Catherine Lauder
I applied because spending two weeks in Thailand just seemed like too good an opportunity to miss. I am really keen to get involved in hands-on volunteer work where I can immerse myself in the local community, offering practical assistance, support and encouragement for vulnerable children. I also like the repair work and cooking aspect of the project so I can get really involved in the whole project and help the local staff at the childcare centre.
I recently studied Teaching English as a Foreign Language (including a certificate to help young learners) and previously participated in Informa’s school reading scheme which were fun but I am a little bit terrified of small children so I thought this would be a great opportunity to take some time to face my fear, try out my skills and visit Thailand too.
I am looking forward to experiencing a different culture as it will hopefully bring some perspective when I stress about work queries when those things are really unimportant compared to problems faced in some parts of the world. I like a challenge and am not very good at sitting still, so I am looking forward to being busy in a way that does not involve sitting at a desk, and also experiencing new cultures (and delicious Thai food). I read in a Thai teaching guidebook recently that lots of people say that one of the things the main things they came back with was a better idea of what to order in a Thai restaurant other than a green/red curry – I hope that’s not all I learn, but that sounds like a good start.
End Goal
- Enjoy two weeks being surrounded by children who don’t speak the same language as me and try and communicate with them.
- Work with the Informa team and also the local team to help rather than hinder at the nursery and become as much a part of the team as I can in two weeks.
- Come back to work remotivated with lots of positive things to say about it and hopefully with some new skills and a bit more patience.
- Learn a few Thai phrases.
- I think the ultimate goal will to learn to be a bit more resourceful where you are teaching with limited resources, while that doesn’t sound directly relevant to my current role just using my brain a bit in a different way to at work will be really good. Seeing how the locals work will also be interesting too and how they manage to look after up to 50 children under four years old at the same time. I’m really looking forward to working with people from other parts of the business and having to work as a team to get the best results in a situation I am completely unfamiliar with. And of course I am looking forward to the free time exploring Thailand too.
What can I do to achieve this goal?
Read over the TEFL course stuff to remind myself of some classroom lessons/games, read guidebooks, buy lots of bits and pieces of craft stuff etc to keep the children entertained (what’s not to like about doing Blue Peter style making things with children and forgetting that I am not a child too). I should learn Thai, I have good intentions. I know I won’t get around to it though. Where better to learn than in the country itself!