The students stand and in unison say "good morning teacher."
I laugh. "Good morning. How are you?"
"I am fine. How are you?" They respond back.
"I'm good, thank you. Have a seat."
This happens every class, 17 times a week.
My morning starts promptly at 815am, Monday to Friday. I join my fellow teachers at assembly, where we listen as thousands of students sing the national anthem and state a prayer to Buddha. Announcements are read and sometimes awards are given. This morning, a few students sang and danced.
Theoretically, assembly ends at 840 and class begins, but this is rarely the case. Thai time... Everything begins late.
The one thing I always remind myself is: I'm here to have fun. I came here to learn how to play. When time starts bothering me, I ask "what's the rush? What is it I am so worried about missing?" If they don't care, why should I?
Once class does begin, after the introduction, chaos ensues.
And, I say chaos in the nicest of ways.
Now, I plan for every class. I have a timeline and objectives and things I want to accomplish. Do things ever work out as planned?
Hell no.
I have had classes where I couldn't even get the students to stand up out of their chairs, even after stating it multiple times, writing it on the board and acting it out.
I have had students just answer their cell phone in class. Students braiding hair. Sleeping. Whittling a sword out of a stick.
I have started one game, after clearly going over the instructions and the students stating they understand, to ending up playing whatever game the students apparently thought we were playing.
My favorite occurred yesterday. The topic this week is weather. I spent time going over weather words and having the students repeat them and understand what they meant. Then it was game time. I explained we would be competing: team one vs team two. I would pass a sheet around with A to Z on it. Write one weather word on a letter and pass. The team with the most words in 5 minutes wins.
What did I end up with? A sheet with words such as "pencil," "cat," "happy..." The only weather word was "fog."
But, I declared team two a winner for their ability to excel at a game only they knew they were playing!
There are moments when I bite my tongue. Frustrations bubble over. I even ask "can anyone in here even walk?" (When I was trying to act out walking and I was met with blank stares.) I have stood in silence at the front of the room for 5 minutes when it got so loud I couldn't hear myself think. I have not been able I find my class before. And today, they didn't even show up.
But, really, the bad is so little and stupid compared to the good.
Seriously.
If you are ever having a bad day, all you need to hear is one student tell you "teacher, you are so beautiful" to change your mood. (To hear 5 say it in a row is life changing!)
I love when my games work. And, it's even better when the students ask to play it again because they liked it AND understood it. And, the icing on the cake? When students actually learn and produce something back to you that they didn't know yesterday. It's wonderful.
Thai smiles are infectious. They laugh at almost anything and love to have fun.
Every day is filled with games and they get so excited, boasting when they win.
My day ends at 4pm and I make my way either home or to the track at school to run. I'm sent away by waves and smiles and "good bye, teacher!"
While, it can be frustrating to teach to a room of kids who can't understand a word you're saying, it's also 10 times more rewarding. I have learned more random Thai words (Muay means boxing while Moi means pubic hair... An awkward mix up), I have become less self conscious (it's hard to be self conscious when your life is one big game of charades) and I have just learned to laugh.
Oh... And I've learned to ride a bicycle in a pencil skirt, without flashing the world!
Until next time...
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