The throbbing music, neon lights and ant trails of tourists...I'm back on Khao San Road. My mind, however, is elsewhere. I'm trying to remember a quote someone once told me about how coming back to a familiar place can show you how much you've changed in the time that has passed.
I think back to that first night on Khao San Road and the feeling of nauseousness that this was the Thai tourist reality. Not least because I had wanted to live a more traditional Thai life, but also a slight twinge of embarrassment that this world had pre-built expectations of me for the family I was about to live with.
It's ridiculous looking back at the kindness that I received that I thought my hosts would be so narrow minded.
We're with P'Nin, another ETA's mentor, and he guides us slickly through the madness, wafting off the curious questions of passing Thai's in our defence that we're actually, koncrew angrit (English Teachers).
That too seems almost unbelievable; that between all the ETA's we've taught tens of thousands of Thai children over the last nine weeks. Most of us totally new to teaching and at first bewildered at the thought of one lesson, let alone 15 hours a week.
The ceremony earlier in the evening where we were joined by Ms. Duriya Amatavivat, Thai Ministry of Education, Mr Andrew Glass, Director of the British Council, Thailand and Mr Paul Bute, Deputy Head of Mission, The British Embassy, is a buzz of conversation, speeches and photos. All the ETAs wearing a similarly tired smiles clutching at our certificates that prove our nine weeks of hard work.
Spinning with stories and experiences, we trade anecdotes over well earned cocktails later in the evening. They tumble out in no particular order: the teacher secretly filming a YouTube fitness channel in his free lessons; treks through elephant sanctuaries as they pull down the bamboo trees in their paths; tackling rogue cockroaches that sneak up the plughole; visiting half finished temples accompanied by twelve ft high dinosaur statues; plodding bleary eyed along deserted beaches at 4 in the morning after a night ferry crossing and watching the sun split through the sky.
We're all exhausted but, I think it's fair to say, exhilarated too. Most of all I'm proud. I'm proud of my students for their willingness to learn. I'm proud of my mentor, P'Om for balancing her Masters, school work, private tuition and for how good her English now is. Proud of all of the ETAs who have embraced the challenge of teaching in Thailand. And I'm a little bit proud of myself too. I was awarded the prize for this year's blog and travel writing entries, so a huge thank you to everyone who has read, shared and complimented my writing along the way. I have loved being able to share a snippet of my Thai life with you; it has been the most phenomenal, challenging two months and truly unforgettable.
All the best and korp kun ka,
Lizzie x
I think back to that first night on Khao San Road and the feeling of nauseousness that this was the Thai tourist reality. Not least because I had wanted to live a more traditional Thai life, but also a slight twinge of embarrassment that this world had pre-built expectations of me for the family I was about to live with.
It's ridiculous looking back at the kindness that I received that I thought my hosts would be so narrow minded.
We're with P'Nin, another ETA's mentor, and he guides us slickly through the madness, wafting off the curious questions of passing Thai's in our defence that we're actually, koncrew angrit (English Teachers).
That too seems almost unbelievable; that between all the ETA's we've taught tens of thousands of Thai children over the last nine weeks. Most of us totally new to teaching and at first bewildered at the thought of one lesson, let alone 15 hours a week.
The ceremony earlier in the evening where we were joined by Ms. Duriya Amatavivat, Thai Ministry of Education, Mr Andrew Glass, Director of the British Council, Thailand and Mr Paul Bute, Deputy Head of Mission, The British Embassy, is a buzz of conversation, speeches and photos. All the ETAs wearing a similarly tired smiles clutching at our certificates that prove our nine weeks of hard work.
Spinning with stories and experiences, we trade anecdotes over well earned cocktails later in the evening. They tumble out in no particular order: the teacher secretly filming a YouTube fitness channel in his free lessons; treks through elephant sanctuaries as they pull down the bamboo trees in their paths; tackling rogue cockroaches that sneak up the plughole; visiting half finished temples accompanied by twelve ft high dinosaur statues; plodding bleary eyed along deserted beaches at 4 in the morning after a night ferry crossing and watching the sun split through the sky.
We're all exhausted but, I think it's fair to say, exhilarated too. Most of all I'm proud. I'm proud of my students for their willingness to learn. I'm proud of my mentor, P'Om for balancing her Masters, school work, private tuition and for how good her English now is. Proud of all of the ETAs who have embraced the challenge of teaching in Thailand. And I'm a little bit proud of myself too. I was awarded the prize for this year's blog and travel writing entries, so a huge thank you to everyone who has read, shared and complimented my writing along the way. I have loved being able to share a snippet of my Thai life with you; it has been the most phenomenal, challenging two months and truly unforgettable.
All the best and korp kun ka,
Lizzie x