A quick excerpt from an email I sent last week. Enjoy!
Today things are already brighter. I had to give lines this morning, and I have a collection of toys taped to the wall where the students can't get them, but all in all, things are improving. We even had fun this morning in math class! As I was teaching one of my students started giggling. I didn't know why, so I asked. The student next to him had a silly grin on his face. All of the students started mumbling, "Teachahh Meaghan lucky." Of course I had no idea what this meant. But I soon found out! The students decided that I am in love. I don't really know why they use the word lucky, but whatevs. I asked what 'lucky' means and they all said, "Teachahhh Meaghan love Teachahhh Paul!" They were all saying it! Ahhhh! So of course I pretended to throw up, like any mature teacher would do, and told them they were disgusting. My entire class was completely confused. They thought they had figured it out. They didn't know what to say anymore. So they said, "ooooooooooh, Teachahh Meaghan love Teachahh Simon." It was as though everything clicked. If I didn't love Paul, I must love Simon! I threw up at that one too. They just kept guessing. After they went through the entire male staff (which is the entire foreign staff) they finally came to Koreana. It was really, really funny. Joseph, one of my favorite students, then decided that he knew the real answer. He announced to the entire class that I love my family. What a smart little boy. And what a productive math class! That was a class that I couldn't have made a lesson plan for!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Back to reality
I cannot remember the last full week of school we had. We have had the New Year, English camps, sports days, half days, meeting days, and the list goes on and on. The students (and the teachers) have been enjoying it. We have known that whatever the schedule may be, it will probably be changed, and we will probably have less classes. This week was a wake up call. We have a full five days of classes, and my kids are horrendous. But for once, my students weren't the only ones. All of the foreign teachers have been talking about how horribly the students are behaving.
On Monday night my entire class had to write "I will behave in T. Meaghan's class." 25 times for homework. The students continued to be so bad, that those who didn't finish had to write 50 the next morning! The second grade foreign teacher, Allen, whose classroom is next door, pulled me aside yesterday and told me he was having problems. He asked if I would take a student for him. Of course I agreed! He told his class that if they misbehaved they would be kicked out of second grade and put back into first. Sure enough, he knocked on my door during the next period and I had a new student. She was horrified. She was completely embarrassed. She was forced to sit through my class until Allen came in and she apologized. And apparently, Allen's students have been perfect angels since. My students were very surprised. I had just finished telling them that I could send them back to kindergarten, and when Allen's student walked in, they knew I was serious. The problem is, nothing lasts with my kids. While the second grader had an impact on them, they forgot almost immediately.
Now, I understand all of these things seem a bit ridiculous. The punishments here are nothing I had imagined. I give lines, make students stand on one leg, have students hold a book in each hand at shoulder level, stand on their chairs, and hold hands with the people they talk to. But nothing works. The English Program is the Rich Program. The students are spoiled brats. They are usually raised by a grandparent or hired help. Instead of disciplining the kids, they just give them what they want to shut them up. My students talk on their cell phones in the middle of class. They hit each other, kick each other, stab each other, you name it, and they do it.
I thought a point system would work. I give out stickers to each team when they are good. If the team is bad, the students have to move a sticker from their team's board to T. Meaghan's board. Well, the students couldn't care less. They don't want the candy or toys or movies they could win with stickers. They have everything at home, and they don't have to be good to get it! So yes, I give lines. I give ridiculous punishments. I try to embarrass my students because it is one of the only things that works.
Amazingly, the Thai teachers have control of the students. How? The Thai teachers do nothing but lecture. They have the students sit and recite paragraphs from their textbooks. Why do the students behave? Because the Thai teachers hit. My Thai teacher is rarely in the classroom, but when she is, the students are silent. She walks in, pulls a few ears, hits a few students in the head, and everything is quiet. Gosh, if only I could hit them...
Just kidding. I don't want the students to respect me because I physically abuse them. Instead, I will just wear them down with 15 pages of lines and standing on one foot for an hour. That'll get 'em.
Today the students were better. Not great, but better. The photos I have attached were taken today. The first photo is my new way to deal with toys. I simply take the toys, and tape them to the board. These are all of the toys I collected in my first period. The sentences written on the board are from notes I intercepted in that same period. It was a very productive math class.
The second photo is of the school building behind mine. The students simply throw trash out the window. No wonder this country is filled with rats and smells disgusting.
I promise, life isn't that bad. I am happy. I am enjoying work. This week has been the exception, and I had to write about it!
On Monday night my entire class had to write "I will behave in T. Meaghan's class." 25 times for homework. The students continued to be so bad, that those who didn't finish had to write 50 the next morning! The second grade foreign teacher, Allen, whose classroom is next door, pulled me aside yesterday and told me he was having problems. He asked if I would take a student for him. Of course I agreed! He told his class that if they misbehaved they would be kicked out of second grade and put back into first. Sure enough, he knocked on my door during the next period and I had a new student. She was horrified. She was completely embarrassed. She was forced to sit through my class until Allen came in and she apologized. And apparently, Allen's students have been perfect angels since. My students were very surprised. I had just finished telling them that I could send them back to kindergarten, and when Allen's student walked in, they knew I was serious. The problem is, nothing lasts with my kids. While the second grader had an impact on them, they forgot almost immediately.
Now, I understand all of these things seem a bit ridiculous. The punishments here are nothing I had imagined. I give lines, make students stand on one leg, have students hold a book in each hand at shoulder level, stand on their chairs, and hold hands with the people they talk to. But nothing works. The English Program is the Rich Program. The students are spoiled brats. They are usually raised by a grandparent or hired help. Instead of disciplining the kids, they just give them what they want to shut them up. My students talk on their cell phones in the middle of class. They hit each other, kick each other, stab each other, you name it, and they do it.
I thought a point system would work. I give out stickers to each team when they are good. If the team is bad, the students have to move a sticker from their team's board to T. Meaghan's board. Well, the students couldn't care less. They don't want the candy or toys or movies they could win with stickers. They have everything at home, and they don't have to be good to get it! So yes, I give lines. I give ridiculous punishments. I try to embarrass my students because it is one of the only things that works. Amazingly, the Thai teachers have control of the students. How? The Thai teachers do nothing but lecture. They have the students sit and recite paragraphs from their textbooks. Why do the students behave? Because the Thai teachers hit. My Thai teacher is rarely in the classroom, but when she is, the students are silent. She walks in, pulls a few ears, hits a few students in the head, and everything is quiet. Gosh, if only I could hit them...
Just kidding. I don't want the students to respect me because I physically abuse them. Instead, I will just wear them down with 15 pages of lines and standing on one foot for an hour. That'll get 'em.
Today the students were better. Not great, but better. The photos I have attached were taken today. The first photo is my new way to deal with toys. I simply take the toys, and tape them to the board. These are all of the toys I collected in my first period. The sentences written on the board are from notes I intercepted in that same period. It was a very productive math class.
I promise, life isn't that bad. I am happy. I am enjoying work. This week has been the exception, and I had to write about it!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
I was told I was good in the sack.
The second round of English Camp has now come and gone, and it was just as exciting. The surprise of sharing a room with students, painfully loud karaoke and required hawaiian shirt uniforms were all gone, but that didn't keep this English Camp from being equally entertaining.
For one, I was no longer allowed to work with Koreana. The Thai teachers decided to split up the pairs of teachers and reassign us people to work with. Koreana now had to work with Simon and I was with Paul. Why? We don't know. The other four teachers still had the same groups. So we smiled and did as we were told. Paul and I made up new games and prepared for the meeting at 9, no 1, no 2, no 11. Well, it happened at some point during the day.
During the meeting new shirts were discussed. Our pink and blue hawaiian shirts from the last English Camp were okay, but the teachers decided we should get a new style of the blue one. This conversation lasted about 15 minutes. It was ridiculous. So Paul and I played tic tac toe. When the teachers finally agreed on the type of shirt and color they asked for sizes. Considering my last shirt was an XL and absolutely humongous, I decided to ask for an L. Everyone seemed to accept that answer... until Teacher Lawan found out. She told me that she wears an L, so there is no way that I wear an L. I told her, "no problem. I wear what size you think!" Yes, I dumb down my English here.
She had me try on a mens L, and decided that it fit me well. I thought she was joking. But why did I have to wear a men's shirt now? Oh, okay okay. So she handed me the women's L. And look at that! It fit! Later that afternoon I was told that my shirt was on my desk. I picked it up and headed home. And then I realized I had been given a women's XXL. Welcome to my life.
On the way to English Camp I came prepared with a variety of Disney movies. And luckily, it beat out karaoke in the vote. Everything was going just right. Paul and I had been assigned to the back of the bus. We sat in the very last row with one of my students while all of the students very quietly watched the movie. My student was acting a little funny, but that seemed about par for him. When we were about 20 minutes from the resort it happened. My student threw up. Everywhere. Paul shifted to the opposite side of the seat while I made a run for a plastic bag and tissues. Ew. The worst part was, when we finally arrived at the resort, Ken wasn't given the opportunity to change! He ran around in throw up pants all day!
English Camp was about average. I had a crier around bed time, but the kids were exhausted and passed out. I was forced to sing my camp songs and basically secure my spot as MC for next year's camps. I was also forced to take part in the sack race. Twice I had to jump into an almost empty sack of sugar to hop around the room. Luckily, I am very talented, and I won both times. My Thai teacher came up to me after the races and said, "Meaghan, you very good in sack." "Well, thanks. I have been told that before." If only they knew what they were saying. Teacher Tuey came up to me later and said, "Oooohh, you very good in the sack." "Thank you. I have had some practice." Heck, if you have a language barrier to deal with, you might as well have fun with it!
For one, I was no longer allowed to work with Koreana. The Thai teachers decided to split up the pairs of teachers and reassign us people to work with. Koreana now had to work with Simon and I was with Paul. Why? We don't know. The other four teachers still had the same groups. So we smiled and did as we were told. Paul and I made up new games and prepared for the meeting at 9, no 1, no 2, no 11. Well, it happened at some point during the day.
During the meeting new shirts were discussed. Our pink and blue hawaiian shirts from the last English Camp were okay, but the teachers decided we should get a new style of the blue one. This conversation lasted about 15 minutes. It was ridiculous. So Paul and I played tic tac toe. When the teachers finally agreed on the type of shirt and color they asked for sizes. Considering my last shirt was an XL and absolutely humongous, I decided to ask for an L. Everyone seemed to accept that answer... until Teacher Lawan found out. She told me that she wears an L, so there is no way that I wear an L. I told her, "no problem. I wear what size you think!" Yes, I dumb down my English here.
She had me try on a mens L, and decided that it fit me well. I thought she was joking. But why did I have to wear a men's shirt now? Oh, okay okay. So she handed me the women's L. And look at that! It fit! Later that afternoon I was told that my shirt was on my desk. I picked it up and headed home. And then I realized I had been given a women's XXL. Welcome to my life.
On the way to English Camp I came prepared with a variety of Disney movies. And luckily, it beat out karaoke in the vote. Everything was going just right. Paul and I had been assigned to the back of the bus. We sat in the very last row with one of my students while all of the students very quietly watched the movie. My student was acting a little funny, but that seemed about par for him. When we were about 20 minutes from the resort it happened. My student threw up. Everywhere. Paul shifted to the opposite side of the seat while I made a run for a plastic bag and tissues. Ew. The worst part was, when we finally arrived at the resort, Ken wasn't given the opportunity to change! He ran around in throw up pants all day!Monday, January 11, 2010
Oh, what a night!
Last night was wonderful. I was very nervous about Skyping with the family, but that was definitely one of my top 3 Skype experiences. The Garvey Christmas is my favorite weekend of the year, and I am very grateful that I was able to be a part of it. I spoke to my mom a few times about the idea of Skyping, but I had decided against it. I thought it would be too hard for me to see everyone together and literally be half a world away. I don't know if it was the fun day fishing, the beer I drank, or the delicious noodles and fish balls, but I am glad I spoke to everyone!
Now, as for the fishing trip I explained to everyone, here are the photos. For those of you that weren't lucky enough to talk to me, I'll give you the quick summary. Yesterday, I went fishing with a few friends. We drove in a huge cell phone promotional van filled with people, food and beer, and ended up on a farm. The people that own the farm had decided to dig themselves a small pond and stock it with fish. We sat between two man made ponds, nearly sliding into the water anytime we moved. Actually, two people did fall in the water, but that isn't the point. We were there to fish. But fishing is a loose term. The Thai men stripped down to their boxers and jumped into the water with nets, rusty metal buckets and sticks. As one person beat the water with the sticks to scare the fish, the other men attempted to trap them. There were fishing poles, but they were used far less frequently than the nets and sticks. It was an all around interesting day, to say the least. The men did catch quite a few fish, including a few scary ones! Some of the fish had more teeth than my students!For those of you hooked on Skype now, my name is meaghandooley. Creative, eh? If you do not have a webcam, we can still talk as though we did last night, but I won't be able to see you. You will be able to see me, however. You can also always email me at mdooley87@gmail.com. And if you have any more questions, I will be happy to take them from all readers, new and old alike.
Friday, January 8, 2010
A Day Off... Not!
Wednesday, January 30. The school was out of control. Students were buzzing about. Parents were carrying bags filled with presents. Another day of classes lost to partying.
Each of the students brought a present for the class raffle and lots of presents for Teacher Meaghan. The food was out of control. We literally did not have enough shelf space for everything. I lost my desk to the collection of snacks for the party. It was a day of chaos. I have have gotten pretty good at dealing with those days, if I do say so myself. I did my best to go with the flow. I partied when they said "sanook" and taught math whenever I could fit it in. The day went off without a problem, and I won hand lotion from The Face Shop in the raffle.
After school I hurried home to finish packing for our very brief New Year's trip. Koreana and I were heading down south again. A few of our friends from orientation were going to Koh Phi Phi for the weekend, and we decided to join the group. It was a long trip for only two nights, but we really wanted to see our friends. Most of them are within 2 hours of each other and often travel together on the weekends. Koreana and I are way too far removed from the crowd to join in any spontaneous travel, so this was our chance. We packed our very small carry on backpacks, and headed to the staff party.
We were told about the staff party on our very first day at Anuban Khon Kaen. All of the foreign teachers said we wouldn't believe it. It is definitely the best staff party ever. And as soon as we arrived, I could see what the buzz was about. There was a calf rotating over a fire, two Singha beer trucks, 3 tables filled with Spy wine coolers, and food everywhere. The staff lady boys were performing and the karaoke was in full swing by the time we arrived.
By the time the raffle began most staff members were well on their way to very good nights, and the beer was still flowing. The raffle was astonishing. There were at least 10 refrigerators, 5 hot water showers, 10 microwaves, 20 televisions, 40 fans, 40 hot water heaters, sheets, towels, blankets, and even gold! I was told I don't know where the funding comes from to buy these raffle items, so for now, I'm keeping it that way. It didn't take long for me to win a very large fan. Koreana won a DVD player, and we were pretty excited. We hid our presents up in our classrooms, and headed to the bus station. But wait! Before we left Teacher Lawan gave us very, very good news! She told us that class was cancelled on Monday. No school! This was great. It was a bummer that we hadn't planned our flights for the extra day, but we were excited regardless.
Our weekend in Phi Phi was wonderful. It was great to catch up with all of our friends. And what we thought would be a group of 7, turned into about 35 CIEE people from orientation. It was crazy, but just what we wanted. We enjoyed buckets on the beach under hundreds of fireworks at the stroke of midnight, and we were still able to go on a full day snorkeling trip the next morning. With our short time on the island, we had to fit it all in! The snorkeling was the best we have done in Thailand so far. While our trip was brief we were very grateful for the time away, and excited for our day off in Khon Kaen!
We returned to Khon Kaen Saturday evening. Sunday we hung out with our new friend Paul. He was happy to have us back in town, and very jealous of our Koh Phi Phi adventures. Paul's Thai friends are also in love with Koreana, so they were psyched when they heard we were back. We went to Paul's house Sunday night and played with his puppy and attempted to talk to his Thai friends. It was really fun, and a good reminder of how much we enjoy the friends we are making in Khon Kaen.
When Monday rolled around Koreana and I slept in. It was wonderful. We were planning to see Avatar in 3D with Paul later, so we took our time getting up and started. At around 1 pm I received a phone call from Teacher Lawan. I knew she was just calling to make sure we were back from our trip. Boy, was I wrong. "School open today." What?! At first I thought she was just mixing up the words "today" and "tomorrow." But, no. School really was open. Koreana and I were in town! We weren't doing anything and we missed school. It was ridiculous. Why did she wait to call me at 1 pm? And, then she asked me if I was coming in! How ridiculous. The students had early dismissal at 2:30, but she wanted me to come in because "it really hard for me alone." Well, sorry, but I am not coming in for one hour because it's hard for you. And, I have a movie to see!
So, Koreana, Paul and I went to Avatar. It was amazing and I highly recommend it. The 3D was a little hard on my eyes, but it was totally worth it. The three of us played hooky. Paul never even received a phone call to tell him we had school! Weird. Mai pen rai!
Each of the students brought a present for the class raffle and lots of presents for Teacher Meaghan. The food was out of control. We literally did not have enough shelf space for everything. I lost my desk to the collection of snacks for the party. It was a day of chaos. I have have gotten pretty good at dealing with those days, if I do say so myself. I did my best to go with the flow. I partied when they said "sanook" and taught math whenever I could fit it in. The day went off without a problem, and I won hand lotion from The Face Shop in the raffle.
After school I hurried home to finish packing for our very brief New Year's trip. Koreana and I were heading down south again. A few of our friends from orientation were going to Koh Phi Phi for the weekend, and we decided to join the group. It was a long trip for only two nights, but we really wanted to see our friends. Most of them are within 2 hours of each other and often travel together on the weekends. Koreana and I are way too far removed from the crowd to join in any spontaneous travel, so this was our chance. We packed our very small carry on backpacks, and headed to the staff party. 
By the time the raffle began most staff members were well on their way to very good nights, and the beer was still flowing. The raffle was astonishing. There were at least 10 refrigerators, 5 hot water showers, 10 microwaves, 20 televisions, 40 fans, 40 hot water heaters, sheets, towels, blankets, and even gold! I was told I don't know where the funding comes from to buy these raffle items, so for now, I'm keeping it that way. It didn't take long for me to win a very large fan. Koreana won a DVD player, and we were pretty excited. We hid our presents up in our classrooms, and headed to the bus station. But wait! Before we left Teacher Lawan gave us very, very good news! She told us that class was cancelled on Monday. No school! This was great. It was a bummer that we hadn't planned our flights for the extra day, but we were excited regardless.
We returned to Khon Kaen Saturday evening. Sunday we hung out with our new friend Paul. He was happy to have us back in town, and very jealous of our Koh Phi Phi adventures. Paul's Thai friends are also in love with Koreana, so they were psyched when they heard we were back. We went to Paul's house Sunday night and played with his puppy and attempted to talk to his Thai friends. It was really fun, and a good reminder of how much we enjoy the friends we are making in Khon Kaen.
When Monday rolled around Koreana and I slept in. It was wonderful. We were planning to see Avatar in 3D with Paul later, so we took our time getting up and started. At around 1 pm I received a phone call from Teacher Lawan. I knew she was just calling to make sure we were back from our trip. Boy, was I wrong. "School open today." What?! At first I thought she was just mixing up the words "today" and "tomorrow." But, no. School really was open. Koreana and I were in town! We weren't doing anything and we missed school. It was ridiculous. Why did she wait to call me at 1 pm? And, then she asked me if I was coming in! How ridiculous. The students had early dismissal at 2:30, but she wanted me to come in because "it really hard for me alone." Well, sorry, but I am not coming in for one hour because it's hard for you. And, I have a movie to see!So, Koreana, Paul and I went to Avatar. It was amazing and I highly recommend it. The 3D was a little hard on my eyes, but it was totally worth it. The three of us played hooky. Paul never even received a phone call to tell him we had school! Weird. Mai pen rai!
Monday, January 4, 2010
The Big EC
English Camp 2009. Two full days of English immersion. Two days of English songs, games, and activities all run by native English speakers.
That would make sense, wouldn't it? Well, this is Anuban Khon Kaen, so English Camp did not quite fit this description. More accurately, it was a title used to require foreign teachers to attend and supervise. If the field trip were named Thai Camp, none of us would have to go, and the Thai teachers wouldn't have had babysitters for the students!
The Planning:
English Camp was planned for the end of November. Then the beginning of December. Then the end of December, and so on. Basically, we knew to have our bags packed in case we received calls that EC would start in the morning. Planning, however, went on for ages. For two hours at a time all of the teachers in the English Program would be required to attend meetings about the camp. Who was with the students during these times? Good question. I have no idea. Probably no one. The meetings were mostly conducted in Thai because the head of the English Program, and my Thai teacher, cannot speak English. Hmmm.... The best part about the meetings were when we finally received the English translation. The Thai teachers would literally lecture the foreign teachers for 10 minutes at a time before it was translated. When Dave would finally translate, it would come down to one or two sentences stating, "please stay with the children in the rooms. Don't let them move the furniture, there have been problems with that in the past." Wait, Dave, was that it? They just spent 10 minutes talking, and that was it? No wonder nothing is ever accomplished around here.
We each had to plan stations for groups of 45 students to attend at a time. We would have an hour with each group. There would be two foreign teachers and one Thai assistant working each station. The activities were to be focused around English. All of the foreign teachers came prepared to one of the many meetings with activities and lists of materials. We were ripped apart. For one, all of the explanations had to be translated as we explained... aren't these teachers in the English Program?! Why can't they speak English? Well, I am going to have to get over that. But, as we explained, the teachers tore all of the games and activities apart. Either they didn't involve enough English, or they weren't appropriate for the age group, or the group of students would be too large. It was always something.
I walked away from the meetings very discouraged. But thank goodness for the experienced foreign teachers in the building. They very quickly explained to me that the teachers will tell us to change the activities, rip us apart, and we will ignore them. Basically, the teachers won't know any better when we are at the camp. And, they want the activities to seem very educational when the program is presented to the vice principal for approval. But, it is camp! All of the foreign teachers understand this. The activities are supposed to be fun and exciting. And of course the students will speak English, because we don't speak Thai!
The Journey to Camp:
Holy Moly. Thailand loves karaoke. In every mall in the city there are huge hallways of karaoke rooms. There are are at least 30 karaoke rooms in the old mall alone. The school children flock there every day after school to scream their little hearts out in front of a big tv screen. I knew this was a popular activity, but I didn't realize it happened on the busses. The bus was to leave school at 7:30 am. I arrived at 6, as instructed, and I waited. I waited for teachers to arrive. I waited for the busses to arrive. I waited for students to arrive. But this is Thailand, times are just suggestions.
When we finally loaded the double decker bus, I was relieved to get on the road. We were only 45 minutes late, so I thought we were doing well. But then we stopped. And we waited. We waited for another 45 minutes for a student that was running late. We were finally on our way to Khao Yai, a national park about 2 hours south of Khon Kaen. Even though we were late, we had planned not to stop during the trip, and we should still arrive at reasonable hour. Teacher Am On turned on Monsters vs. Aliens in Thai and the students were ecstatic. Teacher Meaghan was even more ecstatic. The students were quiet! They were listening to the movie. I started to drift asleep, and the noise began. As it turns out, about 45 minutes into the movie, Teacher Am On decided the G rated movie was too inappropriate for third through sixth graders. So instead, drum roll please, it was time for karaoke.
I have never heard this volume of sound come from a bus before. Every other seat had a massive speaker pounding the Thai karaoke music. And even better, there were 4 microphones on the bus. And all of them were being used. As soon as a song would end, the students would begin screaming into the microphones for another song. It was ear piercing. My head was pounding. And now, they wanted Teacher Meaghan to sing. Anytime a song title was in English I would be passed a microphone and asked to sing. I had never heard of a single one of the songs! It was madness.
Of course we ended up stopping along the trip, and our two hour journey took four. I just continued to smile, because I was sure this was only the beginning.
The Camp:
When we finally arrived it was lunch time. The morning activities would have to be skipped, and the schedule was being changed. Our hour with every group was cut down to 45 minutes. The 45 minutes were later cut down to 25 minutes. The Thai teachers did a lot of speaking in Thai, and the foreign teachers did quite a bit of waiting.
We brought different people from the school including the principal, vice principal and other authority figures. Each of these people said a few words at the opening ceremony, and disappeared. We later found out that they had taken the school van to go shopping at the outlet center. Unfortunately, all of the luggage that the foreign teachers brought was in the van.
The one thing that had not yet been taken over was the evening show. The foreign teachers had put together a variety of different things including a Miss English Camp Pageant where the students would dress up the male foreign teachers. We had also planned a limbo competition for the Thai teachers and various other games, activities and songs. Well, surprise, surprise! The Thai teachers took over again. And English camp became more and more like Thai camp with foreign teacher accessories.
The camp was interesting, and not at all what had been planned for hours on end. But, it was pretty wonderful to be off campus and getting to know the students better. Here is a link to the video of different student performances from the bus ride and the show that the Thai teachers took over. You should have a look, these kids are pretty crazy!
That would make sense, wouldn't it? Well, this is Anuban Khon Kaen, so English Camp did not quite fit this description. More accurately, it was a title used to require foreign teachers to attend and supervise. If the field trip were named Thai Camp, none of us would have to go, and the Thai teachers wouldn't have had babysitters for the students!
The Planning:
English Camp was planned for the end of November. Then the beginning of December. Then the end of December, and so on. Basically, we knew to have our bags packed in case we received calls that EC would start in the morning. Planning, however, went on for ages. For two hours at a time all of the teachers in the English Program would be required to attend meetings about the camp. Who was with the students during these times? Good question. I have no idea. Probably no one. The meetings were mostly conducted in Thai because the head of the English Program, and my Thai teacher, cannot speak English. Hmmm.... The best part about the meetings were when we finally received the English translation. The Thai teachers would literally lecture the foreign teachers for 10 minutes at a time before it was translated. When Dave would finally translate, it would come down to one or two sentences stating, "please stay with the children in the rooms. Don't let them move the furniture, there have been problems with that in the past." Wait, Dave, was that it? They just spent 10 minutes talking, and that was it? No wonder nothing is ever accomplished around here.
We each had to plan stations for groups of 45 students to attend at a time. We would have an hour with each group. There would be two foreign teachers and one Thai assistant working each station. The activities were to be focused around English. All of the foreign teachers came prepared to one of the many meetings with activities and lists of materials. We were ripped apart. For one, all of the explanations had to be translated as we explained... aren't these teachers in the English Program?! Why can't they speak English? Well, I am going to have to get over that. But, as we explained, the teachers tore all of the games and activities apart. Either they didn't involve enough English, or they weren't appropriate for the age group, or the group of students would be too large. It was always something.I walked away from the meetings very discouraged. But thank goodness for the experienced foreign teachers in the building. They very quickly explained to me that the teachers will tell us to change the activities, rip us apart, and we will ignore them. Basically, the teachers won't know any better when we are at the camp. And, they want the activities to seem very educational when the program is presented to the vice principal for approval. But, it is camp! All of the foreign teachers understand this. The activities are supposed to be fun and exciting. And of course the students will speak English, because we don't speak Thai!
The Journey to Camp:
Holy Moly. Thailand loves karaoke. In every mall in the city there are huge hallways of karaoke rooms. There are are at least 30 karaoke rooms in the old mall alone. The school children flock there every day after school to scream their little hearts out in front of a big tv screen. I knew this was a popular activity, but I didn't realize it happened on the busses. The bus was to leave school at 7:30 am. I arrived at 6, as instructed, and I waited. I waited for teachers to arrive. I waited for the busses to arrive. I waited for students to arrive. But this is Thailand, times are just suggestions.
When we finally loaded the double decker bus, I was relieved to get on the road. We were only 45 minutes late, so I thought we were doing well. But then we stopped. And we waited. We waited for another 45 minutes for a student that was running late. We were finally on our way to Khao Yai, a national park about 2 hours south of Khon Kaen. Even though we were late, we had planned not to stop during the trip, and we should still arrive at reasonable hour. Teacher Am On turned on Monsters vs. Aliens in Thai and the students were ecstatic. Teacher Meaghan was even more ecstatic. The students were quiet! They were listening to the movie. I started to drift asleep, and the noise began. As it turns out, about 45 minutes into the movie, Teacher Am On decided the G rated movie was too inappropriate for third through sixth graders. So instead, drum roll please, it was time for karaoke.
I have never heard this volume of sound come from a bus before. Every other seat had a massive speaker pounding the Thai karaoke music. And even better, there were 4 microphones on the bus. And all of them were being used. As soon as a song would end, the students would begin screaming into the microphones for another song. It was ear piercing. My head was pounding. And now, they wanted Teacher Meaghan to sing. Anytime a song title was in English I would be passed a microphone and asked to sing. I had never heard of a single one of the songs! It was madness.
Of course we ended up stopping along the trip, and our two hour journey took four. I just continued to smile, because I was sure this was only the beginning.
The Camp:
We brought different people from the school including the principal, vice principal and other authority figures. Each of these people said a few words at the opening ceremony, and disappeared. We later found out that they had taken the school van to go shopping at the outlet center. Unfortunately, all of the luggage that the foreign teachers brought was in the van.
The one thing that had not yet been taken over was the evening show. The foreign teachers had put together a variety of different things including a Miss English Camp Pageant where the students would dress up the male foreign teachers. We had also planned a limbo competition for the Thai teachers and various other games, activities and songs. Well, surprise, surprise! The Thai teachers took over again. And English camp became more and more like Thai camp with foreign teacher accessories.
The camp was interesting, and not at all what had been planned for hours on end. But, it was pretty wonderful to be off campus and getting to know the students better. Here is a link to the video of different student performances from the bus ride and the show that the Thai teachers took over. You should have a look, these kids are pretty crazy!
Oh, and I almost forgot! Students and teachers sleep together! Teacher Meaghan and 5 third grade girls all sharing one room with three twin beds. Oh my.
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