The Land of Smiles - By Tracy Woodburn

12/5/201111:45:46 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

abroad, teach, Thailand

It has been a long time since my last post! I have a lot to share with you!

School

The Good Side

For the most part, Joey and I love our jobs! Teaching is very laid back compared to the U.S. but also well respected at the same time. The students and staff love us and treat us very well. Sometimes I feel like a celebrity walking into school. The students run to you and touch you all over. They love to look at my skin color and nose and tell me how beautiful I am. Funny, because I hate my nose and the students over here all say "teacher beautiful nose!" The grass is always greener on the other side, right? I have learned the lighter your skin color the more well respected you are. (Kind of racisit!) For example we have English teachers from the Philippines who at an eye's view seem to be treated just as well as Joey and I. However I have been told they are not. For example, they have to pay for copies and we don't. Another plus is that we get a lot of breaks, which is a very good thing because teaching students who don't understand you is VERY exhausting!!

The Down Side

We each have 21 different classes with about 40+ students in each class. We only see each class once a week, so it can be very hard to remember what you taught to each class the previous week. Some classes are very very naughty. For example, I just came from a low level class where the boys were fighting each other and dragging each other across the class room. One boy spit in a girls face, and then ran to my desk and drank my water. By the time I turned around the rest of my class got into my bag and started playing with my phone etc. We are not allowed to punish the students but we are allowed to get a Thai teacher to do it for us. I try not to bother them, but sometimes it is necessary. On the bright side I only have about 3-5 classes that act up and the rest are well behaved. We don't have air conditioning in the class rooms so there is no need to try and look pretty because after one hour of teaching you are soaking in sweat. By the end of the day and week I am absolutely ready for some much needed rest!

Fun Adventures

Joey and I have already done a lot of site seeing! Two weekends ago, we went up north to Nan to visit some teacher friends we made and watched a boat race. Basically its a 40 man canoe decorated with dragons and flowers on it. The men race their boats from one end of the river to the other. Its a huge festival and a very big deal to win the race! It was very nice to see our friends and we even had our first American breakfast at a tiny restaurant called Hot Bread. This past week was one of the biggest holidays of the year. It is called Loi Krathong. From my understanding it is a festival to celebrate the water and to get rid of your sins. There are parades everywhere and lots of partying. The main thing about this festival is the lighting of the lanterns. Every night for a week, people light these paper lanterns and send them into the air. The sky is then filled with hundreds of lanterns that eventually look like stars. It is very beautiful! Another tradition is to make a Krathong (mini boat made out of flowers) and light candles on it. You then say a wish and send it on down the river. It is quite the romantic holiday!

This past weekend Joey and I went to Chiang Mai to visit my brother and his friends. It was sooooo much fun and very lovely to hang out with my brother, John. The first night we were there he took us to the big Loi Krathong festival, which is most popular in Chiang Mai. It was absolutely beautiful. We ate lots of food, set off paper lanterns and watched fire works. Later we went to dinner with Johns friends on the river and had a great time. The next day was very busy, we woke up at 7AM and went on a elephant/rafting tour. What an experience that was! We rafted down the river on a boat made of bamboo, and then rode huge elephants through the mountains and waterfalls. It was an indescribable afternoon, you will have to see my pictures! To end the exciting day we went to a tiger preserve where we were able to go into the cages and sit with the tigers. (They are not mistreated or drugged if you are wondering) The tigers have been raised in captivity, making them very friendly animals. Again, you will have to see the pictures to imagine this experience! Later that night we went to a club with John's friends and some of our teacher friends that were also in Chiang Mai and had a lot of fun dancing! The Thai people love to watch us Americans dance because we do it so differently. To end the wonderful weekend we had, we went shopping and all got Thai massages. Joey got his hair cut by one of John's friends who owns a hair salon. It was a wonderful week and I am so happy I got to experience it with John. I am even more happy I will get to see him a couple more  times before I go back home. 

It has been a busy but exciting time for us so far. This coming weekend we will stay in our town and do some site seeing.

Culture Shock Begins... by Tracy Woodburn

11/7/20115:17:28 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

Teach, Thailand

Welcome to Thailand - by Alyssa Russo

7/11/20114:40:09 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

Featured Participants, India, teach, Thailand, Volunteer

 I am not sure whether you all have heard yet or not, but I have had an unexpected change of events.  Unfortunately, I was not able to stay in India.  While I really did love the country, and my kids were fabulous.  I was not able to get paid there.  And as I am sure all of you know, getting paid is a very important aspect.  Thus, after having talked with Cultural Embrace a couple of times, I decided to move down to Thailand.  This was the best decision for me as it ensured that I got a placement and a paying job.  I am happy with the decision so far  and hope all will work out.

In terms of my travels to Nepal and around India, all turned out pretty good.  I was super stressed during some of it as I had my wallet stolen, but at the same time, India has a way of making me rather stress free, as there is not much one can do about issues.  I absolutely fell in love with Nepal.  In fact, I think I may have liked it better than India.  It had a similar culture but less of the craziness that comes with being in a country of 1.3 billion people. I also felt it was the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.  I ended up taking the mountain flight around Mt. Everest and that was really cool as well.  It was amazing how once you get up at that height, all you could see was a sea of snow and mountains.  They were as beautiful as one imagines and I felt as though it was a true example of how nature is in charge of everything in the end.

I am now in Bangkok for the orientation period and I am having a ball.  It seems as though Thailand is really not comparable to the other two countries in any way. Bangkok is probably the most modern city I have seen since I left NY.  It really shocked me how big the buildings were and how clean the city was.  I go to my town on Friday and am very excited.  I will be working with two other Americans to the town of Chonburi, which is about 100 KM outside of Bangkok.  It is a little beach town but I expect it to be pretty rural and hopefully a cultural experience.

I hope you all are well and enjoying the spring.  I will be posting pictures and explaining more as soon as I get to a permanent place. 

The Most Beautiful Sight You Will Ever See! by Volunteer in India and Teach in Thailand Participant Alyssa Russo

6/27/201112:41:19 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

Featured Participants, India, Teach, Thailand, Volunteer

I hope all is well with all and that the spring has finally arrived in the Northeast.  Things on my side of the world are going rather nicely.  The weather has quickly warmed up and it is now around 85 to 90 degrees during the day.  Last night was actually the first night that I felt it was a little to hot to sleep, which as you all know, is never a good thing.  I am hoping that keeping the door open at night will help to cool the room off. My friend Sarah was in town for the weekend and that was very nice.  She is currently working in New Delhi with a TB NGO and it was great to see her.  The only bad repercussion of a busy weekend is that I somehow contracted a cold.  I feel that the colds that I get here last so much longer because of all of the pollution that is in the air.  On a normal day, there are always little specks of soot that often show up on your tissue when you blow your nose.  Thus, you can imagine a day when you are sick.  However, I am slowly healing myself and am very happy that I will not be travelling anywhere this weekend.

Now, I am sure that all of you are wondering why I gave this post the name that I did.  Well, there is really only one possible answer...the Taj Mahal.  That's right, this blog is about the majestic building that is considered one of the seven wonders of the worls.  Let me tell you, when you see the Taj in person, it is even more magnificent then you can imagine it to be.  There is something about looking at the building from the main courtyard, that makes you want to never take your eyes off of it.

The actual excursion to the Taj Mahal was done in one day.  It is in the city of Agra, in the state of UP, which is about a 5 hour train trip from Jaipur.  From previous volunteers having gone to Agra before, we knew that other then the actual visit to the Taj, there is nothing much to do in the city, thus the reason we planned it as only a day trip.  We started out the day at 6AM and took the 5 hour trip to Agra.  We arrived in the city around 11:00AM and got a Tuk Tuk to the center of the city.  After a short breakfast, we set out on our way.  Since India has such a high pollution rate, there is 200 meter area surrounding the Taj Mahal that is blocked off from any cars or Tuk Tuks.  The only things that can get in are battery operated buses and cycle rickshaws.  This is so that the beauty and whiteness of the Taj Mahal can be preserved.

Getting into the actual Taj was an adventure all it's own.  For a foreigner, the ticket to get within the compound is 750 rupees, which is equivalent to about $18.00.  This includes foot covers for your shoes, to be used once inside the actual building, and a bottle of water. After collecting your ticket, one follows a long line of people to the lockers where you must lock up your personal items as you can only  take in a camera, cell phone, and wallet.  We are then herded towards the long line of guests waiting to get into the compound that holds the gardens, secondary buildings and the Taj Mahal.  This is perhaps one of the only places in India where it helps to be a women, has there is a ladies only line that moves significantly quicker then the gents one.  After going through numerous metal detectors, we finally entered the main compound.  Now this is not the the compound where one can see the Taj Mahal, this is the pre-area that houses two secondary mausoleums.  However, one can clearly see where the entrance to the garden that houses the Taj Mahal is, as there is a giant crowd around one doorway.  As you slowly make your way towards the entrance of the garden, one can see that there is a lot of commotion going on; thousands of people trying to get to and from the entrance and take pictures while moving at a rather slow pace.  It surly was pure madness.  However, as you enter the garden, things get significantly calmer and there are numerous photo-ops.  Basically the entire walk up to the Taj Mahal is a slow stop and start of trying to get the best picture. Upon arriving at the front of the building, one puts their shoe covers on and ascents the giant stairs to wait in the 1 hour line so that you can enter the Taj.  I have to say, the actual inside of the Taj Mahal was rather unimpressive, particularly for the hour line.  But of course we had to say we actually went into the Magnificent Taj Mahal.

Here are some interesting facts about the Taj Mahal:

1) It is actually an Islamic structure despite the belief that it is a temple built for the Hindu God Shiva.
2)The Taj was built by Shah Jahn, the Mughal Emperor at the time, in honor of the death of his second wife who died giving birth to their 14th child.
3) The construction for the Taj Mahal began in 1631, the year of the wife's death, and was not finished until 1653.
4) Not long after it was finished, Shah Jahn was overthrown by his son who imprisoned him in Agra Fort.  From the fort you can see the Taj Mahal, thus reminding the Shah what he would never be able to visit again
 

The Entrance Gate to get into the Inner Courtyard that houses the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal from the Main Entrance way.

View of entire courtyard and Taj.

All those people are part of the Giant line to get inside the Taj. 
All in all it was a fabulous trip that could not be missed!  Hope you all enjoy the photos and talk to you soon!