Out of the Bubble

I'm excited to explore Thailand, but going to miss amazing Nai Harn sunsets

Yesterday marked the end of my practice teaching, meaning that I am officially TESOL certified! It was a long week, but gave me a good idea of what to expect and what I need to work on for when I start teaching on November 1. After my terrible experience teaching at the orphanage the second day, I had an easy week of practice teaching at a soccer academy/orphanage 2 days and a juvenile delinquent center one day. It was exciting teaching on my own and making lesson plans all by myself.

Teaching at the Youth Soccer Academy

Now that we are done with the course, we have finally left our little tourist bubble in Nai Harn and have entered the real Thailand. As much as I loved living in Nai Harn on one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen and getting to know all of the incredible people on my program, I am ready to set out and discover Thailand. Though we are no longer all together in the same hotel, just about everyone on my program decided to go to Phuket Town for a couple of nights before most people need to head up to their teaching assignments to start work and find apartments. I along with 4 other people on my program cannot move into our accommodation, a guest house called the Grandparent's Home, until October 30, so we get to island hop and explore Southern Thailand for a couple of weeks before moving to Ayutthaya.

The English department

Two days ago I found out that I will be teaching in a government school in Ayutthaya that is walking distance from my accommodation. I will be teaching grades M1 and M4, which are 12 and 16 year olds. The other 2 English teachers at the so called "naughty school" are 2 other people from my program, so I already know 2 of my coworkers. I am a bit nervous that we are the entire English department, as there is no one to give us advice on lesson planning. The woman who placed us in the school said that she would be around frequently and would help us with poorly behaved classes. There is also another teacher that got his certification through ATI and will be teaching at another school but living in Ayutthaya that can help us with lesson planning, as he teaches high school as well.
These past few days have been exciting and sad, but I am ready to explore Thailand and to start my first real job!

 

My first Thai street food experience: noodles and chicken soup.