Second quarterly report by Sarah Petschow

Mae Sot, Thailand. January 2012

Half of my stay  here in Mae Sot is over now. Crazy!

But even though I'm writing it down, it just seems so unreal to me and I think I haven't completely realized it yet.

The time I could spend in Mae Sot passed like nothing. But on the other hand it feels as if an eternity passed since the day I did the first step out of the airport.

The reason is probably that so much happened. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that so many things can change  in mere six months and that you can make so many memorable experiences.

At this point I want to report about some of the incidents which made my stay here so exciting and unforgettable.

Duties

At the end of October I quit teaching at new day school because another volunteer arrived who teaches at the school four times a week.

Even though it was fun teaching there I guess it's better to concentrate on one school in order to be able to focus on the needs of the students.

I am still teaching three times a week at the P'Yan Daw migrant school. In the past 3 months since my last report I encountered some problems. These problems were probably caused because of my own insecurity.

At the beginning of October the students of the schools had to write examinations. Unfortunately the results weren't as good as I hoped them to be.

It's frustrating to see that some of the students aren't able to use practically what they have learned in the lessons.

Questions like: “ Is what I am doing here really helpful for my students?” or “ Can I really influence the life of my students positively?” occure.

It's not as if I came here with the attitude that I would be able to change the world.

But with the time hopes and expectations came up and reality just didn't confirm them.

Because I'm teaching at P'Yan Daw for quite some time now I really came to like the students and the thought that they probably won't be able to realize their dreams, to become a doctor or a lawyer is hard to bear.

But I'm not in the position to change the whole situation so I guess I just have to concentrate on what I am able to do.

Even though that sounds kind of depressing in reality those aren't the things which dominate my life here.

There are always experiences of success and other happy moments. Once my student suddenly asked me if I had stomach- ache, for example( I taught this a couple of months ago). That doesn't sound like a big incident but for me it was very nice to see that they can use what I teach them in their daily life. Anyway I consider speaking as something much more important than getting the highest mark in some examination.

Because if they are able to overcome their shyness, they can talk more freely. They can communicate with other people from other countries, what will enable them to gain more experiences and maybe a chance to a brighter future.

Beside the school I also help with other projects e.g the fellowship or the roadshows.

The roadshows were a project by the ROY- Team (Rays of Youth), which is supported by HWF( Help Without Frontiers).

Students from various schools performed dancing, singing and plays at different locations.

The main goal of these shows was to increase the awareness of many problems.

For that they used among other things the drama. These dramas display issues e.g human trafficking, child labour and traffic rules.

Even though the performance wasn't always perfect it was still impressive to see those normally shy students to perform so freely in front of a big audience.

It was a great project which didn't only show the main issues of this area but also was a great opportunity for the students to show their hidden potential.

Another huge project in which I assisted was the fellowship. It's a big sport-contest in which students from all 8 schools, that are supported by HWF, joined.

It was a great chance for the students, not only to improve their sports skill, but also to make new friends from other schools.

For two days the students enjoyed themselves by playing volleyball, football and caneball or  participating in other competitions e.g. longjump, highjump or sprint.

In the end there was also a singing competiton and a debate between the schools.

It was nice to watch how much fun the students had. They found new friends and made some beautiful memories, like me.

Freetime

Another great experience was my second trip to the north of Thailand.

We combined this trip with our Visa- Run (every 3 months we have to extend our Visa - to do this we have to cross the Thai border).

In Mae Sai we used this opportunity to visit the Burmese border city Tachilek. It wasn't exactly a nice visit because the sellers and taxi driver were pretty intrusive.

We also went to the cities Pai and Mae Hong Song. Even though the nature was really breathtaking it was weird to stay in a place with so many tourists.

I'm just not used to the touristic Thailand because I got to know Thailand from a completely different side.

But I'm glad that I am able to learn about all the different aspects of this country.

At the end of December one could hear the Christmas bells ring even here in Thailand.

I was never the biggest fan of this celebration but it was nice to see with how much enthusiasm and joy the people here celebrated.

Also in my school they spent a lot of energy and time to prepare everything for the big day. The students and teachers practiced their performances long beforehand, decorated the whole school and cooked unimaginable amounts of food.

The celebration was a great success and I had a lot of fun even though I would have appreciated it if they wouldn't have performed so many songs (they just love to sing karaoke).

Conclusion

Living in Mae Sot is no longer something new for me. It's become everyday life. Even if that doesn't sound so great, for me it's a great development.

 I am no longer a stranger. The environment is familiar and that's a nice feeling. I found a home so far away from my actual home...

This feeling holds its own charm.

In the past 6 months I met some incredible people and made lots of irreplaceable memories.

I'm still very happy with my decision to go abroad and I hope - no - I'm sure this feeling will last.