Sunday, September 24, 2006
Back to the Vision
We have made some decisions and are stoked to both be enacting on passionate objectives soon! Phuket definitely challenged our thought process by delivering georgeous days of tropical fun: surf, volleyball, snorkeling, and good folks capped out our recreational bliss at Kata Beach. Basically, Phuket would allow us to have our cake and eat it too but we decided the cake is too sweet. The short term highs are wonderful but at the end of the day, we feel these sugar buzzes may prevent the soul from attaining new levels of enlightenment. By witnessing other parts of southern Thailand, we saw opportunities to live amongst non-touristy communities as originally desired.
Focussed on teaching young children, Em has been fortunate to meet with programs varying in class size (5-50), teaching style (scripted lesson plans, totally up to her, even interviewed with a Montossori school), amount of western colleagues at the school (0-20), and of course, location (she was even offered a job in Vietnam after a phone interview).
We are staying in Thailand. We are very impressed with the overall generosity from the people, intrigued by their history to grow as an independent nation (even with the current coup hiccup) while all their neighbors have had foreign rule at one point, continuously delighted by the diversity of natural beauty, and interested in learning more about the effects of Buddhism on their everyday life. And we both have great opportunities to satisfy our current callings!
Em accepted a job in Songkla Province (~20 kilometers north of Hat Yai) where she will be teaching English to ~300 different children! She will have 12 different classes of ~25 students each which she will meet with twice per week. She will have a full-time teaching aid (Thai native) to help with anything and everything (language barriers, class control, school politics, cultural expectations, extra-curricular advice, etc.). Both Em and her aid are not employed by the school but rather by a program called "Smart English" which also provides lesson plan ideas and support upon request. But basically, Em will be rockin' on her own in that school. She is rightfully intimidated but very excited. She had much easier options, but just as Phuket was easy, it is not why we are on this journey. Yes, we like things difficult!
Em would not allow me to support her in taking a great job if it was in a place I had no desire to be. This is not the case with Songkla Province. While there is not the potential for a pre-work surf, Songkhla does have decent access to amazing recreation and we look forward to exploring its inland forests with caves and waterfalls and nearby pristine islands. And most importantly, we enjoyed the welcoming feel from everybody we met throughout our short visit.
But (yes there is a but), Hat Yai is not screaming with work/volunteer opportunities that immediately excite me. I have been focussed on working with sustainable tourism and/or water conservation programs and have been investigating programs throughout southern Thailand. After meeting with the folks at North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) in Khuraburi, I knew this was a match. Their team has great synergy - combining consistent laughter with great productivity - and their endeavors are right in line with my interests. The name of their spotlight program - Adventure Community-based Ecotourism (ACE) - highlights our shared passions. I will be entering at a dynamic point in NATR's history as they are concluding most of their tsunami relief projects and transitioning into longer-term sustainable tourism programs. They are located north on the Andaman Coast (about 100 kilometers south of Ranong) and close to some of Thailand's best diving at Surin & Similian islands. While tourism is not on the mainland or in Khuraburi yet, the big developers have acquired land. NATR hopes to help drive what type of tourism evolves in this area. Also important to me, they have great trust and appreciation from the local communities through two years of delivering on their promises.
So yes, I am quite excited about this opportunity! Mainly, I just feel great to be able to give to such a great initiative (it is considered volunteer work - after my first month, I'll get paid enough to eat enough to stay alive). And also excited for how much I will learn in an industry about which I am extremely passionate. I am committing to three months with NATR which will begin at the end of October. During this time, I am hoping to network with similar programs in Songkla province. Ideally, I would go straight into some related field and be living with my lady again! If the former doesn't pan out, it is still very important to both of us to be sharing our cultural experiences together so the latter will definitely happen. I have been thinking about teaching English (or math or science) to the smiling Thai kids, and these opportunities do exist for me around Hat Yai.
While it is a bummer we will be apart for a little bit, we both know how important it is for us to satisfy our personal cravings for meaningful work. This will only make us happier people and hence better people for each other and our community!
We are currently back in Ban Phe where Em starts a 3-week contract with her TEFL school tomorrow. Coincidentally, my good friend from the ski area, Dan arrives tomorrow. Dan and I plan on boating across to Ko Samet where Em will join us Thursday night for a long weekend.
Coup update: just more of the the same...it is a good thing. While everyone is a little bummed/embarrassed that it had to come to military intervention (not the most democratic solution), all Thai citizens we've talked with saw it as mandatory since Thaksin was not going to go away on his own. In the public's opinion, it will be critical for the temporary powers (CDR) to elect a prime minister sooner than later. They are stating it will happen within two weeks and if this prolongs, people will question their motives for the coup. Nobody seems to really care who this elected PM turns out to be as there is an expected democratic vote in 6-8 months for the people to elect their own leadership.
Focussed on teaching young children, Em has been fortunate to meet with programs varying in class size (5-50), teaching style (scripted lesson plans, totally up to her, even interviewed with a Montossori school), amount of western colleagues at the school (0-20), and of course, location (she was even offered a job in Vietnam after a phone interview).
We are staying in Thailand. We are very impressed with the overall generosity from the people, intrigued by their history to grow as an independent nation (even with the current coup hiccup) while all their neighbors have had foreign rule at one point, continuously delighted by the diversity of natural beauty, and interested in learning more about the effects of Buddhism on their everyday life. And we both have great opportunities to satisfy our current callings!
Em accepted a job in Songkla Province (~20 kilometers north of Hat Yai) where she will be teaching English to ~300 different children! She will have 12 different classes of ~25 students each which she will meet with twice per week. She will have a full-time teaching aid (Thai native) to help with anything and everything (language barriers, class control, school politics, cultural expectations, extra-curricular advice, etc.). Both Em and her aid are not employed by the school but rather by a program called "Smart English" which also provides lesson plan ideas and support upon request. But basically, Em will be rockin' on her own in that school. She is rightfully intimidated but very excited. She had much easier options, but just as Phuket was easy, it is not why we are on this journey. Yes, we like things difficult!
Em would not allow me to support her in taking a great job if it was in a place I had no desire to be. This is not the case with Songkla Province. While there is not the potential for a pre-work surf, Songkhla does have decent access to amazing recreation and we look forward to exploring its inland forests with caves and waterfalls and nearby pristine islands. And most importantly, we enjoyed the welcoming feel from everybody we met throughout our short visit.
But (yes there is a but), Hat Yai is not screaming with work/volunteer opportunities that immediately excite me. I have been focussed on working with sustainable tourism and/or water conservation programs and have been investigating programs throughout southern Thailand. After meeting with the folks at North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) in Khuraburi, I knew this was a match. Their team has great synergy - combining consistent laughter with great productivity - and their endeavors are right in line with my interests. The name of their spotlight program - Adventure Community-based Ecotourism (ACE) - highlights our shared passions. I will be entering at a dynamic point in NATR's history as they are concluding most of their tsunami relief projects and transitioning into longer-term sustainable tourism programs. They are located north on the Andaman Coast (about 100 kilometers south of Ranong) and close to some of Thailand's best diving at Surin & Similian islands. While tourism is not on the mainland or in Khuraburi yet, the big developers have acquired land. NATR hopes to help drive what type of tourism evolves in this area. Also important to me, they have great trust and appreciation from the local communities through two years of delivering on their promises.
So yes, I am quite excited about this opportunity! Mainly, I just feel great to be able to give to such a great initiative (it is considered volunteer work - after my first month, I'll get paid enough to eat enough to stay alive). And also excited for how much I will learn in an industry about which I am extremely passionate. I am committing to three months with NATR which will begin at the end of October. During this time, I am hoping to network with similar programs in Songkla province. Ideally, I would go straight into some related field and be living with my lady again! If the former doesn't pan out, it is still very important to both of us to be sharing our cultural experiences together so the latter will definitely happen. I have been thinking about teaching English (or math or science) to the smiling Thai kids, and these opportunities do exist for me around Hat Yai.
While it is a bummer we will be apart for a little bit, we both know how important it is for us to satisfy our personal cravings for meaningful work. This will only make us happier people and hence better people for each other and our community!
We are currently back in Ban Phe where Em starts a 3-week contract with her TEFL school tomorrow. Coincidentally, my good friend from the ski area, Dan arrives tomorrow. Dan and I plan on boating across to Ko Samet where Em will join us Thursday night for a long weekend.
Coup update: just more of the the same...it is a good thing. While everyone is a little bummed/embarrassed that it had to come to military intervention (not the most democratic solution), all Thai citizens we've talked with saw it as mandatory since Thaksin was not going to go away on his own. In the public's opinion, it will be critical for the temporary powers (CDR) to elect a prime minister sooner than later. They are stating it will happen within two weeks and if this prolongs, people will question their motives for the coup. Nobody seems to really care who this elected PM turns out to be as there is an expected democratic vote in 6-8 months for the people to elect their own leadership.
Labels: Thailand
