One of the best experiences I've had on my travels so far has been teaching English in a primary school (4-12 year olds) near Chiang Rai, Thailand. Culturally, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to be immersed into Thai society, religion and way of life. There were barely any other 'farang' (westerners) in the town which meant I was kidnapped on an almost daily basis, with no idea of where I'd be going and with whom, as the plan tended to change as soon as the group found out they had a hostage. Desperate to show off their local traditions, attractions or food, or even just drink beer with an English person, everyone wanted to get to know me and make sure I had a good time.
Recently a few people have asked me about my school year, so I've compiled a list of some information you might not get from your school directly.
Things you need to be prepared for whilst teaching in Thailand:
Toilets:
Almost definitely NOT what you're used to at home, but as soon as you practice your squat, you'll do fine.
You might not have a lot of free time.
Teaching aside, Thais are incredibly social people and also don't seem to have the same ideas about personal space/free time/privacy as you might. For example, one of the teachers at my school spent Mon-Thurs nights alone in her house because her husband went away to work. She was forever trying to abduct me, her theory being that I must be lonely as I also 'sleep alone'. I have generally no problem sleeping in a room by myself. Apart from the time I found that giant spider...Anyway for the Thais it is probably something to do with their religious beliefs in spirits and ghosts - the idea of staying in a house by themselves is terrifying.
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| An awesome eating spot I was kidnapped to. Ok, so it wasn't such a hardship! |
The kids are not the same as whatever you're used to at home. Because of course, Asian kids are so much cuter, but they're also better behaved. They even clean their own classrooms! Be prepared for when you suddenly start getting friend requests from your eight year old students on Facebook; before you have a heart attack you should realise that all of the other teachers in the school have already befriended them. But maybe you want to clean up your page first, or make a second one. (It's a great way for them to study English outside of the classroom if you write simple posts.)
It's possible the kids are better behaved because the threat of a slap on the back of their hand/head/shoulder is pretty real. This is an interesting point, because it divides people. I was pretty shocked in the beginning, when I saw (in my opinion) how freely the teachers gave out a quick smack. It's difficult to see if it's affected them at all negatively; they're definitely a lot nicer than the little monsters at home. The first time I had a student misbehave in my class, I was absolutely baffled by the rest of the class holding up their metal rulers. Obviously they fully expected me to grab one and give the naughty kid some disciplining. Hmm.
Your hours might not be obvious in the beginning. Even if somebody tells you which days and for how long you're supposed to be teaching, in my experience that was fairly flexible - nobody remembered to tell me about festival days, for example, so I would turn up on Monday morning with the lesson plans for the week only to find out there was a festival to prepare for, which meant normal lessons would be cancelled, so the kids could spend a whole day making a floating flower arrangement to set on fire and put in the river, or something. Also, even though I was only supposed to be teaching three days a week, if anything even vaguely school related fell outside those days I was fully expected to attend if I was in town. eg. sports days, parades, scouts camping overnight. Or even during school hours - like the countless times I was actually pulled out of class to go and have lunch with some government officials who would be inspecting the school. I was pretty much the marketing tool for the school: 'Hey look, we've got a girl farang. Send your kids here!'
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| Thai people take their competitions seriously! |
The pay might seem terrible, but you have to realise that although you could get more working in McDonalds at home (probably, I've never asked what the rate is) to the Thais you are earning A LOT more than they are. I found out the minimum wage in my area was around 30Baht/day (with accomodation and food included). That's insane. Maybe they were illegal Lao immigrants, but still - I rarely manage to leave 7/11 without spending three times that in one visit! Most teaching positions will also offer your accomodation, food (at least school lunches) and some form of transport along with your salary. So in theory, all your living costs are taken care of.
You can earn extra with private tuition. If this appeals to you, you can take on individual students, or even small classes for an extra charge, outside of school hours. This is probably only going to work in an area where the parents have got some cash to spare, or you're big hearted enough to do it for nothing.
Don't speak Thai to your students. This is a hard one, because Thai is a difficult language to learn, so when you start to understand your students talking to you in the playground in Thai, you really want to show off your new skills. Bite your tongue!!! It's so much better for them if they are forced to use English to speak with you.
You need to learn how to drink beer and whiskey. Apparantly, Thailand has only got two alcoholic drinks: beer and whiskey. Beer is consumed with ice and whiskey can be mixed with water/soda water/coke/ice/any above combination.
All of this could be completely different for a school in a big city. The above is just my experiences, working in a small town an hour's drive from the nearest big city, way up in the north of Thailand. It could also be completely different in the next province/age group/government school etc.
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| Kru (teacher) Newii knitting during a lunch break. Teachers are called by their first names in Thailand. |
Whoever and wherever you end up teaching, one thing is for sure - your Thai students will quickly win a place in your heart, and will be a very sweet memory you can cherish years after you leave.
