January doesn’t necessarily need to be cold and gray like usually in Germany…
Here in Thailand we can enjoy the day of New Years at temperatures between 20 and 27 degrees Celsius.
But let's start from the beginning: it has now been more than 4 months since I arrived in Thailand. Before, I was always interested in learning about a newculture, new people and simply another environment. After finishing school and having been surrounded by the same people all the time, I wanted to get in touch with something new. So, I applied for working as an English teacher at a school in Thailand.
Working at Anuban Pong School in Phayao which is a province in northern Thailand. Me and Emily live in our own little house next to some other teacher accommodations. At school I teach grades two, five and six. Although you can't deny the language barrier between us and the Thai people around us, we get to have funny conversations with students, teachers or even other people from Pong.
We feel welcomed because even people we don’t really know smile at us or invite us to have dinner with them. Many people want to take pictures with us or ask us simple questions just to have a little conversation.
My first thought after getting to our project was like: “Oh no, Pong is so small, we don’t know anyone. I´m not used to live in a village.”
After four months of being here, I can say that you don’t need any big city around you as long as you stay openminded and are interested in becoming more flexible over the time. It wasn’t always as easy as it might sound by reading this. I really had some difficult situations where I was frustrated and didn’t know how to spend my time in a village where you don’t have many things to do.
It was exhausting but as soon as I accepted the realization of now living here and appreciating the freedom that you have because it's up to you how to spend your afternoons, it was easier to enjoy my free time.
I started liking Pong and the school I got the chance to work at. Suddenly, I liked reading, I went to the little Gym nearby, I went on walks to catch sunsets, I laid in my hammock, called my friends or got invited by other teachers to have dinner with them.
It was up to me how to spend my time while at home in Berlin, I never had the time for little things like that.
At first I couldn’t imagine how living in the North of Thailand would look like because I only knew the touristic view about places in Thailand. But after spending a lot of time here in the North I´m thankful for having my project in this part of the country. Beautiful mountains at the horizon, colorful fields, national parks with waterfalls and the rising sun every morning when we attend the morning assembly at school. It's beautiful here.
We also had the chance to travel Thailand while the students were on vacation in October. So me and my friends travelled around as backpackers to learn about other parts of the country. We travelled to Chiang Mai, to Bangkok and to some islands in the South of Thailand.
We collected nice memories together and enjoyed the variety of impressions we got seeing around these places.
After vacation in October the next semester started and we continued teaching at school. Our school day consists of lessons that we teach ourselves and others where we observe the English teachers doing their classes and help checking the students' tasks. We talk about different topics such as occupations, giving directions, simply foods and drinks or some grammar.
In lunch breaks Emily and I often play Volleyball with some of our students. The teachers and students give me the feeling of being a part of the school community.
We finish school in the afternoon and walk home. We go to a nice café where we know the owner, go to the Gym or take a rest in our hammocks. You could argue that every day looks quite similar and there´s not much else to do which is the truth for some weeks. But since Thai people love to celebrate things and like decorating everything we often take part in school activities.
It started with the Thai Loy Krathong Festival at school. This is a nice tradition in November where everyone puts on traditional clothing, releases a lantern to the sky and makes a wish. You also let little boats made of banana leaves and flowers float on the river of the village. This festival was probably one of the most beautiful moments I have experienced in my life.
In December, we had two Scout days, Sport day and Christmas day.
On Christmas day, we organized a star folding workshop and told the students about how we celebrate Christmas in Germany in a little presentation. Just like all the other teachers we were also told to get little presents to give to the students. It was a nice experience and probably a Christmas day that we will never forget.
On Sport day we were part of the school´s parade in the morning. It means that we wore Thai dresses and held the school´s banner while walking through Pong. After that we participated in some games and the Volleyball match of our students.
For New Years Eve, we went to Nan with the family of our teacher. She took us and her children to her husband´s parents to welcome the New Year. This was a very nice experience and it really felt like family to us. Before having dinner we went to many temples to watch little festivities around them.
I´m very thankful for getting the chance to participate in these local events because if I only had come to Thailand as a tourist I would have never known how Thais live and celebrate. I will never forget about my time here!!
By Mailin Lieske Volunteer in Anuban Pong, Phayao Thailand 10 January 2025