Summary of my year in Thailand

When I first arrived in Thailand I had the feeling that that’s going to be an intense and interesting year. I was open to have new experiences with the culture the language and the people, more specifically with the students at school. 

I wasn’t sure if I would feel comfortable but the green landscape invited me to feel happy and positive. At fist we had a on arrival orientation week where we got introduced to the school system and the language. 

I have never been to a place like that. The big school complex with the hairdresser and the coffeshop, the lake and the sport field 

I was exited for my school and I just wanted to go there, start teaching and go around the country. 

The day came and we went to the school in Khon Kaen. It was a new feeling for me teaching in front of a class and being the contact person to a bunch of students. Actually the living situation was a bit difficult but then they gave each of us a room in a Thai teachers apartment but let me talk about that later. School goes on and I got used to the daily life routine.

A part that I really liked was when we could attend at the Thai tradional festivals and ceremonies. That’s how we got used to the culture and we could spent some intense time with our students and teachers. 

October came and we had one whole month of vacation. Even back in Europe I used to travel a lot and going around but I heard that travelling in south east Asia is pretty much fun so I was excited how it will turn out. 

I had the opportunity to visit Samui, Bangkok and Phuket. I pretty much enjoyed the time at the beach and I could spend there even more time 

The students got very interested when I told them where I have been and they asked me a lot of questions. 

I got back to my work and joined some Thai traditional festivals like loy krathong. I enjoyed taking part of that 

However, it was quite strange not being able to celebrate Christmas as we usually do. Despite this, I quickly bonded with others and felt comfortable at the school and in the unfamiliar country. For New Year, we had a week off and went back to Samui Island. It was my first time spending New Year's Eve on the beach, and I absolutely loved it. 

After this short holiday, I quickly got back into the school routine. We would often spend a few hours with students and friends after classes. Despite the language barrier, we managed to understand each other well and found common interests. We joined the "We Can English" club, and I tried to incorporate my own topics and ideas into the lessons. Since all the volunteers had recently been students themselves, we knew what made classes enjoyable. 

Being in an Asian country, I was keen to travel more. My first stop was Chiang Mai, but due to the smoke from the burning season, the views from the mountains weren't very scenic, which was a bit disappointing. In April, I visited a friend from Germany who was doing a volunteer service in Vietnam. She showed me her neighborhood and the surrounding areas of Hanoi. During a solo trip to Cat Ba, I met interesting people from around the world. 

Ten days later, I flew to Bali, Indonesia, with another friend from Germany. Although I didn't miss Germany much, it was really nice to see familiar faces and hug old friends. My last destination this month was Laos, traveling via Singapore. I spent almost an entire month in Laos, which was worth it, and I secured my visa for the remaining time.