Sukasong English Camp 2016

Every day here has been a new and unique experience. The only repetition is in the excitement for the day, the excitement to try new things, and to perform the tasks of each day. I was particularly excited for the day camp that six other volunteers and I organized for the boarding school. We were responsible for teaching fun and active English activities to 180 Thai students. The day started early at 6am for us, which is my usual time of waking up here. However, this time it was somewhat harder to wake up from my deep slumber. Although I was tired I knew that the rest of day was going to be exciting, not only for me but the students as well. I didn’t have time to have a proper breakfast so I had a packaged soup; Still satisfying. The children sung and danced all day, they cooperated well and teamwork was the basis of their actions. We danced the cha-cha slide (taught by volunteer Araceli) and sung Happy by Pharell (taught by Yadi.) the students also taught us dances and songs of their own. For the writing station I organized a relay race. The students made sure that there were no bugs around me, they also helped me situate my materials and station. Helpful and respectful as always. The students were required to rearrange incorrectly written sentences. They did great! The language barrier was weaker than I expected. After about three successful cycle rounds of stations it started pouring rain. The rain came down harder than I’ve ever seen before. Even harder than the first day I didn’t mind it much, but I was soaked from head to toe. The students did everything they could to protect me and my belongings from the rain. They were so kind and caring. We took a nice long lunch break while we waited for the rain to stop. We knew it would as it it is common for the weather to change quickly. The English director and school staff provided us with snacks and lunch. We had delicious breads and desserts from a local bakery. My favorite was the custard filled puff. The lunch was fried chicken and sticky rice cooked by the school’s chefs. It was very satisfying. The day was long but extremely fun and heart-warming. We were required to choose a prince, princess, and best group for the camp which was hard because they were all outstanding characters. We were transported in an air conditioned van with hardwood floors, treated like celebrities, and honored as teachers.

This experience alone will stay with me forever. It felt great to teach and be surrounded by students who really appreciated our company. Their personalities really came through today, they were more perky and free. They laughed hysterically and made jokes towards one another. It was a great change of setting and structure and worth every tiring minute.

 

 

300 steps

If you ever have the opportunity to come to Chiang Mai, Thailand you MUST visit the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Temple. It was absolutely the most beautiful place I’ve seen in Chiang Mai. It is commonly called the 300 step temple. I’m sure you can imagine why, but every single step and winded inhale of air was worth it. Even the cramped up calves and weak knees were worth it. There were so many pictures to take, I have posted some already. I was given the opportunity to be prayed over by a monk, so of course I had to take it. With a handful of bamboo strips he blessed my head with holy water, wished me good luck and happiness in the future, and prayed in both English and Thai. I was one of the few that were able to experience this, and I feel so lucky. There were so many flowers and many Buddha statues, and a gorgeous view of the city, but the main temple was… Just wow!!!! So golden, so big, so beautiful. I could stare at it for hours if I had the time. People were so respectful, taking turns to get their photos. Although, I feel that perhaps it wasn’t me who deserved the respect, but rather the temple instead. I would say I’d like to go back again, but truthfully I feel that I wouldn’t ever need to. Every small detail is stuck in my mind, an unforgettable sight.

Sensory meets satisfaction

In just a short time in Thailand I have seen the most beautiful and awing temples, the brightest smiles, the most detailed and intricate handmade artwork and crafts. I’ve felt the softest of silk. My clothes have been light, and expressive in color. I’ve eaten the most mouthwatering food. I’ve smelt the most interesting scents ( some that I like and some that I don’t.) I’ve met intriguing people and seen sights that are unforgettable. Ive laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve learned, I’ve taught.
I’ve sung, I’ve danced. I’ve tried new things and have got out of bad habits. I’m experiencing so much and this is only the beginning

 

A week in Thailand

It has only been a week and I feel myself becoming more in touch with the Thai culture.I have been effortlessly behaving more like the Thais…
More soft spoken

More polite

More relaxed

Smiling more

Accepting more

Expecting less

Giving more

Laughing more

Observing more

Caring more

Relaxing more

Many thoughts have been running through my mind. Several situations have caught my internal attention. Unfortunately I cannot find the right words to express how influential this experience has been. However I am content in knowing that it has been undoubtedly powerful. It’s safe to say I am in love with Thailand

 

Getting busy…

The days are getting busier and busier so unfortunately I won’t be able to continue being as detailed in my post as I have been. To keep things short, volunteering has been a heart warming and an enjoyable experience. The students are getting more comfortable with us and showing that they are enjoying our company. We have an outdoor English camp planned for Monday. There we will have several stations for the students to be involved in such as a scavenger hunt, singing, dancing, reading and writing. I am in charge of the writing station and will be coordinating a relay race. The goal is to correctly rearrange the sentence. Although the Thais are involved in competitive sports, I would rather this activity be based on more teamwork than competition. I feel that it will help build relationships and community in the school. Preparation has actually been quite fun, the school provided us with all the materials. It’ is planned to be located at a beautiful park near a lake. I’m actually very excited for this day.

I have so many good things to say about Thailand and my experience here. I truly feel lucky to be involved in this. This is a totally new experience for me and I’m glad that I was presented with the opportunity .

 

Day 3 June 7 2016

Today we taught the children about emotions, they drew emojis and acted them out . We taught them how to explain and express how they are feeling. We spoke about our and their interest( music, art, reading,sports, etc.) and taught them more about how to write sentences correctly. Their ages varied from 7-17, the older students were a bit more shy than the younger students, however they were more interested in our personal lives, but all were VERY respectful and polite. It wasn’t too hard to get them to break out of their comfort zones or to participate in games. Two of the children drew a picture of me. They were so funny, and active little characters.

We asked the students about their interest and to tell us about themselves. We also asked some students about their daily schedule and tasks. I was surprised to hear that they wake up at 5am Monday-Friday. Their first task is to exercise, they do laundry, shower and dress, then breakfast. They have back to back classes and then they have lunch (which are cooked with students help) then more class time. After classes they have the responsibility of washing their own dishes , washing their own clothes, cleaning their own rooms, extra curricular activities, dinner and homework. They are usually in bed by 9 We asked Jeab, the English director what we could send to donate to the school. She really didn’t answer and kind of just smiled. Later one of our group members mentioned that she realized what this meant. What could we possibly give these children that they don’t already have. Their needs were taken care of thoroughly.

I noticed that we were allowed to keep our shoes on while the students were required to remove them. We were respected as teachers at all times. I’ve been feeling very honored and have been feeling so many emotions. I feel that I am more respected in a country that is not even my own. Around town I have not once been treated with disrespect nor have I been treated as a tourist or a foreigner. People here are so helpful, smiling all the time, in Thailand you notice the little things that count. These children are so appreciative of what they have, they are hard workers, and are so respectful and kind. We were always greeted with a wai (hands together and bow)  and in class greeted out loud in English, and in a synchronized harmony, ” Hello, Miss How are you? Thank you” . We were always referred to as Miss. I will never forget how well I was treated here at this school or in Thailand.

I can’t get over how friendly the students were and even the staff. They were so helpful and caring, and always provided us with lunch or absolutely anything else we needed. They treated us as if we were part of the staff, dining with us, chatting with us as adults. Jeab had such a beautiful and kind spirit. She was also always dressed very nicely in dresses and cute two pieces. “I want to be like her when I grow up.” I’m pretty sure she’s the nicest person I’ve ever met and I am not exaggerating.

The day was looooooong. 8hrs of interacting with children, it was an amazing experience to say the least but definitely tiring.

 

Day 2 June 6

After a night of resting well, I got an early start to the day at about 6am ( 4pm California time) I ate breakfast the way the Thais do. A fork to push my food into a spoon. It was a light and satisfying breakfast. The coffee was pretty darn good. The day was expected to be a day of responsibility, and it most definitely was. We went on a journey to find out service learning locations. We traveled by sii law dang (red-car) to the Ban Vienping Orphanage. Unfortunately they did not have many tasks for us and there were too many of us, so it would not be practical to volunteer there. However, we were so fortunate to have meet their director Mrs. Duane Munee who took many hours of her day to ensure we found a service learning site. She took us around town to several places to find a site, we found success at the Sukasonghro Chiang Mai Boarding School. The boarding school educates about 850 students, ages 7-18. These students come mostly from hill tribes and come from rural impoverished areas. They live on campus and rarely see their families. The school is ran by the government and they provide their students with dorms, kitchens, a cafeteria wash rooms, recreation areas, and uniforms for class and extracurricular activities. The campus is very large and has many different departments such as hospitality, English, science,etc. the most interesting departments to me were the sewing/ fashion room and the table setting (hospitality). They also had a sports room, and several others.

Too keep it short, after visiting the boarding school I took a cold shower And went to have a traditional Thai massage near our hotel with three other girls, then we grabbed a drink and food at a Cooking Love restaurant right across from us. The food and drinks are outstanding . I’m almost obsessed with their Thailand Fantasy drink. Later that night we went to an outdoor collective of bars. Zoe in yellow is one of the bars there and it is one of the most common tourist night life scenes. Had a great time, danced, and drank “buckets” of mojitos and a drink called “lost in Chiang Mai (similar to and Adios.) We didn’t want to stay too late so we left at around midnight. I know we’re going back soon, some of the girls of our group have been almost every night so far.

 

Day 1 June 5 2016

Sa Wat Di (hello),

At first I wasn’t going to mention this part of my adventure. In fact, I was a bit embarrassed to. I was counting on myself to be able to handle everything and anything that this experience had to offer. However I already missed my mark before I even left the country. Without giving too many details I missed my flight…

It left me sitting in my embarrassment, nervously laughing and shaking my head at myself for hours, so baffled at how this could happen, and feeling regrets of feeling so much confidence in thinking I had everything in control. It was a long day it, and a long process of getting things back in order. Of course I worried, but I understood that every worry has a purpose. My father helped me through the process and things got handled thoroughly. The next day I was on my flight and ready for the journey. I felt more confident and settled this time around. Perhaps even less anxious. Eager to go, with the understanding that everything happens for a reason, I was more ready than ever. Serena my travel-mate accompanied me from start to arrival, her company made me feel comfortable, and having to depend on one another allowed us to build a relationship.

My travels started at 1:40am Friday night/Saturday morning. It was a long, tiring journey but airplane traveling doesn’t bother me at all; nor was it first time traveling on long international flights. The food served by the airlines was decent, of course the flight attendants were gorgeous, I bought the wifi and listened to relaxing sleep music and neo-soul. for the most part I slept only waking up to eat. Not much to say about the flights, except they got me to where I needed to be. From San Francisco International Airport we flew to Taipei, Taiwan. Then again to Bangkok and further to Chiang Mai. Unfortunately we weren’t able to spend a night in Bangkok as originally planned. It was a little upsetting but I was more focused on getting to Chiang Mai as I was already a day late.

By the third flight to Chiang Mai I was getting impatient. It was only about an hour and thirty minutes, but I just wanted to be settled in already, and was tired of being on planes all day. Sitting on the edge of my seat, feeling excitement and accomplishment, I thanked God several times that it was almost over. After going through immigration and baggage claim, finding transportation to our hotel was easy. We simply got on a taxi-bus and were on our way. The ride costed us less than $3 USD for a 15min drive, quick and easy. I was quickly reminded of the Philippines. The humidity, the wild driving, ignored stoplights, the roadside shops, and stray dogs. No culture shock experienced whatsoever.

I was quickly greeted by my roommate Cassidy. I was happy to see her again since we couldn’t stop texting about how excited we were for this travel experience. I was welcomed by her spunky, adventurous but comforting chill personality and quickly (almost too quickly) after setting my belongings down, we walked down to the lobby to meet the rest of the group. 15 beautiful young women! Soon after we all walked down to the Sunday Night Market. I didn’t even have a chance to be nervous because everyone was so energetic and ready to explore.

6:30pm on our short walk to the night market I observed each and every detail around me. The sidewalks were crowded with people, roads were busy with motorbikes, tuktuks and more. The air was filled with scents of foods I’ve never seen before. The sounds of foreign languages and beautiful music were coming from every direction. Definitely a sensory overload. As we walked along the night market there was so much to see, a few things caught my interest but I won’t mention them now as they are gifts for a few of my readers. I did buy a young coconut to drink its water and some freshly made mochi ice cream which allowed for my first sensory experience of taste (my favorite one by the way.) Suddenly it started pouring down rain which would normally annoy me but it was actually a cool sight to see. After a long wet walk through the night market we went to eat at an outdoor restaurant, there were many females entertainers (possibly prostitutes) and “ladyboys” (transgender male-female) around the area. They were flirting and drinking with white men around the bars. Observing this was somewhat disturbing for me because I understood that most of these individuals might have been involved in human sex trafficking and the sex industry. Otherwise the night went well, I enjoyed myself without a doubt.

sorry not many pictures of this night, stay tuned.