There are some things that I’m going to miss about my school and Takhli but I don’t feel as emotional as I did when we left Korea as we’ve only been here for a comparatively short amount of time. I will miss the Thai English teachers at our school though. They’ve all been unbelievably kind and helpful and I feel very lucky to have been placed here. We’ve just been out for dinner with them and I’m told there are more treats in store for us in our teacher’s class tomorrow.
As for the students, it’s really only the very good and very bad kids that stand out- I teach over a thousand students and each only once a week so it’s impossible to get know them well. As this week is my final lesson with each class, I’ve been saying my goodbyes. Today after my 2/12 (genius class), the students wanted a group photo with me in front of the school- it’s a nice memento. Even my 5/1 (very, very low level, affectionately referred to as ‘5 slash Bonehead’) who are normally completely unenthusiastic said their thanks and goodbyes and told me that they’d had fun.
Whilst I’m glad of the contrasts between living in rural Takhli and ginormous Seoul, one thing I’ve realised about myself is that I’m a city girl through and through. However, It’s been amazing and challenging living in the middle of the tropical Thai countryside; I doubt I’ll still be scared of the tame dogs or little weenie house spiders we get in England when I get back! My most appreciative thing about living and working in Thailand though is that Joel and I have gotten to see a side of the country that most of the many tourists who come here don’t get to.
Some of my favourite things about teaching in Takhli are…
Watching students being stopped in their tracks to have their hair shorn off by a teacher. Or, if said teacher is interrupted by a phone call, the students accompanying friend relieves him of the duty.
Mai pen rai (pronounced: my bell eye) roughly translates as ‘It doesn’t matter.’ It’s a popular Thai saying and I hear it many times a day. Nothing gets Thai people down and nothing irritates them because at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Sometimes this is good, sometimes this is bad. It’s good when it means I can leave school early for lunch or early to get to Bangkok on a Friday. Or, when classes are unexpectedly (for us) cancelled. On the whole though, working in such a relaxed, free environment is like a breath of fresh air.
Thais LOVE to eat. I don’t understand much Thai but I don’t need to, to understand that the main topic of discussion in our English office is FOOD. Mmm aroi ma ka? Mmm aroi (‘Is it delicious?’ ‘Yes, it’s delicious,’ both totally overused phrases in our office). The teachers are serious eaters. It’s great when the teachers give us food or when they take us to a restaurant because we get to try all sorts of food that we wouldn’t get to otherwise and that you don’t find in the spick and span, clinical looking Thai restaurants in touristy places.
Living in a tiny neighbourhood and in particular, living next door to Pi Tien who’s our neighbour. She’s a character and together with her husband, she’s really looked after me and Joel. She speaks very little English but damn it, she tries! They oil our gate, water our plants, fix our lights, they got us a washing machine, she’s taken me to the market many times and made me taste all the food. Earlier this evening she told me that any time we’re in Thailand we must stay with her, the same goes for our families too.
Riding around on our motorbike- I don’t think we would have got one if we were living in a bigger city with public transport options. It’s been fun and now we have to sell it, Joel is particularly gutted. I don’t think he’ll miss dodging the crazy, wild dogs, chickens or cows though!
Actually, now I’m writing this, I’m starting to realize that there are LOTS of things that have been incredible about being in Takhli and teaching at my school- too many to write about but it's all up there.
We’ve been very lucky (incidentally, that’s what lots of students think my name is!), I’ve had fun and since all the teachers and students keep telling us how much they really want us to stay, I’d say it’s been a job well done!
Sawat dee ka Takhli.
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