Back in Bua Yai

• As the bus drove into my town I was hit with a magical site, a site I once dreamed about……..KFC had arrived back in BUA YAI along with a department store size Tesco Lotus. I now have the option to eat western fast food or buy a much larger variety of food, electronics and clothes!

•  I returned home to a new place as my landlord had kindly moved all my stuff without telling me! Thankfully the new place is an improvement with very strong WIFI and a kitchen area out the back that means I can actually cook some food. The previous owner had left gas and a burner there J.

• Like most people after a holiday they want to get healthy again by exercising and eating well. So I went to the Saturday fruit market where an old lady vendor was struggling with an umbrella in the wind. The umbrella fell so I instinctively dropped my bags and went around to lift it back up. I placed a block on the base to secure it and she thanked me. I wanted to buy some small cucumbers from her and asked how much. It took me awhile to understand she was giving them to me for free! It is things like this that make Thai people and especially Thai people from Esan great.

• As usual on the first day of teaching we ended up not teaching and instead showed the two new teachers around the school and the town. They are James and Dave from the UK and seem like two good lads. The school has a new director who likes to have a clean school so everyone on the first day or two was cleaning and moving documents/furniture around. The consequence of which has made the English department a much nicer place to work.

• Bua Yai festival and community sports week also took place in October and involved the entire main street being taken over by stalls and sporting courts for volleyball, futsol and others. It was really good with amusements and a large variety of different food. I spent a fortune trying to win a soft toy but failed! However I did consume a lot of chicken, pork, smoothies, pancakes, waffles and food which I can’t explain!! There was a great buzz around the town with crowds of people on the main street.

• Without warning and with little time to prepare I had to find and prep two students for an English speech competition, Mod (M5) and Fourth (M1). Competitions are taken very seriously in Thailand and a significant amount of time is put into winning. It is common practice for students and teachers to sleep in the school for a few nights while practicing. I admire their time effort but the approach is not one I would employ.

So I wrote the two speeches and altered them accordingly to the abilities of both students. We started rehearsals on Friday and I came into school on Saturday for 5 hours of practice. Classes got cancelled on Monday and Tuesday so I could work with the two students. It was hard going trying to get them to memorize the speeches, pronounce the words and act a little. I even bribed them with Magnums and Pepsi!!

The competition was Wednesday with a very early 5am start! It’s kind of cold at 5am which is a change. I was pumped up for this competition and wanted to win and show that I had mentored the students well. Sadly I was judging the English projects in a different building while the speeches took place. I finally got the news that Mod had smashed the speech and taken first place. Delighted! Fourth didn’t do so well and stumbled during the speech. That was a pity and I think she was just lacking that drive to win through hard work.

Being a judge at the competition was a new experience that I took seriously as It has to be remembered a lot of effort has been put into these projects and it’s not fair to just markdown any score. There was twenty grading criteria per project!!

The drama plays were interesting. The randomness of the play, the music and storyline literally shocked me! At one point I saw an astronaut and Jesus on a cross up on stage with the Transformers soundtrack playing!!

In the end Bua Yai (my school) won 5 out of 7 events and we are going to the regional competition in January. Lots of work to do!!

• The weekend arrived and once again I had planned to stay in Bua Yai due to finances! But after a few hours Saturday morning it was clearly time to venture out for the day. With Golf’s car this was made a lot easier. I remembered Bustin visiting some ruins not far from my town called Phi Mai ruins in Phi Mai! Off we went, stocked up on snacks. The ruins were pretty cool and only 40 baht because I work in Thailand.

After that we went to some other random place that had tourists but for what and why I don’t know! Maybe some bridge tribute to the King. We took a bicycle taxi there, the first guy wanted 200 baht…. an old man showed up and said 50 baht. This poor guy was old with no bike gears and flip flops that wouldn’t look out of place in a Nazi concentration camp. I was nearly going to get out and push him along! He was heavily tipped for his troubles and he waited to bring us back which was nice. I bought some very cool handmade transformers made of mental and based on the characters in ‘Pacific Rim’ and ‘Alien’.

The best part of the day was driving home. It’s been seven months since I drove a car and I have been itching to get on the road behind the wheel! It was completely illegal but this is Thailand!! Awesome.

• My birthday fell on a Monday this year and it was the first time I wasn’t with my family and Irish friends on my birthday. Normally I would arrange some party or event but this time I did nothing!!

I got a card from home and over 120 birthday messages which is very much appreciated. That morning I opened my door to a card from Helen that she had made as it is very difficult to find birthday cards in Thailand, especially in Bua Yai! I went to school as if it were a normal day but it’s not, I’m 28 years old so I told my classes and they broke out into some serious song!! It was great standing there hearing 50 kids belt out happy birthday!! After work I went home and had asked some friends to join me for dinner. Golf, James, David, Helen and Pum all came.

Now this is where it gets interesting!! Pum shows up with a bottle of Red label and a very large Birthday cake that they had got for me! I was genuinely surprised and delighted to do something that felt like it was indeed my birthday. The meal was very nice in Smiles, coupled with good banter and a few drinks made a great night.

But wait there is more….I arrive home to a very thoughtful and elaborate treasure hunt of clues from Golf that led to a wrapped present in the boot of her car!! Again this was totally unexpected. As some of you are aware I play the odd game of chess from time to time some of which are against Golf online. The present was a very original wooden chess set in a well presented box. It’s very cool!! That pretty much topped off the evening and I am very appreciative to have such good friends around the world and around me now.

Holidays Part 2

With training over it was back on holiday and this time Waller was with me! First stop Full Moon party in Ko Phangan!! I had left Krabi without David as he wasn't up for the bus and I couldn't locate him. Needless to say I was in pretty poor condition from the previous night’s entertainment!!

When I got there I ended up on the wrong side of the Island so took a break in a cafe and used the WiFi. I eventually found my hostel and since I once again didn't have a phone it took a considerable amount of time to locate the other groups and meet David.

It was some sight to see that many people on the beach with fire skipping and buckets everywhere. There was some scary drinking going on for the ext 2/3 days that pushed me past my limits!! On day three we went to Masons Pub for what was meant to be a drink or two but ended up being a full session with lunch and dinner there!! I also bought a cheap phone and many people drew pirate related things on their face as there was a pirate show on that night in a very remote location. At that show two of my friends came running over to me saying “they had just slapped the barman because he slapped them and that they were going to be shot”, me “wonderful well let’s get a move on than!!” The following day Dave and I missed the ferry to Ko Tao Island as it was booked up so we just took it easy and watched some films in a bar.   

Ko Tao is a pretty small Island renowned for its large amount of diving schools. Before this I had said I would do some diving without any research or consideration and after some debate David, myself, Sarah, Max and Charlie decided we would do the 4 day SSI Open Water certified course!! It was great that Sarah and Max had the same plan as David and myself. Max and Fran are going back to the UK which is a pity because they are a great couple and I enjoy hanging out with them.

Day one of the course consisted of three short videos and a study guide sheet we had to fill in.

Day two was more videos and another study guide sheet followed by practice in the pool. In the pool we had to swim 8 lengths and thread water to prove we could actually swim!! At this point I knew I had damaged my body at Full Moon because I was struggling more than I should have been. Next up was the kit (tank, regulator, fins, bc and mask) tutorial which was fine. It’s pretty simple to assemble and dissemble the kit. In the pool we had the full kit on!! We got use to breathing and did some skills such as half mask full, mask full, mask removal, buoyancy, kit off and on while under water, hand signals and some others. The mask skills were challenging at first but got easier. We had great banter with our instructor Nat although I think she would have liked us to talk less and stop asking silly questions!!

Day three was the first two dives after a written exam which I passed (everyone does). I was getting worried as it was something totally new and I didn't know how my ears and myself would react to the situation. We got on the boat which was packed, the instructors each had 5 or 6 students, kits were everywhere and we were preparing our kits in cramped conditions for the first time!! I was partnered up with Max as we both had ear concerns. The kit was on and bang I did the long stride entry into the sea. We gathered on the line with David first to go down, he goes below and seconds later pops up a little panicked due to a flashback of him being forced under water as a child (David got over his fear and went on to complete the advanced diving course).

Max and I as predicted were having terrible ear pain on the way down, having to stop numerous times and move back up a little in order to equalise. I was very conscious of breathing in water or my mask filling up to a point were I felt very uncomfortable and close to throwing in the towel. We did some skills on top of the water (kit off/kit on, two rescue techniques). The second dive we had skills on our knee’s under the water and this was scary. We did the easy stuff, regulator retrieval, sharing your air, buddy emergency accent but worst of all was the half mask and full mask clear. That's when you fill your mask with water and then have to clear it by blowing out your nose. It’s an easy technique made harder due to being down 10m and having fish bite an open wound on my leg!! My turn, instructor in front of me, half clear goes okay not great, full clear I didn't use the right technique, swallowed some water, grabbed the instructor as I was very close to panicking and going for the surface. I did it and calmed down, thankfully. A lot of the credit has to go to Nat because when I grabbed her I was looking right at her and she gave me a look I can’t describe other than it was calming, serious, intense and basically said "you’re going nowhere Jer, do it". I'm not being dramatic, some people find this very easy, I didn't and I won't forget that look.

Day 4 was two very early dives one of which was 18m with full mask removal. I was bricking it after yesterdays mask skills not going so well. I rehearsed on land and talked to the assistant instructor whose advice was very helpful. The first dive was just fun, no skills, we saw some cool fish. However there was many people diving and I couldn't see much at times due to the storm above, currents, bubbles from divers and the fact I am visually impaired anyway!! I got disorientated and had trouble with my mask. Thankfully Kat grabbed me and got me back to the group! I wasn't having fun. The previous day Sarah and Charlie had gotten lost causing everyone to surface and then re-dive so it happens especially in poor visibility.

Skill time, on the bottom, very nervous, talking to myself, instructor in front of me, I wait, go time, nailed it, relief, awesome. We did a few more skills and than for the first time I actually enjoyed swimming around down there. I think fun dives are the way I'll go from here, I've no burning desire to go super deep right now!! My right ear is extremely itchy for some reason and crackling despite not diving for two days!! But I can still hear!!

After a day of rest in Ko Tao it was time to start heading back to my town, a journey I was not looking forward to at all. I said goodbye to David and wished him all the best with the rest of his travels.  Obviously it was great to see and talk to someone from back home. I have no idea when I’ll be seeing Mr. Waller again but I sure will enjoy a pint with him back home.  

I decided to break up my journey with a stop in Bangkok for one or two days rather than do it all in one go. I did some shopping and purchased my 5^th phone in Thailand. It is not a known brand name but it is just as good as my old Samsung phone and a lot cheaper. I went to the cinema which is a novelty for me as I do not have a cinema in my town or one near me that is in English!  

The end to another great holiday!!

Working in Krabi as Tefl Heaven Trainer

After informally meeting some of the trainees on the way to Krabi and seeing them around that weekend I was pretty confident we had a good group of people. The staff consisted of two assistant trainers (Nik & myself), one Thai teacher (Golf) and the main trainer Alex. I was a little worried we would get some lunatics but thankfully Alex and Golf were very fair and I enjoyed working with them and Nik who was in my group when I was a trainee back in April.

On day one I thought I would be a little more nervous than I was but after the first few minutes I found my rhythm. I really wanted to do a great job and genuinely help prepare the trainees as best I could from my experiences in Thailand. Trying to hold back on off loading vast amounts of helpful information on day one was difficult!!

The trainees, from a starting position were better than my group from a teaching perspective which made my job a little easier. There was the usual errors that everyone makes, not gesturing enough, talking too fast, not using simple English, voice projection, activity choice, giving instructions etc etc.

I could ramble on in excessive detail about the whole three week course but instead I will bullet point some of the highlights and things that I want to remember. I've probably left out numerous things and yes severe censoring has been applied!

•Throughout the course trainers fill in numerous evaluation sheets nearly every time a trainee teaches a practice lesson. For the first task I was evaluating my group and made a decision not too criticise the trainees as this was their first graded task and I felt it was important to build their confidence. In hindsight I should have given some criticism so they would know what areas they needed to work on. A few trainees approached me about this which is perfectly fine and from than on, as I would of done anyway I put 100% into every observation form and constructively criticised. The trainees really appreciated my feedback and I could see them working on the things I had mentioned.

•Part of the course is a visit to a Thai school or camp so the trainees can practice teaching in front of Thai children and not just each other. This was a highlight and a turning point for me when I did the course. I could see it was the same for the trainees. It was exciting for me to see them in action and using what they had been taught. It brought me back to how nervous and excited I felt when I did it.

•As a thank you from the camp organisers we were treated to some orientation/adventure activities including an on the ground scramble, a ball passing game attached to trees, a blindfolded mini hike, a rope suspension bridge crossing and a pond swim! We were broken into teams and points were rewarded for chanting your song and for team spirit. Everyone got involved and helped each other. At some points I picked up the Thai kids and ran with them. One girl couldn't swim so I carried her across the pond!! Oh WE WON!!

•As a trainer you have to keep some distance between yourself and the trainees for obvious reasons. This was pretty difficult during the weekends especially when we all went to Phi Phi! That was a great night as the other Phuket course also went and we ended up having a beer pong competition and a plank off. Myself and Taylor were robbed of victory in our bp match due to a caught ball!! Some say Phuket won overall but I'm not so sure!!

•Lots of sickness occurred amongst the trainees with daily trips to the clinic or pharmacy. Three people had blood infections, many had vomiting and diarrhea and even rash breakouts!!

•On numerous days we hit the pool for some water volleyball!! This was very enjoyable and I even had a team named after me "Jerry's *****"!!

•There is some friendly competition between the different TEFL groups and one competitive task is how well a group can make the TEFL HEAVEN letters by using people. Personally I feel we nailed it and that ours was more defined then the other groups!! Heck we practiced the layout and everyone knew their roles!! Am I bias, heck no!!

•The trainees got hold of my adventure camera and took a crazy amount of pictures with it! "Jez you might have some interesting pictures on your camera", "so what like private part pictures?", "ah crap why didn't we think of that"!!

•One of the days I returned to find a pretty clever rhyme on the white board relating to myself. The class did it as a joke and I thought it was pretty funny. I can't repeat it because its vocabulary is somewhat vulgar and my Mother wouldn't be happy!!

•A great day was seeing David Waller, a long time friend from back home and someone who I have travelled with before and trust. It had been six months since I have seen anyone that hasn't been a new friend over here so I was pretty excited to see him. Unfortunately due to the 'letting go' of a team member my working days increased and I didn't get to do much with Dave during training.

•Seeing the improvement in everyone was really satisfying. It felt I had achieved what I set out to do which was to say after three weeks that I am confident all the trainees will be good capable teachers.

•The last day was absolutely brilliant as it involved a quiz, a treasure hunt/task game, a group dinner, a talent show and a heavy night out!! I really wanted to participate in the games but of course I was conducting them!! We had plank offs, stare offs, wheelbarrow race, burst the balloon without using your hands or feet, guess the song, find the balloon with a message in it, make up a rap/poem and the quiz!! The trainees got into it which is crucial otherwise it wouldn't have worked. Keep in mind we are all adults some of which are in their 30s and these are essentially kids games!!

•Getting thrown into the pool by the trainees and playing some beach football on the last day!

I can safely say this three week job was one of the best I've had due to the team I worked with, the location of the job and most importantly the fantastic group of trainees that I had. If things work out I would be interested to do it again as main trainer in April.

TEFL HEAVEN KRABI 2K13