This is Thailand y'all...Part 1

What a crazy, hectic 3 days it’s been in my world.  I did get moved to a new apartment that had a flushing toilet and was just better overall.  School started on Monday and I was assigned grades M2 and M4, which are basically 7^th and 9^th graders.  The kids were decent.  I had one boy that blew me a kiss as he was leaving.  I fell in love with him.  He earned the spot of favorite in just a short 45 minutes.  There was the one class that was awful.  The girls were the worst.  One boy punched another so hard in the nuts that he was on the ground in tears.  I was never so happy for that period to end!  There were some comments made by a Thai teacher to me, which in America would be considered extremely rude.  But I was assured she didn’t mean it rudely and it was just the way Thailand is. 

            The culture shock was definitely affecting me.  I was trying really hard to push through it.  On Wednesday afternoon, I forced myself to start a conversation with one of the Thai teachers in the teacher’s room.  She was being very friendly.  She was explaining why there were so many parents on campus.  If a student didn’t pass classes the year before, they have until the middle of June to do stuff (stuff like possibly lessons, but also chores or anything the teacher sees fit) to pass the class. But a parent must also come to the school and make sure they are going to class and doing the work to make up the class.

            At the same time, three M6 students (seniors) came into the teacher area and started talking to her.  They were asking if I was interested in tutoring them after school.  One wanted to just improve his English and one wanted to go into the tourist industry and would have to pass an English test to be able to get a job.  She said that it was completely fine for me to tutor them.  That they would be in groups of 4 and would pay me 200 baht per group to tutor them twice a week.  That’s an extra 400 baht a week and I’d get to know the students better and have something to do in the evenings.  I spent about 30 minutes talking to the boy that just wanted to improve his English and finding out things I could teach him and his likes and interests to make it fun and interesting for him.  We were both really excited about it!

            As he left the room, I checked my email on my phone and got this email. 

I would like to inform you Skihiu school is no longer contract with (agency) due to contract issue. We would like to offer another school for you. The schools' name is Sakolraj it is located in Sakonnakhon province. You will be teaching IEP Program (4 skills such as Listening, Speaking, Writing, and Reading) for Mathayom level 1 - 5. Let me know if you are interested.

I apologize for the any inconvenience that this may cause you. The consultants will meet and talk to you about Transportation. We will cover the cost of transportation.

I was in shock at first.  I messaged Joe, my point of contact with my agency.  He called me extremely apologetic and said that he was just learning of it all too…in the same email.  While I was slightly freaking out, I realized that this was a second chance.  I wasn’t 100% happy where I was and while I could make the best of it, I was being given the opportunity at something possibly better.  Even though I was going to pack everything up once again and not be able to tutor those students, it was a good thing.  I got on board and was looking forward to moving to a different part of Thailand, a little bigger area and now closer to Laos and Vietnam…more opportunity to travel to other countries!