A Phenomenal First Week

When you are offered a position for a program or job that you're really interested in, there is a unique bubble of excitement, anxiety, and joy that forms within you. Immediately you need to share your news with close friends and family and you begin thinking about your next steps in the process. For me it was no different as I was accepted into the Teach in Thailand program through CIEE. At the time of my acceptance I was leading a conservation project on Mt. Greylock, MA with the Student Conservation Association and Americorps. I had a team of four amazing people with me and we were camping out in the woods and constructing rock turnpikes to help a severely eroded section of trail. Cell phone service can be difficult to come by in parts of Western Massachusetts but whenever I had even just a hint of reception, I was constantly checking my email account in search of an acceptance letter from CIEE. It wasn't until the final day of our project on Mt. Greylock that I received the glorious email. My heart swelled, my eyes bulged, and a huge smile spread across my face. I tend to smile a lot so I probably didn't look that much different compared to my normal self but internally I felt like the main attraction at an amusement park. Completely thrilled, I shared my news with the rest of my crew and they were very happy for me even though they perhaps were a bit exhausted from our ten days of service in the humid July weather.  

A few months later, I find myself sitting at my desk in the foreign language department of Princess Chulabhorn College Chiang Rai with that same grin on my face. I've only been here in the north of Thailand for less than a week and while there will certainly be some hardships that I encounter on this journey, it has only been amazing thus far.  I arrived in Bangkok on 10/26 after two days of flying across the world, for orientation with CIEE and OEG. Orientation was a fabulous experience as a I got to meet other English teachers who will be spread out across the country and going through similar experiences. Despite only being there for a few days, I felt like I met some really great people. I'm excited for them and their adventures as well as getting to see them again and explore this beautiful country together. Having studied Adolescent English Education at SUNY Fredonia in Western New York, one might think that I have all the tools necessary to be effective in teaching grades 8 and 11 in Thailand. However, we can always learn more and I felt like I learned an awful lot during the 5 days of orientation as we studied TEFL courses with fantastic instructors and practiced speaking some Thai. Another highlight of orientation was visiting the Grand Palace. One of our orientation leaders joked that the Grand Palace was like a giant disco ball due to all of the glass reflecting light from the sun. He wasn't kidding as this was perhaps one of the most stunning pieces of architecture I have ever witnessed. I must admit that the heat was a special kind of brutal as the sun beat down on us but it was 100% worth it as it only made the buildings and temples look more brilliant. The attention to detail and intricate patterns on every inch of the walls, ceilings, floors, etc... was just outstanding!

Saying goodbyes to some of the friends I made during orientation was a bit harder than I expected it to be. Unfortunately, a lot of the people I grew close with during this time will be living and teaching in central and eastern Thailand, which is several hours away from where I am based. We all are staying in touch so far and hopefully we can plan some amazing trips with one another. During orientation I realized that there were very few people living up north where I am living. Once I arrived up here though, I got to meet some teachers who had been living here for a few months already. They have all been very kind, welcoming, and happy to show me around to some of their favorite locations. My school has a beautiful campus and some of the friendliest and brightest students and teachers you could ever meet. I'm living right on campus and I feel like I have a great opportunity to be a prescence in the students daily lives as they also live on campus since it is a boarding school. My lessons so far have been mostly introductory sessions but I will be sure to share how my future lessons go! Until then, I have a class I need to get to so I will write again soon! :)