Up until last Friday I had been spending my days trying to meet as many teachers and students as possible, but during lesson time everyone was obviously busy.Without a timetable or lessons, I always resorted to the computer room. I was grateful for this for the first day or two as it allowed me a chance to ease into the school before teaching. But it definitely started to get tedious...
Thursday 25th July was my birthday, so I hoped maybe this would be the day it'd change and I'd actually do something. No luck. In fact, my birthday generally wasn't really acknowledged which is a shame. I'd only told my mentor about it, and I didn't expect anything because I'd only just got there really, but I can't deny that spending my 20th in a computer room at school and then back in my accommodation reading, to then go to bed at 8pm was a wee bit lonely to say the least! And not how I'd expected to spend my birthday in Thailand... but hey ho. It just means late celebrations in Bangkok this weekend with other ETA's!
However, one thing seriously cheered me up. On my first day here, a week earlier, 3 of the older students (13 years old) approached me and were desperate to practice their English on me. So there they were, heads in their English dictionaries, firing questions at me for at least half an hour.
'What is your name?'
'Where do you come from?'
'How old are you?'
One of these questions was 'When is your birthday?'.
I had totally forgotten this, but they had remembered. On my birthday, they came up to me with happy birthday notes and a beautiful broach. After a pretty rubbish day, I definitely welled up a bit. They may have spelt my name wrong but it absolutely made my 20th, and is what I will remember when looking back in years! I'm not supposed to have favourites, but if I could...
It basically sums up the Thai children in general; the sweetest kids I have ever met in my life. Seriously, I can't even explain it. I don't mean to keep being so critical of the way kids behave in the UK, but it does make you think. I just can't imagine a child doing that in England - definitely not above the age of 10 anyway. I swear 'stroppy teenager' just doesn't exist here. Whilst England are very 'the kids are the future', Thailand is so hot on 'respect your elders'. I think a combination of the two would be perfect! I love that the kids here are so respectful - bowing whenever they see you, cleaning up after you, thanking you at every given opportunity for teaching them... But it can be a bit extreme.
For example, today at lunch, the water was on the other side of the table and just out of reach. Instead of standing up to reach it, my mentor called one of the students from the other side of the lunch room to come over and pour the water for us. I couldn't believe my eyes! Please don't misunderstand in thinking Purn - my mentor - is a nasty woman; she is absolutely lovely and has been my rock since being here. I guess it's just the done thing here.
The only times I have felt a bit homesick and lonely here have been in the evenings, because they make it absolutely impossible to feel that way whilst I'm at school. I am completely out of my depth, the first ever Western person in this town, I have been thrown into a culture that couldn't be more opposite to what I am used to - but I have never felt so welcomed in my life.
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