Laos trip

I finished school early on Friday, I set off at 3.30pm, one and a half hours earlier than usual. I went home, had a quick shower and packed a knapsack to last me five nights (two would be spent on overnight buses). Then myself and three colleagues got on a bus that would take sixteen hours until it reached Nongkhai, a town in Thailand where its possible to cross the boarder into Laos.

We had opted to leave one day only so that we could travel an extra three hours to the town of Vang Vieng, famous for tubing down a river lined with bars and for its stunning scenery. We got off our overnight bus, crossed the boarder (using another bus) into Laos, then got a private van straight to Vang Vieng. We had gotten a private van because we wanted to make it in time for tubing, which wouldn’t be possible on the public bus that didn’t leave for a few hours. We got out of the taxi in Vang Vieng, found a hostel straight away, got into our togs and set off for the river. There we hired tubes and got a tuk tuk down to the river. The tubing was basically 150 people  floating down a river from bar to bar until dark. After dark everyone heads back to a bar in town.  

The next day we had breakfast at one of the stunning ‘hangover bars.’ They are restaurants that overlook the river in Vang Vieng and has views of the surrounding hills. After a morning of relaxing in front of the views we got in a public van back to Veintiane, the capital city of Laos where we needed to go to the Thai Embassy to submit our documents for our visas. Vientiane is a city of 800,000 people. The buildings are French Influenced and the city is based along the Mekong River bank. Across the other side of the river is Thailand. Along the river bank had been the 2015 Vientiane Art Sculpture festival. There were huge elephants, eagles, and other sculptures made of sand. The school students like to ride down and hang out around the sculptures and swim in the river in the evenings. We decided to stay at Sihome guesthouse, which is very popular with the ‘Farangs’ (foreigners) for one reason or another. We went to sleep pretty early as the next day we had to get up early to line up at the Thai Embassy. We got a tuk tuk to the Thai Embassy the next morning to be there before 8am. Already a line stretched about 200meters out the building and down the road. WE had been told to wear respectable clothing so the two boys were in their teaching clothes and us girls in long skirts. We had our documents all prepared and our 2000 baht ready (the cost of the visa). After about an hour and a half waiting in life we got a number, then had to wait another hour for this number to be called. It was interesting waiting in line and talking to all of the other people who were getting visas. There were a number of English teachers like us, some yoga instructors and some people who were in relationships with Thai people and therefor wanted to stay.

Finally at 11.30am we had submitted our documents, left our passports over night and our fingers were crossed for a good result when we came back the next day.

The rest of the day I spent walking along the Mekong River Bank, getting a mango smoothie and getting sunburnt beside the pool. That evening I also checked out the markets on the river bank with a roommate from New York that I had just met. I got another smoothie and banana rote.

The thing that my colleagues and I struggled with was the translation from Thai Baht into Laos Kip, kip is much more of a weak currency so you end up with pocket full of thousand dollar notes that aren’t worth much at all. (a small bottle of water is at least 6000 kip).

The following day, we arrived back at 1.30pm after lunch on the river, lined up again, and got our non-immigrant B visas! The trip was a success. We then took another overnight bus back to Mae Sai, and went straight to school for a full day of teaching. 

Crossing the border

Living in a border town is an interesting experience. It means that no matter how small the town is; the hours that the border gates are open will be bustling and vibing, with border markets and street vendors prominent, as well as heavy traffic.

Crossing the border into Myanmar for the day is relatively easy, you have to bring your passport which gets stamped as well as 500 baht (20 New Zealand dollars). You get your passport examined, then have a brief meeting in a small room with an official who asks you why you are going through and what you are doing in Thailand. Because we are still on our tourist visas we were advised to mention nothing about work, and state the purpose as for tourist reasons. On return you find out how many days get added to your tourist visa. This is up to the discretion of the official on that particular day and I was praying for fifteen more days (which I was granted!) Not so lucky for a New Zealander who went a few weeks before me and only got 7 more days, meaning she would have to cross the border again in a weeks time. 

This is the river that separates Thailand and Myanmar, with Thailand on the right and Myanmar on the left. Apparently some of the Burmese people can be seen walking through the river to cross the border illegally. 

If you look closely you can see the yellow paint on my face. All of the Burmese women wear this mask to protect themselves from the sun as well as for decoration. 

Street view in Myanmar . 

Its interesting that when you cross the bridge into Myanmar, there is a half an hour time difference and the cars drive on the opposite side of the road. Being from New Zealand, an isolated country this was my first time walking across a border and it was a really strange experience! A thirty second walk and its a whole new world with a different written and spoken language, time zone, road rules and culture. 

The golden triangle refers to the meeting of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar where the growth and trade of Opium was and still is prominent. 

"The republic of the Union of Myanmar". 

The architecture in Myanmar is very different to Thailand, it has a British influence because of the British rule from 1824 to 1948. 

Village life and starting school

 This is a view from the top floor of PornpikulPittaya school. The school is large with between 1,300 and 1,500 students ranging from Anuban 1-4 (Kindergarten) Pratom 1-5 (middle school) and Matyom 1-5 (High school). I have 20 classes a week teaching all of Anuban 2 and Pratom 1-4.

Every morning there is a flag ceremony in which the students all sing the national anthem and watch while two students raise the flag of Thailand. 

Here is one of my colleagues sitting on a childs' chair in his EP (English Programme) kindergarten classroom. 

Each year level has its challenges and enjoyable benefits. I have really enjoyed teaching Pratom 4 -my highest grade as they are quick to pick up information and there is room for adding in extra language into the lessons. Anuban is very enjoyable although it takes a lot of energy playing games and incorporating English language into a fifty minute slot with 20 three year olds, especially when there are two or three classes back to back. 

The children that live across the road from me are beautiful Burmese children. They dont speak Thai or English but we can easily communicate with smiles and gestures. All the children in the village have opened my eyes to the benefits of living life simply. They are so happy and content in what they have available to them which isn't much. They dont have iPads, phones or computers yet I can see them happily playing with geckos and stones for hours on end. 

Mae Sai is beautiful, this was taken from the top of a temple overlooking the town. The sky is often much more smokey than this from the burning forests in the surrounding hills.

This is one of the local Mae Sai markets which has live eels, crabs, fish and sea snakes. Considering the ocean is a very long way from here Im not sure where they are getting all the seafood from, but its a very enjoyable visit nonetheless. 

Moving to Mae Sai

Mae sai: A border town in Northern Thailand used predominantly as a port for people wanting to cross over into Myanmar.

Although the population of Mae Sai is only 86,296; its a relatively busy and bustling town, with vehicles lined up daily to cross the bridge in Myanmar. 

There are some good food markets around and a fantastic market selling everything from clothes to electronics. These markets are right beside the border. They are sheltered from the sun and heat. 

The only downside of Mae Sai that I have noticed so far is that the taxis and tuk tuks here are non-existent which means that I have to learn to ride a scooter if I want any freedom in this town; a good goal but also daunting when I have already tipped off it twice. 

Mae sai is surrounded by stunning scenery. From the roof on our apartments is a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains where the hill-top tribes people live. The magical smoky look is actually caused by the burning of forests in the area. We have started doing daily yoga on the rooftop and our lovely landlord 'Boontawee' has already put yoga mats up there for us. 

The bus ride from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai took about five hours and went via Chiang Rai. The rural northern scenery is beautiful with lots of greenery; very different setting to the south of Thailand which is mostly beach and ocean. 

Bangkok to Chiang Mai

Bangkok:  After flying 11 hours from Sydney to Bangkok I was greeted by my school friend Pleng who took me on the sky train to her parents house where I was welcomed with a plate of freshly sliced mango. Thai people are extremely generous- 'krieng jai'= generosity 'naan jai'= fluid heart. Thai people also believe strongly in positive energy. You will notice that they find it difficult to say no, and when they do say no they say 'mai-chai' which actually translates as 'no-yes', a polite way to decline an offer. 

 It had worked out that I had arrived right in the middle of the Songkran festival. This is basically a giant water fight that celebrates the Thai New Years; because it's now the hottest time of the year in Thailand I also suspect it's an excuse to throw cold water on each other to cool down. We decided to go out to a big street party celebration somewhere in Bangkok other than Khao San road; which is consistently full of tourists. When we got to the party Pleng insisted that I was going to get soaking wet straight away and bought me a plastic protector for my phone and wallet. I didn't think it was necessary until about a minute later when a nice gentleman poured a bucket of freezing water over my head. 

During the night I was electrocuted by a soaking wet ATM machine and later had my all time favourite street snack: banana chocolate rottee. 

The following day Pleng took me to one of the many sky bars in Bangkok and I got ready for my long bus ride up North to Chiang Mai where I would be spending the following two weeks doing my TEFL course! 

http://www.thailandlife.com/songkran-festival/index.php

The SEE TEFL course in Chiang Mai began with a week of intensive classes and then a second week of teaching practices and observations. Because of the nature of the course, the group of 18 of us bonded quickly and became a very close group. There are many online TEFL courses that I looked into doing but I would highly recommend doing the TEFL course in the country that you will be teaching in as it gives you a great chance to learn about the culture and see what the schools will be like before being thrown in the deep end. 

The fruit in all of Thailand is extensive and relatively cheap. They also have every way of serving the fruit- shaken, iced, fried, dried, juiced etc... 

During our first week of TEFL training we were introduced to one of the main ways of planning TEFL lessons. This was the PPP method; Presentation, practice and production. We were shown examples of this way of teaching students from kindergarten age through to adults. We also began planning some of our own lessons and rehearsing these lessons with each other. In our second week we were lucky enough to be placed in schools for four teaching practices. We planned and carried out our own PPP classes and all four of our teaching practices were observed with feedback and marks given accordingly. It was intensive but extremely enjoyable, it was great to have each other to bounce ideas off and share resources.  

The markets in Chiang Mai are incredible. Particularly the Night Walking markets just inside the Moat at Chiang Mai. I went all the three Sundays that I was in Chiang Mai and found that it was best to go at about 5pm before all the crowds which get bigger after 8pm. You can easily have your dinner there very cheaply and try a range of great street foods. We had a strange experience on the last Sunday that we went when the whole market stopped still in their tracks and froze while the national anthem played. 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293917-d2233777-Reviews-Saturday_Night_Market_Walking_Street_Wua_Lai_Road-Chiang_Mai.html

Doing the TEFL course before your placement allows you to meet other people who are on the same journey as you. You may not all be placed together but can keep in touch and share experiences, as well as organising trips in your holidays or after your placement! 

Some of the schools in Thailand are beautifully decorated. This is Vinmantip School in Chiang Mai which was decorated as a castle- designed by the school directors daughter. 

The three TEFL teaching practices allows you to practice putting the PPP method into practice before you begin teaching at your placement school. It's a time to make mistakes and try out teaching techniques with the instructors giving you feedback on what you could have done differently. 

Thank you for reading and I will leave you with the beautiful Thai phrase 'mai pen rai' which translates as 'it is what it is.'