Working hard
Door: loesenerno
17 Januari 2011 | Thailand, Nong Khai
Hello!
Thanks for all your concerned emails about if we were still alive :-p We haven't been eaten by a porcupine.
Our trip to Khao Yai NP was really nice, although it wasn't the trekking we expected. We walked for only five houres in two days and so we were most of the time in a car. But we saw a lot of cool animals (see pictures)! And the part we walked was quite exciting because of the chance of running into a herd of angry wild elephants.
Homestay
Nu zitten we in een homestay in Phon Pisai, vlakbij Nong Khai. Ons gastgezin woont op de rand van het dorp en de rijstvelden. Een erg mooi uitzicht dus. Er zijn vier gastenkamers, waarvan twee in de garage/kelder. Nadat we eerst in de garage gedropt waren hebben we ons in het huis kunnen praten (we wilden niet de hond in de garage zijn). De zoon van het gezin, Jack, neemt ons overal mee naar toe en leert ons Thai. Hij coordineert tevens de inzet van vrijwilligers bij de verschillende scholen in de buurt.
Het huis waar we wonen met zijn familie en 2-4 andere vrijwilligers is open en in deze tijd van het jaar vrij koud. Meestal lopen we in lange broek en vaak ook in fleece. Gelukkig hebben we nog geen sneeuw hier :-) Verder hangt er aan de muur een foto van de vrouw des huizes met de huisvrouw-van-het-jaar-trofee. Wij denken aan corruptie aangezien het huis een vette bende is.
Teaching english
Now (Sunday) we're still recovering from our first week as a teacher. We teach for 3 or 4 hours a day, sometimes assisting, sometimes teaching by ourselves. We like it, but it's tough mainly because the children's level of english is really low (Our Thai is worse, but then we haven't had six years of Thai classes). The reason for this might be that the english teachers don't really speak english. We understand them a little (sometimes) and we think they also understand us a little (sometimes). Another reason might be the system and culture: All students pass to the next level/class regardless the results of their exams. (The teacher is to blame if they're not good at the subject, not the students, so to prevent loss of face all students pass.)
Remarkable facts/situations:
- While introducing ourselves to the class Loes wrote down her name on the blackboard. Afterwards Erno wrote 'and Erno'. Since that moment Erno is called Anderno :-D
- We were woken by the national anthem at the campsite in the Kao Yai jungle at 8:00 AM, it felt a little soviet..
- If you're ever stuck in the jungle try to find a banana-pancake. It gives you enough energy to walk for hours.
- On the market they sell rats and eggs with little chicks inside (just before hatching). Happily unitl now we only got served intestines once (we prefer the rat:-))
- When bargaining for a tuktuk offering some pieces of pineapple isn't useful. (We tried to get the price down, but ended up in another tuktuk)
- There is a ladyboy in every class. Even as young as 10 years old. This is kind of tricky when you want to divide the class in boys and girls.
- In our village some girls marry when they are 15 years old. And then they wait until she's 18 to make it official.
- One our trip in Khao Yai we met a remarkable person; a man from england very much into buddhism (but also very into young Thai girls). On one of our walks he had seen a mental picture of a frog in a tree and asked the guide what a frog in a tree means in buddhism. The guide answered 'Mmmm a frog... they taste really good'.
We use our time at the homestay to think about the next part of our travelling. We keep you up to date:-)
Hasta la pasta
Loes and Anderno
Thanks for all your concerned emails about if we were still alive :-p We haven't been eaten by a porcupine.
Our trip to Khao Yai NP was really nice, although it wasn't the trekking we expected. We walked for only five houres in two days and so we were most of the time in a car. But we saw a lot of cool animals (see pictures)! And the part we walked was quite exciting because of the chance of running into a herd of angry wild elephants.
Homestay
Nu zitten we in een homestay in Phon Pisai, vlakbij Nong Khai. Ons gastgezin woont op de rand van het dorp en de rijstvelden. Een erg mooi uitzicht dus. Er zijn vier gastenkamers, waarvan twee in de garage/kelder. Nadat we eerst in de garage gedropt waren hebben we ons in het huis kunnen praten (we wilden niet de hond in de garage zijn). De zoon van het gezin, Jack, neemt ons overal mee naar toe en leert ons Thai. Hij coordineert tevens de inzet van vrijwilligers bij de verschillende scholen in de buurt.
Het huis waar we wonen met zijn familie en 2-4 andere vrijwilligers is open en in deze tijd van het jaar vrij koud. Meestal lopen we in lange broek en vaak ook in fleece. Gelukkig hebben we nog geen sneeuw hier :-) Verder hangt er aan de muur een foto van de vrouw des huizes met de huisvrouw-van-het-jaar-trofee. Wij denken aan corruptie aangezien het huis een vette bende is.
Teaching english
Now (Sunday) we're still recovering from our first week as a teacher. We teach for 3 or 4 hours a day, sometimes assisting, sometimes teaching by ourselves. We like it, but it's tough mainly because the children's level of english is really low (Our Thai is worse, but then we haven't had six years of Thai classes). The reason for this might be that the english teachers don't really speak english. We understand them a little (sometimes) and we think they also understand us a little (sometimes). Another reason might be the system and culture: All students pass to the next level/class regardless the results of their exams. (The teacher is to blame if they're not good at the subject, not the students, so to prevent loss of face all students pass.)
Remarkable facts/situations:
- While introducing ourselves to the class Loes wrote down her name on the blackboard. Afterwards Erno wrote 'and Erno'. Since that moment Erno is called Anderno :-D
- We were woken by the national anthem at the campsite in the Kao Yai jungle at 8:00 AM, it felt a little soviet..
- If you're ever stuck in the jungle try to find a banana-pancake. It gives you enough energy to walk for hours.
- On the market they sell rats and eggs with little chicks inside (just before hatching). Happily unitl now we only got served intestines once (we prefer the rat:-))
- When bargaining for a tuktuk offering some pieces of pineapple isn't useful. (We tried to get the price down, but ended up in another tuktuk)
- There is a ladyboy in every class. Even as young as 10 years old. This is kind of tricky when you want to divide the class in boys and girls.
- In our village some girls marry when they are 15 years old. And then they wait until she's 18 to make it official.
- One our trip in Khao Yai we met a remarkable person; a man from england very much into buddhism (but also very into young Thai girls). On one of our walks he had seen a mental picture of a frog in a tree and asked the guide what a frog in a tree means in buddhism. The guide answered 'Mmmm a frog... they taste really good'.
We use our time at the homestay to think about the next part of our travelling. We keep you up to date:-)
Hasta la pasta
Loes and Anderno
-
18 Januari 2011 - 07:18
:
ps, we hebben problemen met het uploaden van foto’s, die komen nog. -
18 Januari 2011 - 08:11
TomP:
Anderno. Dat is de naam die we vanaf nu gaan gebruiken in de Keu! Haha, wat een grap! -
18 Januari 2011 - 09:54
Sanne:
Ik ben benieuwd hoe jullie ze nog wat Engels kunnen bijbrengen :)
x -
19 Januari 2011 - 07:33
Marcel:
Wow, gave foto's en leuk om te lezen wat jullie meemaken... geniet ervan en succes met lesgeven! -
20 Januari 2011 - 18:31
Wim:
Very nizz picturezzz (working at iederz... changes everyzzing) What happened to the other crocidile? Tranferred into walking shoes??
Can't wait to see more pictures, enjoy!
(ik dacht: waarom ook eigenlijk niet in het Engels?)
Doei
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