I have finished up teaching at Thap Sakae Whittya High School. On Monday I start teaching at another local High School called Chiakesem Whittya. I will teach there for only one week because the following week the students will be taking exams and wrapping up their semester to start a 2 month summer break. Then the plan for my last 3 weeks is to go back to teaching at the primary school called Ban Hin Turn, grades pre-school through 6th. I can't believe I only have one month left here!
Last week was very emotional for me. On my last day at Thap Sakae the students and teachers gave me a huge send off, (one that probably would have been appropriate if I had been there for 2 years and not just 2 weeks). In the morning I said farewell to all of the students over the PA system at their regular morning assembly. I thanked them for being so great to me and for being such great students. I told them that they should be proud of their English and that I was impressed by their hard work and dedication to the English language. I told them that I sincerely hoped to see them again soon. Then the director thanked me and gave me a beautiful bag that has an elephant embroidered on the front. Inside was a little money. I am extremely grateful as I know that the school has no budget for this and it makes me wonder if the teachers might have passed a hat. I will never know but as I said, I cannot find words to say how grateful I am for their kindness. If that was not enough.... each class had a student come to the front and bring me a gift. I was overwhelmed and am not afraid to say that I cried throughout the entire ordeal. The gifts were amazing. A picture frame, 2 beautiful jigsaw puzzles with beautiful scenes from Thailand and a beautiful hand carved bamboo flute. Then students lined up by the dozens to give me candy, cards, letters and little hand written notes that said things like, "I will miss you", "I love you", and "I hope you can come back to teach at my school soon". It was so touching.
My last day at Thap Sakae was a blast! I am not sure how it came about but it seems that all Thai teenagers love the song "Zombie" by The Cranberries. It's a great song because the lyrics are about peace and the tragedy of war. It is also a blessing because the lyrics have many words that are difficult to pronounce for them. Like the "Z" in Zombie and the "th"sound. This is because the Thai language doesn't have these sounds. So in each class throughout the day we read the lyrics and focused on pronouncing each and every word correctly. Then I played guitar and the students sang the song over and over again focusing on the words. (See the video below). It was fun and rewarding as I could see their pronunciation improving each time. The teachers would stand in the hall and listen and afterword thanked me for getting the students so engaged and told me that they could see much improvement in their English.
Once again... I cannot begin to describe how rewarding this experience has been for me. I feel so loved and appreciated. The teachers and students have gone above and beyond in making sure that I feel this way and for this I am so grateful.
Namaste
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