Highlights: I think the highlight of my trip was the occasion when I ran a bookmaking class for year 4. I wanted to do some crafts activities as that was my strength, and I managed to teach 10 year 4 students and the teacher how to make a sewn bound book without any Thai language! I was then asked to teach all of year 6 so I did the class for 60 students at once! It was mayhem, but even the naughty students were coming up to me proudly waving their books at me! It was a great feeling!
I think my host family were also a great highlight for me. I called her my 'Thai mum' and she loved it. She made a huge effort with us to make us welcome and show us the culture. Over the 6 weeks we were there her English improved massively as well, which was brilliant for her teaching.
Morning: I'd wake up at 6.45am and jump in the shower while my volunteering partner had a little lay in! Once I was ready I head downstairs for my Thai breakfast - rice and last nights dinner with a really good omelette. Our host family took us in the car to school at 7.30am. When you got there all the students would be running around cleaning the classrooms and would stop and wave at as we arrived. We'd have our first 1 or 2 lessons of the day with our primary classes.
Afternoon: The teachers would take us to lunch at a little restaurant in the village that did really nice 'pad-thai' or fried noodles or we'd have noodle soup or rice (there's a lot of rice!) After lunch we'd be back to lessons. In our spare time we'd plan our lessons or put up our English display we were making for the computer room. After the lessons were over there was usually a while where we'd play with the students, especially kindergarten! We'd head home about 5pm.
Evening: In the evening we'd go the market with our host and they'd pick out something unrecognizable from the vegetable stalls. Back at home they'd cook a traditional Thai dish for us, usually made up of several dishes and rice. I used the evenings to plan my lessons and resources for the next day and to keep a journal of my experiences. Bed at 10pm.