Author: Alana Doyle

 

If you’re anything like me, you’ve a thousand and one questions about what life will be like teaching in Thailand. Where will you live? How will you spend your weekends? What will the school be like? What will I teach? I’m currently 2 months into the semester and have had an amazing experience so far. Here’s a little insight into a typical day in Sakon Nakhon, North East Thailand at my school to hopefully ease some of the nerves and answer a few of those burning questions…!

Morning
A typical morning starts at 7:00 am with breakfast at my apartment and an iced coffee on the way to work. As my school is in quite a rural area in the North East of Thailand me and my hubbie rent a scooter and drive about 15 minutes to work each day (a far cry from my daily commute back in London, squeezing on overcrowded tubes!). After catching up with some of the other foreign teachers (3 British and 2 American) we head down to Assembly for the national anthem, flag ceremony and a morning talk (usually completely in Thai!), although every Friday one of the foreign teachers does a talk in English. As there’s over 4,000 students in our school the assembly usually cuts slightly into the first period and its always pretty hectic making your way to your classroom squeezing down the tiny corridors with so many students!

Morning Classes
An average class would be 50 minutes long with approx 45 – 55 students. The classrooms have very few resources so you really do need lots of creativity to make learning fun for the students. The classes usually have a backboard (some may have a dry whiteboard) and usually the students have their own workbooks and pens. We are lucky in that our school has devised their own English curriculum so we have an outline for a lesson, with suggested resources that we can use. As I’m actually a qualified teacher in the UK I like creating my own resources and using lots of drama to really bring the lessons to life!

I currently teach English to the whole of M2 grade (so the children are 13 and 14 years old). The class sizes are huge compared to how many children I teach back in the UK, so lessons are rather noisy and can be quite hectic! However, with about 14 hours of teaching per week I get a good amount of non-teaching time to plan lessons, make fun resources and also mark and asses their units and exams.

Lunchtime
Lunchtime at our school is a real highlight and a chance for all the foreign teachers to catch up on the morning’s antics! With over 4,000 hungry students to feed our canteen is the size of a small village with about 30 different food vendors to choose from. A favourite of mine is tom yum goong, or I might have an omlette or pad thai to mix things up! After lunch I usually catch up on some marking, or prepare my resources for the next lesson.

Afternoon
The school day finishes at approx 4:20 pm, but some classes finish slightly earlier. There’s always so much going on at our school to get involved in! We often enjoy watching the band practice for a concert, or even head over to the sports field to check out a football match.

Evening
After School its time to relax and unwind after a busy day… usually with a cup of tea and magazine in hand, whilst soaking up some last minute sun at the park! We’re really lucky in Sakon that there’s a great group of foreign teacher based here so we usually meet up for dinner at a local restaurant or head down to one of the night markets for some street food. Although we’re in quite a ‘rural’ location in the North East there’s usually lots happening to keep us entertained during the week. We recently went to a huge street party for the anniversary of the local temple and also partied the evening away at a Thai pop music festival. At weekends, we often chill in the park, go the gym and outdoor pool or even jump on a bus and head to the next cities such as Khon Kean or Udon Thani. There might not be as much on our doorstep as somewhere like Bangkok, but if you look hard enough you can find some great, undiscovered things to do that definitely won’t be listed in the Lonely Planet!

Hopefully you’ve got a brief insight to life as a Teacher in Thailand, and fancy giving it a go yourself. I can honestly say that its one of the best experiences of my life and will well and truly enhance my life, and my CV!

To read more about our experiences Teaching Abroad, Volunteering and travelling the world check out our blog, Lets Get Lost.

 

 

Saving for a RTW trip is no easy feat, particularly when you’re jetting off with your other half and you’re planning to spend a whole year on the road! We both decided to combine travelling with working for a few months so that we could settle in one place for a short time, enjoy exploring a new area and gain new and valuable skills. We also really needed a break from hostel/hotel bed hopping and the monotony of packing-unpacking and packing! Taking into account our careers and experience (I am a qualified Primary Teacher and Phil is a Youth Worker) we decided that teaching in a Thai school for a semester would be the perfect option. A semester would enable us to really experience life in a Thai School and enable us to save some money for the next stage of our RTW trip.

As I am a qualified Teacher back in England, I had some good experience behind me to ensure I would be able to get a job. Phil also has years of experience working with children as a Youth Worker but decided to do a 120 hour TEFL course to ensure he had the relevant experience and also to help him feel more confident in a school environment. There’s a number of providers out there that offer a range of courses to suit your needs and budget, but just make sure you do your research first. Phil really recommends TEFL England as he was well supported by mentors who were easy to contact and provided great feedback. We’d also recommend the courses run by Greenheart Travel and Xplore Asia as they provide an excellent introduction to teaching TEFL, ideal for those with little to no previous teaching experience. Once you have your certificate and you’re signed up with an agency you can look forward to teaching in a whole range of different institutions across Thailand, from private language School and home tutoring to Government Thai School and even, on some occasions, International Schools. For a first year TEFL Teacher the pay ranges from 20.0000B for a non degree holder to 35.0000B for a degree holder, depending on location of School and experience (Schools in the South and near Bangkok tend to pay more as the cost of living is higher). And with accommodation and food being considerable cheaper than in the UK and Europe you really can save money if you plan to travel around during holidays.

Money and saving aside, it really pays to teach abroad for a number of reasons:

 1. A chance to live like a local

When you’re backpacking or visiting a country on holiday you rarely get an opportunity to really experience local life: e.g.) take part in festivals, get invited to family parties or eat with the locals. Schools really are the heart of the community and so you will find some many opportunities to really understand and appreciate the traditions and practices of the locals, and the host country. So far in Thailand we’ve been invited to family New Year parties, been to a Thai music festival and on countless occasions eaten home cooked food prepared by our teachers and their families. Thai people are incredibly friendly and welcoming and will treat ‘falangs’ like their extended family!

2. A chance to soak up the language

What better way to learn a language than to live in another country! Particularly if you live in rural areas, the chances are very few people will speak English…which is why you are there in the first place – to improve standards of English. However, take the opportunity to try out another language…buy a phrase book, speak to locals and go for it!!

3. A chance to take time out and appreciate!

Living in a new country provides a great opportunity to reflect on your own life and also to accept and appreciate the differences. Sometimes this manifests itself as ‘culture-shock’ at first as it can be very difficult adjusting to the changes and differences and getting used to a new way of doing things. However, once you relax and begin to accept the difference it can be a great chance to really learn about another culture, or religion and appreciate the similarities and differences that exist in our lives.

4. A chance to make a difference

English is an international language and its importance is incredibly significant in education. Teaching English abroad is an amazing opportunity to help, support and influences the lives of children and adults all over the world and help provide better opportunities in their lives.

These are just a handful of the benefits of combing working/teaching abroad with travelling. We’ve both had an amazing experience teaching, even just for a semester and would definitely recommend giving it a go!

*We enrolled on the Teach Thailand Programme through Greenheart Travel and had our TEFL Orientation Course with Xplore Asia. For more information visit: www.greenheartravel.org and www.xploreasia.org

After an amazing flight from Kathmandu courtesy of Thai Airways we arrived in Bangkok ready to explore and ready to get back into city life.  Living in the ‘Big Smoke’ for nearly 10 years has clearly permeated my veins as I was eager to experience the hustle and bustle of a city again, squeezing on public transport, window shopping in the malls and taking our pick from endless rows of bars and restaurants. We had an amazing..and very hectic few days squeezing in as much of the city as we could before we headed to Hua Hin for our TEFL Teaching Orientation. Here’s a round up of our adventures and some reccomendations for things to do and see….

Khao San Road

A must do on any backpackers itinerary and a great night out for those that really like to party. This never-ending street is an absolute overdose for the senses…Gangnam Style and other psychodelic pop tunes blasting from each bar, weird and frankly slightly revolting smells circling from the hundred or so street food vendors selling everything from banana pancakes and fruit platters to chicken skewers, deep fried spiders and scorpion kebabs! And that’s not to mention the sight of thousands of tourists dancing on tables, being lured into ‘sport’ related shows(!) and sharing/throwing up after buckets of hangover-inducing cocktails!  The ko san is an experience…but weirdly addictive and chances are if you’ve survived one night there you’ll be up for more…. as soon as the hangover subsides!

Taking to the water

To escape from the mid-afternoon heat we jumped on a passenger boat and took a cruise up the Chao Phraya River, which is great for spotting some of the incredible temples and taking many an Instagram worthy photo!

BKK by foot

We try not to use the Lonely Planet guide too much as I feel it stops you being spontaneous and discovering new places for yourself. However, the section on Bangkok has a great walking tour  which is really easy to follow and guides you round the main sights on Old Bangkok. We spent the morning enjoying some of the incredible temples, monuments and parks in the old part of the city and we also caught a glimpse of the Grand Palace and Wat Pho Temple. We’ll definitely be making a trip inside them both when we next return to BKK.

Nightlife in Patpong

Another night to remember was had in the Patapong area, with some delicious street food and more than a few cocktails in some very lively bars. There are so many bars and eating places to choose from here and there’s also a great Night Market selling clothes and souveniers.

Chinatown

We had a great afternoon strolling through the Chinatown district and gawping at the thousand of things on sale at the street markets.

Home-comforts in Siam

After quite a few months on the road it was nice to enjoy some ‘Western’ home comforts like KFC and Starbucks and shop among my favourites such as Mango, Zara and yes, Topshop(!) in the Siam Square malls. And with the release of the 2nd Hunger Games what better way to spend an afternoon, escaping the heat and relaxing in front of the big screen. The cinema’s in Thailand are incredibly cheap… with entrance prices around £1 each and all the snacks you could ever want at around 50p – £1. If only the London Odeon’s would take note!

Chatuchak weekend market

Actually the biggest market I’ve ever been to, selling everything from clothes and jewellery to delicious street food and souveniers. Amazing day here but defo bring some cool clothes and suncream…it gets swelteringly hot!

Sky Bars at Altitude

If you do one thing in Bangkok it certainly should be to enjoy a drink at altitude! Bangkok has an incredible skyline and its a great experience checking out one of the Sky Bars and nursing your vertigo with a strong cocktail. We dug out our finest, traded in our flip flops and got ourselves suitably glammed up for a night at the Hilton Rooftop Lounge. Now, as we are ‘travelling’ and as such are on a ‘budget’ our evening was spent nursing ‘just 1′ drink and even then Phil looked slightly peaky when the bill was presented. However, it was great fun doing something a little more sophisticated and having a chilled out evening taking in the views. We will definitely be back….just maybe when we’ve robbed a bank!

Lub D Hostel, Silom

I’ve already recommended this hostel to quite a few friends as it really is a gem of a place. Its a really modern hostel with comfy beds, great Wifi, amazingly powerful and hot showers and incredibly friendly and helpful Staff.  They also have a funky common area, movie room and of course an indoor and outdoor bar where you can DYO booze if you’re watching the pennies!  After staying in a few less than sanitary hostels and hotels this one amazed me by how spotlessly clean it was – and also the attention to detail…free toiletries, hair-driers, torch in the dorm and the option to leave your luggage with them for up to 2 months. Perfect for us as we had to make a short visa run to Laos. Although a little pricer than some hostels on the KSR its definitely worth the money. We met some incredible people whilst enjoying a Singha in the roadside bar and had some lively and certainly memorable nights out!

www.lubd.com

The Pad Thai Wars

As Thailand’s most infamous dish it would be rude not to test out as many different versions as possible in search of the best! We don’t want to speak too soon but we may have found the winner….a tiny pavement cafe on Decho Road (near Lub D Hostel)….and a close 2nd being another street vendor further up Silom Road. As Thai Food Culture dictates its all about the perfect mix of spicy, sweet, salty and sour…..so we will continue our mission to crown the winner!