From Here to There

Or From There to Here

For two weeks now, Bailey and I have been in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai. Our first week was spent in grammar reviews and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) methodology classes, and our second week was spent in teaching practices both online and in person with Thai students ages seven to seventeen. I forgot, I think, to explain before this that Bailey and I have come to Thailand to teach English as a foreign language. Our beautiful vacation in Phuket was an enforced, two-week quarantine before we were allowed to travel throughout the country. (We definitely weren’t going to complain!)

It has only been a couple of weeks, but they sure have been busy. Go to school, eat, prepare lessons, eat, repeat.

Even so, this intensive program has been highly rewarding in not only the knowledge, preparedness, and confidence we’ve gained, but also in the experiences and people we’ve met along the way. Many of our small group of EFL teachers-to-be are from various parts of the UK as well as the US, and even from Vienna, Austria. (For those of you who know I spent a semester there in college, you’ll know how excited I was to talk to someone who knew all the places I’d visited back then!)

Yesterday, we received our official school placements. In another two weeks, Bailey and I will be moving to Fang, a small town three hours north of Chiang Mai, while our friends either stay here in the city or move south to other regions of Thailand. We’re both excited for this next leg of our journey where we’ll put down roots for the November through March semester. I think we’re both ready to have a place that’s ours and finally be able to unpack our bags!

With winter highs of 88 degrees and lows of 60, we’ve been warned by locals we may need some warmer clothes for the cold months ahead. Bailey and I smile politely while secretly looking forward to the “cooler” air in the mountainous region we’re bound for. We dream of making it through a day without staining our clothes in sweat.

While here in Chiang Mai, we hope to make a few more excursions around the city. We have already found a couple of coffee shops we love to frequent and ferreted out some amazing Indian, Japanese, and Israeli restaurants. We’ve visited a Buddhist temple and learned how to make an offering to the Buddha and the monks who reside in the temple. We’ve visited the Old City of Chiang Mai and a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Lanna people, here in northern Thailand.

While the city has so much more to offer than we have time to see, we’re both looking forward to the slower pace and quieter lifestyle of a smaller town. We can’t wait to be in the classroom, working with students, and making connections throughout the community.

We’re working on common Thai phrases as we go, hoping to learn enough to get by with less English (outside of the classroom). So, until next time, khab khun kha and sah wat dee kha!