Zoom class for P2, 2nd graders.

All in; will I succeed?

In my previous post, I described how I had flown to Thailand during the height of the country’s Covid-19 crisis, which required much quarantine-time, expense, and faith that my goal to teach English would yield a successful outcome. In absorbing all of the hurdles and risk it took to realize my goal, I had pushed all my chips onto one number, like a stubborn, over-confident gambler. “All that remained was to see if my chips hit the jackpot.”

My chips did not hit the jackpot.

The initial post of this teaching job was so negative, it was painful to read. Thus, I will spare everyone the bad vibes and focus on the positive: my students.

Teaching online

One of my students seated on a giant booster seat. I had such sympathy for them; they had to study all day long 8-4pm via Zoom! Difficult even for adults; I can’t imagine being seven-to-eight years old, and told to sit all day in front of a computer. Big respect!

Brown bagger

After my one and only time of eating lunch from the school canteen, I vowed I would never eat there again. I brought my own lunches every day. My colleagues teased me for eating “health food.”

Baby asparagus, chili-garlic-chicken, omelet over rice.

This class liked to tease me

Whenever I greeted them by saying, “Hi!”, they would wave to me and say “Bye!” I would shake my head and say, “Students, don’t say ‘bye’, say ‘hi’!” and they would wave and say “Bye teacher!”

Snack time

The desk next to me technically belongs to a grade 2 art teacher, but it was routinely commandeered by other Thai teachers (not part of grade 2) to sit, snack, and gossip.

A male Thai teacher drops in to nosh and gossip.

Playing a “Happy Birthday” video for one of the students.

On my last day of teaching

I happened to teach a lesson on “Cultural Differences Around the World”. Previously, we had discussed how people in different countries eat with their hands, or with chopsticks or with spoon and fork. We learned how people say “love” in different languages.

On this day, I presented how people around the world have different greetings. We discussed which countries bow, which countries shake hands, and which countries put their palm together at their chest in a “wai” or “namaste” position. It was a fitting end.

I put my hands together at my chest and said “Sawasdii!” “Namaste!” and then I put my fingers together for the Korean heart symbol and said, “Saranghae!”

*   *   *

I love teaching, and I’m great at it. However, two teaching jobs in Thailand have ended unceremoniously. It’s time to say goodbye, and this time, I’m ready for it. 

Sawasdii Namaste Saranghae