TEFL in Thailand: touching down in Bangkok

Our intern Jasmine-Leann has touched down in Thailand for her TEFL internship. Come with her on a journey from Khao San Rd to the classroom!

“Errmm right, okay, how do I? Where should I? Oh my goodness. No I don’t want to see a ping pong show. Excuse me. Thank you.” Welcome to 90% of my thoughts in Khaosan road in Bangkok. An assault on the senses might just be an understatement. I have never seen such a place like it! Or smelt a place like it for that matter.

Khaosan Road is a hub for British, Australian and Germans to have a good time; an abundance of alcohol, stalls selling scorpions and cheap clothes. A brilliant night out! After two days of getting my feet on the ground and recovering from my flight journeys I was soon on my way back to the airport to meet other eager interns and begin our journey.

After being greeted by our in country team in the beautiful lobby of our hotel we were given the afternoon to be free, rest and freshen up before dinner. But lo and behold, after a few days of being adventurous with foreign food the worst had happened. Being typically British and having a stomach as weak as a piece of cotton I resorted to making the bathroom my new home. As humorous as this may sound, food poisoning is not just to the effect of the rear, it is a whole body experience. After being taken to the hospital with an in-country team member and my room mate, I was seen to so quickly and with the upmost care. I cannot speak more kindly of the Thai hospital and their staff within. 3 days of solid sleep and I was right as rain again. So do not panic my friends, if you end up in a sticky situation it will not be the end of your trip!

I finally joined the school a day late and was greeted by an abundance of children outside the car eagerly waiting my arrival with the biggest smiles on their faces.

It is refreshing to be greeted by smiling faces every single time you step outside the door. And trust me it is, every, single, time. We are luckily enough to be housed on the school grounds and on the doorstep of the playground. Thai schools enforce only a positive attitude with lots of smiles and the children being the number 1 priority. Everyone is so unbelievably grateful to have us here, we are being given gifts daily by the teachers and students and they are trying their best to make sure we are comfortable and happy.

I feel I finally may be doing some good with this job, investing in my karma and god forbid… enjoying the workplace, instead of constantly working towards metrics that we insist on living by in our modern day society: “How much did I earn today? How much do I weigh today? How much free time do I have today? What size dress is that?” The only quantity I have to live by is the level of fun in my classroom.

As I walk surrounded by happy children all desperate to just high five and hug me shouting “MORNING TEACHER MORNING TEACHER” I feel I may not experience that typical “Monday” feeling this week. And how refreshing it will be.