SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Note to self: When eating Thai food in Thailand, always test the waters before jumping right in. You will hugely regret the decision of doing a cannon ball. Thai food is spicy!!

I have now taught 3 days at Prang Ku Junior High School. There are roughly 2000 students at school. On my very first day I was informed that I need to give a speech in front of all the students at the mornings flag ceremony. With a microphone. Perhaps I could have been warned?

One of the many reasons that I chose to be an English teacher in Thailand was because I had hoped that it would help me get over 1 of my 3 biggest fears. They are - in no particular order:

1. Flying
2. Sharks
3. Public speaking

In college, I was that girl where if there was a project and part of the grade was to present in front of the class...I just happened to not show up on that day. It was usually only worth 5-10% of the grade on that particular project anyway. A mere smidgen in comparison to the amount of anxiety and fear that I place upon myself with the thought of actually standing up in front of the class. I'd rather take my chances, and get a little lesser grade. This was only the case if it was an individual project.

I'm not necessarily proud of this. It's just the truth. Which gets me back to the point of one of the many reason's why I'm here. Working on getting over that fear. Perhaps it was best to throw me in front of the firing squad as opposed to death by lethal injection. I did it. I got it over with.

One would think that I would be genetically blessed to be a descent teacher. My grandpa Jim was a Professor at Sacramento State in California. My Aunt Vella was a Professor at the University of Utah, and my own mother was a second grade teacher in California. Only time will tell.

Thai teachers feel it's important for the children to be able to talk and listen to a native English speaker. They feel this is hugely important for Thai kids future. The kids have sufficient English training. Their reading and writing skills are quite good. It's the listening and speaking skills that need encouraging. This is amplified by the fact that Thai kids are very shy.

Enter Lisa into the picture. I prepare fairly simple lessons each day. I started out with a questionnaire about themselves that they could work on with their fellow classmates. Some of them present in front of the class. Many of them want to show off their English skills, and they do a great job! We always end with elocution. The students ask me questions about myself. I get the same question every time. Do you have boyfriend? Answer: No. Second question. Why not? I don't know how to answer that. I find it humorous.

I've only been at school 3 days, and I've already come to a realization. High School kids are the same everywhere you go. You've got the "cool" kids. The smart kids. The jocks. The rockers. The bad asses who smoke behind the buildings during classes. The heckler in the back of the class that thinks they're funny. You've also got the "lady boys" (that's what Thai people call gay men), and so on and so forth. I'm in the middle of nowhere in rural Thailand, and I feel like I'm walking through the halls of Timpview High School. My surroundings may be different, they may look different, sound different, they may be in uniforms, and they may live in poverty. But it's all the same.