บทความ

My Journey in Vietnam

รูปภาพ
When visiting a country, it's important to meet people, try the local delicacies and go around the place. So after two weeks in  Vietnam, our hosts took us to some of the tourist attractions in Dong Thap such as the temples, flower garden, park and a typical Vietnam house. I'm glad that apart from having to experience being a part of Vietnam's educational system, I also had the chance to explore. This is one of the Chinese temples in the area and coming from the Chinese culture center in northern Thailand, I would say that their temples have very similar structures and designs with what we have in Nakhon Sawan.  We also had the chance to bond with other teachers not only from Vietnam but also from Laos. It's also worth mentioning that going with Laos teachers felt like going with Thai teachers due to similarities in our languages. This time gave me a glimpse of the hospitality of Vietnamese people and how they welcome or entertain their guests.  This was taken during th

The Filipino Teachers

รูปภาพ
I've been studying with Filipino teachers since Grade 1 up until I finished secondary school. They'd probably have some influence in my decision to be an English teacher. I have profound respect to them because they are talented, hardworking and friendly people. They handle their classes well and and very adaptable. Having this in mind, I was really excited to meet other Filipino teachers. Unfortunately, the experience I had with them was the opposite of what I have expected.  The Philippines is known as an English speaking country so it's fair to say that they have better English speaking skills than us but it shouldn't be a reason to look down on others and act superior just because you know more English words. Also, they seem to have forgotten their manners in queueing and social graces especially in public areas. To them, invading personal space seem to be normal as they are obnoxious and they act like they're above everyone else. The Filipinos I've met in T

My Impressions

รูปภาพ
Like every other endeavor, it is important to build a good working environment among all the workers. Vietnam has organized a team-building activity for all the student teachers from Thailand, Laos and the Philippines. We were joined by some education students from the host university in Vietnam. This was the time when we started to know and get familiar with each other and this was where we built friendships too.  As a part of this team-building activity, we were asked to sing a Vietnamese song and it ended up like a comedy show because we didn't speak nor understand their language. It was fun anyway. A week after our arrival, we were given the chance to observe the kindergarten class. It was such a good day then because we got to play with kids who don't speak our language and we don't speak theirs-we used sign language or body language to communicate. It was a day where we felt like kids again.

Practicum

รูปภาพ
     This is my first teaching exposure outside of Thailand and also the first time I'll be with people of different nationalities. It was an exciting yet challenging experience for me. It's exciting because it's another level of teaching-learning, travelling, meeting people and a foreign working environment. On the other hand, it's challenging because of language barrier, cultural differences and anticipating the unknown. Vietnamese people are very welcoming and friendly. From the airport, we were ushered to our host school (Future School) which is a private school for nursery, kindergarten and primary students. We were also given a welcome party where we were introduced to the students and teachers. Though Vietnam is also and ASEAN country, the way they do things specifically at school, vary significantly with how we do things in Thailand but the differences are not something to be afraid of but rather things to ponder upon and consider when doing teaching internships

Experience in Vietnam

รูปภาพ
  Everything is first for me. My first airtravel, the first country I've visited, my first exposure to the world-though not so far from Thailand. It was fun and meaningful. I thought Thailand roads are very dangerous. I've changed my mind when I went to Vietnam. I wouldn't even dare to cross the road due to motorbikes in all areas and they do drive fast. This is Vietnam's famous  “Ban-mei” . It’s the first Vietnam snack I've tried upon arriving. It's like a sandwhich with fried pork filling. It tastes good, maybe average because I came from the land of streetfood. Anyway, I've grown to like Ban-mei during my short stay there.   Most Thai food is spicy so it's not a surprise that I've eaten spicy noodles from Yakami shop almost everyday since I've arrived in Dong Thap. This is my first dinner when I arrived at Dong Thap. This shop became my hang-out place with the other Thai student and their noodles became our go-to food as it tastes like Thai no