The first days of teaching 

Since the last time I wrote a story about my experience in Thailand a lot has happened. I have now been here for 2 months. When thinking about what I want to write about I had multiple ideas but one of the most recent events stood out to me. Me and my fellow volunteers have had a lot of free time in the last couple of weeks since the students were on vacation. So it was naturally exciting for us, when the students returned to the school at the end of the month. The school that had long seemed very empty is now filled with life again. Wherever you go, you are bound to meet someone. The first time I grasped that the students are back at school was when I woke up to the school band playing ´the final countdown´ at the morning assembly.

The students arrived in the morning of the 24th October. In celebration of the school beginning there was a small market in front of the school. Alena, Max and I walked around the market and looked at produce for sale. In the morning Vincent´s parents came to visit the school. Alena, Vincent and I shared a late breakfast with them.

The next day was used by the students to clean their dormitories. That day we didn’t see much of the students in the morning, except when they cleaned the campus outside their dormitories. After lunch we received our timetable for the following semester. Alena was told very spontaneously that she would have class in the afternoon. Since this was very unexpected, I joined her. This way I got to meet the students for the first time. We were very nervous but luckily Kru Nui was there to support and help us. We played to truths and a lie. In the beginning the students were rather shy, but towards the end everyone was having fun. The class is called ´extra English´. Here teachers are allowed to teach the students something of their choice. The class was with Teacher Nui, and he decided to teach the students about the basics of Hotels and Restaurants.

On the 26th of October I had my first official day of teaching. I taught M 1 with Teacher Nui. Since I had joined Alena´s class the day before I was less nervous. In the beginning of the lesson, I introduced myself and Nui told the students about the semester. After that I told the students about the history of Halloween. Next we drew Halloween vocabulary and the students had to guess, what we were drawing and name it in English. At the end of the lesson the students received a Halloween themed worksheet to practice. Since there are four M 1 rooms, we repeated this plan 4 four times.

This was very tiring since there is no break in between the periods and because we were only repeating the same material.

The next day I taught P 4 with teacher Waan. The students in primary were very excited to see me and their energy was contagious. The lesson was used to introduce myself and playing the drawing game. The students very much enjoyed this game and the lesson was over very quickly. In the afternoon Alena and I joined Max´s class. This was also and `extra English´ class. After the class was over, one of the students talked to us and showed us her dormitory. This was the first time a student was courageous enough to talk to us after class.

On the 27th I taught M 6 with Kru Timmy. Here Alena and Max joined me. The lesson was Halloween themed and the student’s revised vocabulary. After this I thought P 4 with teacher Waan. Here I repeated the material from last time.

During the weekend not much happened. But it was a nice feeling to see so many students around the school. It felt like the school was finally coming back to live.

On the 31st I held a speech in front of all students. Teacher Nui asked me, to repeat what I told M 1 in front of all students at the morning assembly. I was very nervous, but it ended up going very well and I was happy that I overcame my fears.

In conclusion I am very happy that the students are back at school. In the beginning they were still a bit shy, but they are slowly becoming more comfortable with us and I enjoy talking to them very much. I hope that in the future we will warm up to each other even more and that we will have a good time together.