Hey everyone!
Life in Thailand is great. I’m coming to the end of my TESOL course and nearing the beginning of my job as a teacher! Ending TESOL is going to be bittersweet. I’m glad that I’ll be done with long days of classes, but that also means I’ll be leaving Hua Hin and the people who have grown to be my family. However, I’m trying to keep in mind that I’m moving on to do what I’m passionate about and that we’ll visit each other on breaks and weekends. We’ll make the long distance work </3 I’m being a total drama queen. No ragrets.
Today’s blog will have 3 parts:
Immigration Raids Our School
Rescue Paws
MY PLACEMENT!!!!!!
This week was pretty ordinary. We made lesson plans, presented them, and ate rice for every meal (I actually think I’m going to turn into a piece of rice). On Wednesday, our day of classes was cut short when immigration showed up at our school. Uh oh. While we had no idea what was happening, all of our teachers and coordinators were in a panic. We were on the way down the stairs of the school for lunch when our teacher called us all back up and had us walk to the other side of the school to exit from another staircase. Apparently the immigration police were in the stairwell we normally take. Sneaking around them felt like trying to crawl out the back window of a party when the cops bust. It was a weird situation, yet oddly entertaining. We’re all there legally (I think?), but many of the teachers didn’t have their visas, work permits, and passports on them, so they had to retrieve them from home. The immigration police then spent the afternoon our program. Hectic, buuuuuuut, that meant we got the day to ourselves. It was only 11 and we normally get out at 4, so we were like kids in a candy shop. Many headed to the beach, but I just hung out by the pool with some friends. It was a wonderful afternoon. Blessing in disguise, if you will. I’m still hoping we don’t get deported (fingers crossed).
On to a more serious matter (yes, this is more serious to me than being deported), I got a few pieces of sad news this week. The program I’m here with, XploreAsia, is partnered with a non-profit animal shelter called Rescue Paws. You’ve probably seen my multiple Facebook posts about it. My class and I are pretty deeply invested in it because our TESOL instructor runs the shelter and his passion for the animals has definitely rubbed off on us. This week, the adorable puppy, Jill, that I met a few weeks ago died of varvovirus, and another was killed by a car. I love animals. Sometimes more that I love people. So this really upset me to hear. I’m not much of a crier, but I’ll admit I teared up in class. I’m never one to ask for money on social media or in real life (I always hated having to sell things for school/sports/girl scouts), but I’m a huge advocate for this shelter, I really care about the cause, and am really hoping to get some donations from my friends and family for them. Rescue Paws provides vaccinations, food, shelter, medical care, and sterilizations for the massive stray population in the area (as I’ve said before, they’re as common as squirrels—much sweeter though). They also help to provide them with loving homes in Thailand, in the US, and Canada! They currently need more funds to get started on an adoption center here in Hua Hin. If you get the opportunity to donate, please do. It’s an amazing organization, and I can guarantee that your $ will be well spent. Because of the strength of the USD in Thailand, even small donations actually make huge differences. Close friends and fam, my birthday is in one month. I’m not in the country. Birthday ideas (cough cough, wink wink). Here’s the link to donate/share on Facebook:
Rant over, I’m done asking for your $, and I have very exciting news. I GOT MY PLACEMENT. I found out on Wednesday some details about where I’ll be teaching and living for the next 5 months of my life.
Drumroll please…
Ubon Ratchathani in Isan (northeastern Thailand)! I’ll be teaching at a school called Benchama Maharat. My program initially misspelled the name (Benjama Maharch), so until literally 10 minutes ago, I couldn’t find a thing about it and was convinced it either didn’t exist, or was so terrible that no one dared post about it. *Sigh of relief* The school looks super legit, and I’m very nervous. I’m sure I’ll be fine. When I was told I’d be teaching in Isan, I imagined living in a tiny village on a rice paddy with about 10 students and nothing to do. The idea actually kind of appealed to me. However, Ubon is a city (not touristy though), and I couldn’t be more excited! The school itself has about 5,000 students and 5 foreign teachers. My jaw dropped when I heard that. Coming from Siena College, a school of about 3,000, I can’t imagine working at a school of 5,000. Like, where do they put all the kids? I guess I’ll find out soon! Though I was hoping for cute, tiny, little nuggets, I found out I’ll be teaching 13-18 year olds for over 20 hours/ week of actual teaching, and I’m just as pumped. Hopefully they appreciate my enthusiasm for teaching as much as the little kiddos do. I believe that my school is providing me with/paying for my accommodations, but I’m not 100% sure. I’ll have to talk to my agent (it feels so cool to say that). I do know for sure that the school will provide me with a week at a hotel until that is all set up in order. I start ASAP, meaning as soon as I get my TESOL certificate, I’m heading to Ubon. The school will also help me with my visa and work permit, and I get paid breaks (if I choose to extend my contract which ends March 11th, which I’m already seriously considering).
My school!!!
Though Ubon Ratchathani doesn’t seem to be the most bumpin’ city in Thailand, I’m super excited to get the genuine experience and hopefully make lots of Thai friends. I still need to do more research on it, but it seems pretty cool, and I’m very pleased! I have a few other friends in Isan (though they’re hours and hours away). I also have friends placed in AMAZING places. Like Phuket. And Krabi. All sorts of beachy cities that I can visit on weekends/breaks
Here are a few links to learn about Ubon:
Now I’m off to write lesson plans, research Ubon Ratchathani, and get started enjoyed my 3 day weekend. Big plans this weekend to visit a waterfall, go to the beach, eat Mexican food, and revisit Monkey Mountain.
Lots of love—Erin