I expected the other foreign teachers to be in like me. Not all of them but at least some. I found myself to be the only Westerner right out of college doing this as a first job. I also expected the other foreign teachers to be more culturally diverse. There are about 20 teachers in the English Program. Two are Thai, one Russian, two from London, one from Germany, one from Australia and the rest are Filipino. All the other western teachers have been in Thailand for a few years and are established, some even married with kids. No one else in that group has just moved here. The Filipino teachers are all somehow related whether it be nieces or nephews or cousins. They also are live in the same area together. There a three new Filipino teachers, but they didn't come here alone in the sense that I did.
With the Filipinos making up the majority of the foreign teachers, they "run the show". They teach using the strategies and techniques they learned in school and band together and support each other. I was paired with a Filipino teacher for each my grades to coteach with. The first week of teaching I laid low, and observed how they taught and followed suit until I had a better understanding on how everything worked. My second week, I started changing how things were taught. I used my background and utilized strategies that would help the students succeed as much as possible. The Filipinos did not take this well and tension grew between my coteachers and I.
I taught in the Mini English Program for four weeks and it just wasn't the right fit for me. I felt I was being watched under a microscope and ended each day feeling discouraged. I was doing my best to teach using research based strategies for ELLs but without the support of my coteachers or my principal this was a difficult task.
Not ready to through in the towel quite yet, I talked with the head priest about my concerns and told him I was considering coming home. He was unhappy with how things had been going for me in the Mini EP and wanted to try to make this experience work, just as I do. His suggestion was to switch the building I teach in. Starting Monday, I will be teaching in the Matium, or high school. I will be teaching seventh, eighth, and ninth grade. My focus will be on conversational English (if I understood correctly).
I met with my new principal on Friday and unfortunately his English wasn't much better than my last principal. I was unable to meet my coteacher, he is also from America, and did not receive any curriculum, book, or course outline to know what it is I'm suppose to be teaching. Once again I recieved no orientation or really any guidance and my first class is first period Monday morning. I am a little worried about teaching the older grades. I do not have as much experience with this age range. I know that no school is ever going to be perfect with no flaws at all, but I have found a new and deeper appreciation for the American school system.
I was suppose to be leaving this evening to make my first visa run to Laos. This would had cost me around $200 and taken almost four days. I have instead decided to extend my tourist visa for another 30 days. It only cost me $35 and took around 2 hours. I did not want to put the time and money into switching my visa if this does not work out for me. The church has also graciously allowed me to extend my stay in their retreat house free of charge. Like the visa, I don't want to put money into an apartment until I know if I'm staying or going.
Right now, I am taking everything one day at a time. I am also being sure to take advantage of all Hua Hin has to offer due to the uncertainity of my length of stay. I continue to ask for your prayers and support during this upcoming month. I am doing my best to discern what it is a God's plan for me through all of this and continue to make all my family and friends proud.
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