was very fulfilling, especially the grammar lessons. I had and still have the feeling that I really helped some students to understand the rules of English grammar. Since I worked with children, I was most of the time in a good mood, even when the day started bad, they helped me to have fun throughout the day. Considering that I worked with students in every age group the teaching had a lot of variation, which made it more fun but also more challenging. The most challenging part of the work there was that I couldn‘t plan most of the things I did during the lesson. It depended on the teacher if I had to teach alone or not and if they would tell what I should prepare for the lesson. These circumstances were in the beginning a bit difficult, but in the end I became very good at improvising. In the end we, the other volunteers and I, started an English workshop. It was a lot of fun, since there were only students who wanted to learn English. There we played many games and did interpretations of the lyrics of their favourite songs. 

Other parts of my work were to be a student in subjects like Arts, Crafting, Drink Mixing, Dancing and Classical Thai Music. These subjects were a nice variation and expanded my horizons. 

Hopes and Dreams. 

Regarding my hopes, I hope I represented my country well and that some students are more interested in other countries since they met me. I also hope that every other volunteer also has such a great experience as I had in Thailand. My dreams are that I can come back to Thailand soon, maybe next year, and see some of my friends and teachers again. 

Thank you! 

I would like to say thank you to everyone who made the year so beautiful and helped me to integrate. I will always have some fond memories of you. If I had the chance to go back in time I would do it again. It changed me in so many positive ways and it was my big step into adulthood

ขอบคุณค่ะ

By  Marielle Mundt in ICL RPK 24 Phayao, 17.12.2024