My experience in Thailand Reina Takatsu, Japan

Why I decided to join this work camp is that I want to get opportunity to improve both of my English skills and whole myself. But this work camp gave me not only these chance but also gave me a chance to touch new world,culture and person.

When I arrived our house, I feel not good because I could not talk with non Japanese (I talked with only Japanese). It was difficult for me to communicate many different country’s person and there were many times that I wandered I can speak English well. However, I have come to be able to talk with many person through English because every person I talked with were so kind and I feel that I want to talk with them more. We cooked together, eat together,work together and played together. Such normal life in Thailand was good memory and valuable time for me.

School life was also great. Teaching children was not so easy because children did not pay attention for me always and their feel put out their face. When they were boring, they look so. In addition, when they did not understand, it was very difficult for me to make them understand using only English. However children ware so cute and their smile cheered me up always even we did not understand our language each other. I was so sad when they said me good bye.

I have met a lot of person through this experience. Children, teacher, local person, Korean, French, Japanese and so on. We have different value or culture. Therefore we can not agree each other always. Sometimes we differ. In addition, lifestyle of Thailand was also very different from us. We confused such difference, for example, shower was only water or there were so many mosquito in our house...  And someone did not suit taste of local foods. However I think these difference were also good experience. We can not touch such different country’s opinion or lifestyle in our own country. Every experiences in Thailand were so fresh. I found that it is important to  think different culture and share opinion each other and this will make good community.

This work camp was hard for me and have many difficult but I want to join another work camp. It because I want to help another country and touch new value more. I think I can not work well this work camp because this was the first time so I was little nervous and sometimes I did not know what I can do. I found that it is the most important that to take action positively and speak to many person oneself. Therefore If I will join another volunteer work, I want to work more active taking advantage of this experience.