The Intern Life

Living in the Mitharsuu Center is truly a wonderful experience, as I get to spend all of my time with my friends and have everything I need at my fingertips. It’s also Leed certified, which means that it was built to be eco-friendly and use the least amount of energy possible. The only downside to this is that there is no air conditioning, and today it was a humid 102 degrees. As one might guess, I wasn’t doing much today.

This past week had a bit of change compared to the other weeks. This week, staff from different regions of EarthRights came to the Thailand location, the Mitharsuu Center. Representatives came from Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia and included lawyers, community leaders, and project managers. They had a three-day long conference to figure out ways to streamline the processes that are used when working on a case, such as building relationships with local people and collecting information. As the school staff, I didn’t really have anything to do with the conference. But as the interns, it became Annika and I’s job to be the notetakers and document all of the conversations that were being held. It definitely wasn’t my favorite thing, as I spent my days furiously typing to try and catch as much as I could. But, I got a lot of information out of it, and met a lot of really cool people in the process. At the end of the conference, a group of people from the conference went to a rooftop bar to look at the mountain view and hang out. I almost felt like a real adult who does real adult bonding outside of work.

Another really cool thing that happened to me this week was meeting the two co-founders of ERI, Katie and Ka Hsaw Wa. Katie is a environmental and human rights attourney and Ka Hsaw Wa is a Burmese activist who are also MARRIED! Isn’t that the sweetest? Anyways, they founded ERI by starting with a big lawsuit against the oil company Unocal, and since then have continued to work to protect environmental and human rights. It was an honor to meet them and I think that they will be in the area for a while (they normally live in Washington DC), so I’m really hoping to get to know them more.

Other than that, there wasn’t too much crazy things happening this week. Annika and I have just been hanging out with the students, chatting and playing dominoes. Yesterday we took a trip to the mall to check it out and had some great desserts (ice-cream filled mochi and a sweet crepe!) But we also managed to plan a spontaneous trip for next weekend! During class one day, I started thinking about how we need to plan a trip soon - but where too? Bangkok? Phuket? Because of our schedule and different field trips, we will really only have time for one big weekend trip. When talking to Hom and my friend Hoan about it, they suggested Krabi, in the south of Thailand. Annika and I looked into it, and it turns out that Krabi is where people stay when they go on day trips to the Phi Phi Islands! The Phi Phi islands are home to pristine white beaches and clear blue waters. We booked round trip flights on AirAsia ($90), rented an AirBnB ($40 for two nights each), and reserved spots for a Phi Phi Islands day trip ($50). So next Friday, Annika, Hom and I will be on our way to Krabi and I cannot be more excited!

Until then, I will be spending two days on a field trip to visit a coal-fired power plant and learn about the impacts of it on the local people. Two of the students and I will be living in a villager’s house for one night, so I am really interested in what a home-stay will look like farther away from the big city. But I have to go pack, so bye for now!

Wat a Week!

What a week it has been!

After my first week of teaching, I am tiiiired. Annika and I have such full days! I guess this is what real adult life is like.We start out our mornings by getting up to have breakfast at about 8:15am, then teaching the English class from 9-10. We begin the school day by playing a song, one that a student will send in via Google Classroom. They typically choose songs that hold lots of meaning to them, but sometimes they just send in songs for fun. Then, we lead some sort of vocabulary word activity, with a focus on vocabulary words that the students will need to know for their content classes. This week, they were learning about globalization, so we focused on economic terms that they need to know, for example: transnational corporations, capitalism, and subsidies. We played vocabulary bingo and had the students make concept maps! We also introduced idiom Tuesdays in order to help them gain more conversational knowledge. This week we taught them "don't count your chickens before they hatch" - we went with a bird theme because one of the students really enjoys bird watching.  I believe that they really enjoy playing these games and practicing their English, because these students are so intrinsically motivated to further their language skills. I'm so impressed by how good these students are at English, and how high their goals are! I think they'll be fluent in no time.

Concept map for the word "globalization"

After our class, Annika and I observe the content classes for the day. The students have class from 10:15-12, then lunch from 12-1:30, and then back in the classroom from 1:30-4:45ish. This semester, while Annika and I are here, they learn about the issues within their communities and within the Mekong region. When they return for second semester in September (after having done some field research in their hometowns), they will learn about how they can go about solving these issues and protecting their people and rights. After classes, I sometimes will go out and play badminton or basketball with the students, other times I will just do a body weight workout. Then I shower, eat dinner and prep for the next day. Sometimes, students will come up to Annika or I at night and ask us to help them with word meanings or grammar. Other nights, Annika and I just hang out and watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail (it's on the Netflix here!)

Because we are about 20 minutes outside the city of Chiang Mai, it's a bit harder to just go out and explore the city and find activities to do, especially during the week. But, I did go bike riding the other day for an hour and a half! Some of the students, Annika, Hom (our guide to ERI - a former student who stayed to work for the school and shows us around Chiang Mai and who is also just super cool), and I just decided to go on a spur of the moment ride. We went around the local area along side roads and through different towns, all while having the beautiful mountain scenery in the background. It takes my breath away every time. While on this trip, we stopped at a few different wats! They are truly magnificent, with the most intricate detailing. I even was able to hear monks chanting and practicing their daily rituals.

Bike Ride!
Pictured L to R: me, Annika, Khoa, Hom, and Phong

Yesterday, the school staff organized a trip to the Mae Ngat Dam, the water supply for Chiang Mai, which was about an hour away. It is a beautiful reservoir that was enclosed by green mountains, and adorned with floating houses. Some of these buildings are actually houses, but many of them are restaurants where people can have a meal and play around in the water. We spent all day at this restaurant that had water inflatables and kayaks, and it was so much fun! It was really nice to spend time with the students and school staff just soaking up the sun and becoming closer as friends.

Water Trampoline!
L to R: Phong, me, Annika, Yargar, and Khoa

Last Sunday night, most of the students came with Annika, Hom and I to the Sunday Walking Street Market in the city. I kid you not, we were there for three hours and were walking among shops and vendors the whole time. Both sides of the main street were lined with shops, and sometimes they were in the middle of the street too. There were even a few wats snuggled in the middle of everything! Vendors were selling basically anything you could think of: clothes, toys, soaps, food. And it was all so inexpensive! It was great for my shopaholic side, a little less for my wallet (to be fair, I packed my suitcase knowing that I would need room for souvenirs). One thing that I found interesting was that there were so many white people there. I suppose it is summertime and many people like to travel, but still I was surprised.

While it was very busy, this week was a really good one. I am thrilled to be getting closer with the students. In addition, I am really happy to be practicing my teaching and lesson planning skills. So far, I've heard that the students are enjoying the activities that we are putting together for them. We're also starting to bring in online tools such as Quizlet and Socrative, which I believe will be really beneficial for them as well! Just have to do what I can to help them in the best way possible. 

Beautiful views, and beautiful people too

I'm currently sitting in the lobby of the second floor of the Mitharsuu center. Mother Nature is whistling, creating a soft wind that blows through the tall greenery of my surroundings. The leaves on all of the different types of trees waltz, making movement within the canopy. Chirps and coos fill the silence, the noises of all the different birds who sing every single morning. I find myself sitting here to begin all of my days, finding an effortless serenity everywhere I turn.

I have finished my first work week at EarthRights International (ERI), and I can't believe that I am living in such a paradise. Not only because of the impeccable views, but also because of the people that I spend time with every single day. The students, staff, and workers that keep this place running never fail to put a smile on my face. Everyone that I have met has been genuinely kind, and we are beginning to develop a relationship where we learn from each other about our lives, cultures, and languages. Students here are rich in knowledge, and I am collecting golden nuggets of information from their stories.

My job here at ERI is to aid in teaching English to these adult students. They need to understand English because many of them are striving to be leaders in their communities and fight large corporations that are disrupting the natural flow of their hometowns. This ability of knowing English will aid in furthering their research abilities and being able to communicate with people outside of their communities. These students are learning what it means to be a defender of earth rights and human rights, and will move on to do great things with this knowledge.

Starting tomorrow, Annika and I will be co-teaching the English class everyday. Doing so will require lesson planning, trying out different teaching methodologies, and figuring out the best way to teach English as another language. Honestly, I'm so excited to begin teaching and further my skills, as well as building strong relationships with the students. However, this past week we were mostly learning about the organization as well as doing some grading and administrative tasks. We did so because the students were engaging in forum theater.

Forum theater is when students will create a mini play based off of issues in their hometown, act it out, and then invite the audience to help think of ways that the issue could be solved. For example, the two plays were centered around a government taking away a community forest, and a wife who does not have equality in her family. The twist to the forum theater is that when the audience member thinks of an idea, they must replace a main character and act it out themselves. The point of it is to show that one must step into another person's shoes to really gain an understanding of the situation, and that the results may not always go your way. Forum theater is an incredible way to practice experiential learning, and I am glad that I now know about it.

Since I've been here, I've begun to write a daily entry in my journal and read more books, something that I haven't really done much prior to coming here. However, I am grateful for this chance to slow down my life a bit and reflect on each day. I'm excited to see where the next few weeks take me in this journey of a lifetime.

Boarding Time

In one hour, I will be boarding the plane that will be taking me on my a journey of a lifetime- spending 11 weeks teaching English at EarthRights International in Chiang Mai. As I wait at O'hare in the international terminal, I look out at the plane we will be taking, which is covered in Sanrio characters. We'll be riding in style. Currently, I'm sitting with Annika Fuller, my partner in crime on this adventure. It's currently 11:09pm, and we're talking about how excited we are for this trip (but not the 20 hours of travel that we are about to embark on). However, the matching Sanrio boarding passes certainly helps.

You'd think that since I've already studied abroad, the transition from leaving home would be easier. But nope, having to walk away from my parents at the airport and saying bye to my sister was just as hard as it was the first time. Despite this, I know that I am going to have such a great time, and that I will have lots of stories to tell when I get home.

I'm really excited for the places I'm going to see, the food I'm going to likely binge, everyone that I am going to meet, and all that I am going to learn within these next few months. I hope to adventure as much as I can, while practicing my teacher voice and honing in on my lesson planning and teaching skills. It's going to be a wild ride, but I'm ready for it.