“Expert English Teacher.” That is a title I and my teammates received this past week. Apparently being a native English speaker qualifies you for that title here in the small villages of Thailand.
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week we were invited to teach an English Camp at a school in a nearby village. There are 10 of us and so they divided the 183 kids into groups by age. Both days I taught a 30-minute lesson to 5 groups of the older kids, while another teammate taught the same lesson to the younger 5 groups.
What color is this? What shape is this? Yes, I taught colors and shapes to the middle and high school age students. I had to find objects around the room with a color so I could show them what color I was talking about. Teaching a subject is very different when the students can’t understand you and you can’t understand them. I found myself pointing to posters, clothing, notebooks, anything with a color on it that I could teach them. There were many gestures and facial expressions made, but I think they left knowing a few new words.
The staff of the school gave us such a great thank you. We went home with sashes tied around our waist to bind us to them, and we also left with a ton of fruit in a huge fruit basket and more in bags. They were so hospitable to us and took such great care to make sure we had the best they could offer. I am so humbled in situations like that. Why should I be treated better than anyone else? I speak a different language, but why should that elevate me? As many cultures as I am going to be in this year I don’t know if I will ever understand or grasp what our presence means to them. They say we are the ones who bless them but I am the one that leaves each month feeling blessed so abundantly.
The next morning at 8am a few of the students showed up in our village to hang out with us…we were still sleeping and then had to leave for a day trip to the Laos border. We told them they could come back Friday morning to see us and say goodbye to us. That morning they arrived at 7am….we were still sleeping then too. It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to all of the kids, both from our village and the neighboring one. I may have taught them a few English words, but they have taught me so much more.
I have learned:
· To shave a coconut
· To kill a centipede
· To kill a scorpion
· To play Thai baseball
· To speak a little Isaan Thai
· To play
· To be loved
· What community looks like
· What family is
· The meaning of the phrase “it takes a village”
· The art of eating with your fingers
· So much more than I can put words to about what it looks like to be one of the only Christians you have ever known and to not have the support of your friends because they think you’re crazy because they know nothing more than their own religion.
· To learn
I am so grateful for the opportunity God has given me this month. This month has been like none of the 4 before it and I will never forget the people I have met and been truly blessed by.
