Summer School

One of GVI Thailand's interns, Vicki, spent a couple of days helping out and teaching English at a local summer school program. See below for Vicki's take on the experience:



On Monday and Tuesday morning of this past week, I was graced with the opportunity to teach English to children at a summer camp in Ao Luk. For the past few weeks I’ve been searching for ways to work with children of the community, but it’s hard this time of year because schools are closed for summer vacation. Lucky for me, GVI staff were able to find a teacher who was excited to have me. The children at the camp ranged in age from 8-13 years old and were grouped into six different levels according to their age. The summer camp is education based, so the head teacher wanted me to run lessons that were geared towards what the children were already learning at camp. For a couple of hours each morning, I arrived at the camp and was immediately handed over to a group of 20-30 eager students. On Monday, I spent my first hours with the youngest group. We did activities based on learning our colors and animals. We played some twister, played some charades, and had a good laugh. My second hour was spent with the oldest group. We worked on practicing time and daily routines. We played a huge group-game of concentration that everyone really enjoyed. On Tuesday, I couldn't’t wait to go back to camp after seeing how big of a success Monday was! Today, I spent one hour with the oldest group, teaching household chores and engaging them in natural conversation. Then, I spent time with the middle-group of children. During this class we reviewed time and daily routines. The children got really into a dart-board-style sentence creation game I had devised. Don’t worry; the darts were just balls with suctions cups that happen to stick wonderfully to white boards! At the end of the day, the children gave me a surprise group hug and sang a goodbye song that nearly brought tears to my eyes. It was two days of hard work that left me sweaty and completely exhausted, but I wish those mornings never ended. Sadly, summer camp is now over. Maybe I’ll just have to come back to Ao Luk for next summer…

Summer School

Village Project: Tung Sung

On Friday, the GVI team visited the village of Tung Sung in the Khao Yai sub district of Ao Luk. Tung Sung is a rural village well know for it's community forest, a large stretch of native jungle that has been preserved. The forest contains a number of critters but most interestingly, a frog that can only be found in this area called "Gop Lang Chiang" known for the diagonal lines on its back.

Because the community forest is owned and taken care of by the village itself, they are also responsible for upkeep of the trails which have been put in so community and visitors can enjoy the surrounding nature. GVI volunteers and staff joined local community members to clear up the trails by raking leaves, picking grass and leaves and removing any litter that had been left behind. It was a wonderful opportunity to get outside and in the woods! 2 hours of hard work left the trails clear and everyone joined together to enjoy a well deserved feast. GVI brought along a picnic of sandwiches, salad and pasta and the community contributed rice, curries and fruits to the mix.

Village Project: Tung Sung

Thursday Night Party

This party’s theme is ‘Multiple Births’. Everyone dressed as twins, triplets, etc. Some of the highlights were the Three Blind Mice, Un-dead triplets and Tim and his mini-me, Karen.

Thursday Night Party

National Park Trip

On Saturday volunteers had the opportunity to enjoy a day at the nearby National Park. Than Bok Khoranee National Park is a magical forest located a convenient 10 minute walk from the GVI base. The park is filled with big old trees and found in a valley created by surrounding limestone mountains. The highlight of the park is the river that runs through it. Pouring out from a cave, the river tumbles its way through the park creating inviting crystal clear pools.

The dry season is the best time to visit the park as the water is at its clearest. It is also a popular location for locals and tourists to escape the intense heat of the season. Volunteers had a great time joining the community in cooling off in the water. The park was filled with family and friends and it made for not only a fun day but a community and cultural opportunity as well.

After everyone got their swim in, the group descended on the food garden located at the park's entrance where local people sell grilled and fried chicken, spicy papaya salad, sticky rice and other yummy treats.

National Park Trip

Village Project: Ban Nai Yuan Kaek

On Friday, volunteers had the opportunity to experience their first GVI village project. Due to the schools being closed for the Thai summer holiday, village projects until mid-May will be based around service projects in rural communities based on demand by the village heads.

This weeks project took place in the village of Ban Nai Yuan Kaek, located in the Ao Luk Nuea sub district of Ao Luk. The head of the village had requested assistance in picking up trash. There is an amazing cave located over a lake called 'Sat Nai Yuan Tong', which is part of the Than Bok Khoranee National Park system. Because the cave is located a ways from the rest of the national park property it is not looked after on a regular basis and is often littered with

trash. The GVI team joined with some community members and some local friends to pick up the trash littering the park.

After a thorough clean, everyone had some time to relax and enjoy the site. Inside the cave, some enjoyed a bit of a wonder and a swim in the lake. Back outside everyone enjoyed a picnic before heading back to base.

Village Project: Ban Nai Yuan Kaek

Adventure Day!

Today was the final day of GVI's Songkran activities at the GVI base. Adventure day was as big of a hit as the previous 2 days. Each day at least 40-50 community members joined in on the fun and festivities.

Thursday's activities included:

Question water balloon toss: Not your ordinary water balloon toss. Students stood in a big circle and asked questions in English before throwing the balloon to another person. That person was required to answer the question (with or without getting soaked!)

Animal relay: In two teams, an animal flashcard was revealed to one team mate from each team. They must pass the name of the animal (in English) quietly to the front of the line where another team mate digs through a pile of words until they find the correct one.

Airplane Flying: This one didn't require much English, but it sure was fun. Students designed their own paper airplanes which they attempted to fly through different sized holes.

Musical Chairs: Musical chairs was requested by several students over the last couple of nights and today it was delivered! A huge game was organized and it got very competitive!

More Pictionary (of course!!!): This game is the gift that keeps on giving. Students were absolutely crazy about it and the game never lost its thrill for a second.

And the big event of the night was a Treasure Hunt! Students used their English skills to solve clues that took them around the GVI base.

This week was a great opportunity for volunteers to get to know their students and the community, and experience a bit of Thai culture. They are very lucky to be in Thailand at this festive time of year!

Adventure Day!

Fashion Day!

The second activity day for the Songkran Activity week at the GVI base was all about clothes, colors, and fashion! It was another big turn out and the energy was even higher as students and volunteers had settled into their roles and were ready to have a good time.

Activities included:

Twister: A slight variation from the old school party game, students move around colored circles while music plays. When the music stops, they listen for 4 colors which they have to touch with hands and feet.

Clothes Vocabulary: Listening to vocabulary for different clothing objects, students on opposing teams run to be the first one to slap the correct picture.

What's he/she wearing Word Jumbles: Two different teams raced to unjumble words related to clothing.

Clothesline Relay: A clothesline was set up with a variety of different types and colors of clothes. In 2 teams, a description (ex: brown shirt) is passed up the line until the person at the front has to find the item from the line, take it down, and put it on.

Paper Dolls: Students used their English clothes vocabulary to dress up paper dolls.

Change Chairs if: This is a GVI classroom favorite. A large circle of chairs are set up, one less than the number playing. All but one sits on a chair while 1 person stands in the middle. The person in the middle says something like; "Stand up if you are wearing a black T-shirt". Anyone wearing a black T-shirt must stand up and find a new seat. The person in the middle also tries to get a seat, leaving one person to be the 'middle man/woman'. The game continues until everyone is exhausted.

Hat Making: Students had the opportunity to let their creative juices flow and fashion some handmade hats made from recycled and found objects. Objects included plastic cups, yogurt containers, tinsel and magazine clippings. Some of the creations were impressive, to say the least.

Back by popular demand....Pictionary!

And the climactic activity of the evening was the Fashion Show! Participants (some volunteering, others coerced by their friends) dressed up in a range of eccentric fashion and strutted their stuff on the GVI catwalk. The audience described in English what the supermodel was wearing.

Fashion Day!

Cooking Day

The first evening of Songkran Week activities at the GVI base was focused on food. More than 50 students and their family members came out throughout the evening to take part in the activities and games.

The games and activities included were:

Cooking workshops on making tuna fish sandwiches, fruit smoothies and vegetable salad. Using English and simple recipes students had the opportunity to talk their way through these treats. And the best part was the when they were finished they got to eat the fruits of their labor. Eating is definitely a favorite Thai past time and the snacks were greatly appreciated. Students went on to teach volunteers how to make their own local versions including a tomato smoothie!

Taste Taste: Students were blindfolded and given different samples to taste. They were encouraged to describe the flavor or texture and what they thought the food was, all in English. Taste treats included milk (cold, bland, creamy), salt (salty), cookies (sweet, crunchy) and chewing gum (sweet, chewy).

Apple Bobbing: An oldy but a goody this gave students the opportunity to have a snack without too much work. It was a nice wet break from the other English activities.

Fruit Feel Box: Different fruits are placed in a box with a hole for the hand. Without peeking students used their sense of touch to decide which fruit it is and say the name in English. It is a great vocabulary activity for the kiddies.

Fishing for Words: Using makeshift fishing poles, participants tried to snag different food word cards including foods (lime, rice, coffee) and taste adjectives (sour, salty, spicy). They could use the words for pronunciation and vocabulary or for making sentences.

Concentration: This matching game allowed players to find pairs that showed food vocabulary pictures and words.

And the hit of the night was....Tim's Pictionary Party. Based in the lounge, the very simple game of pictionary drove in the crowds through out the night. Tim kept busy for the full 3 hours of the evening session and there were still students playing after hours!

Cooking Day

Songkran Week Activities

In lieu of the Songkran Festival, GVI's evening English classes were cancelled for the week as everything shuts down in Thailand so families can have some down time and travel. Evening classes will be postponed until next week when students return from their break.

As a substitute for the normal evening classes, the GVI team are hosing 3 evenings of fun family English activities. Students were invited last week and encouraged to sign up to come to 1 or more of the events. The activity nights are designed to allow students to practice their English and get to know the new volunteers through fun games and activities focused around different themes. Volunteers get the opportunity to try out their teaching skills in an informal setting and have the opportunity to get to know some of the community personally.

The weeks themes are as follows:
Tuesday = Cooking Day
Wednesday = Fashion Day
Thursday = Adventure Day

Songkran Week Activities

Songkran Festival

The 13th of April marks Songkran Day, the celebration of the Thai New Year and the biggest festival of the year in Thailand. Songkran takes place at the hottest time of year, right in the heat of the Thai summer. Although Thais now recognize the 31st of December/1st of January as the shift to a new year they still celebrate the Thai New Year with pleasure.

The festival has a lot of deep set Buddhist traditions which include visiting the temple and giving offerings of food to the monks as well as paying respects to elders in the family and community. It is also a time of cleansing and purification to prepare for the new year ahead which is the reason why water is used.

Nowadays the festival is marked with hard core water play. Armed with water pistols, and huge buckets of water, Thais and visitors take to the streets to "purify" themselves and keep cool at this brutal time of year. It has become popular to fill the backs of pickup trucks with water and family members and spend the day driving around and soaking people (and getting soaked in return). Others opt to stand by the side of the road spraying and soaking those that pass by.

This is always a great time of year for GVI's volunteers who have the opportunity to join the community in a fun day, stay cool and learn a bit about Thai culture. GVI's volunteers and staff joined the crowds, armed with water pistols and spent the day wet.

Songkran Festival

Thai Cooking Workshop

On Saturday volunteers had the opportunity to take part in a Thai cooking workshop taught by local friends Pee Ban and Pee Pun. Together they prepared 3 Thai favorites; a vegetarian green curry (gaeng kiaw waan jae), Pad Thai with chicken (Pad Thai Gai), and Papaya Salad (Som Tam). In the evening, everyone was able to sit down and enjoy the feast they had prepared. Yum!

Thai Cooking Workshop

Kayaking Trip

On Saturday, volunteers had their first side trip. Here's a description of the trip from our intern, Vicki:

This past weekend the new volunteers lathered up with sun-screen, put on their best kayaking shoes and were taken to Bor Thor for the first side trip of this expedition. They spent several hours kayaking past limestone mountains, navigating their way through narrow, winding mangrove swamps, and relaxing in beautiful lagoons. The trip also included some cave exploring of Big-Headed-Ghost Cave; a hidden gem of Krabi, Thailand. Inside one finds cave paintings that are 3,000-5,000 years old. The trip concluded with a bountiful family style lunch at a riverfront seafood restaurant. Mmm….delicious. Overall, the afternoon was an enriching and memorable experience.

Kayaking Trip

The First Thursday Night Party

And the first party theme of this term is....80s HIP HOP! Despite a week of hard work, teaching, and getting used to new surroundings, food, weather, and people everyone was ready to let loose to celebrate their first week of teaching. Although most volunteers do not come prepared with costumes, everyone was able to use the limited resources available, some creativity and a little imagination to come up with some great costumes.

The First Thursday Night Party

Term 15 Begins!

On Monday, GVI's 15th term of free English classes for the Ao Luk community began with 104 students! This is a great turnout and goes to show that the classes are still popularly attended in the community. 10 classes are being provided for students 15-78 years old in levels 1-6 and taught by a quality team of GVI's TEFL trainees, trainers and staff.

For the first day of classes new teachers had the opportunity to observe their class being taught by their trainers. Tuesday will be their first day in front of the classroom and they have been preparing diligently creating resources and practicing their lessons to prepare themselves for the first steps at becoming a trained TEFL teacher.

Check out how smart the new teachers looked on their first day of class!

Term 15 Begins!

New Arrivals in Ao Luk!

On Saturday, 7 new volunteers joined the GVI team in Ao Luk for TEFL training and teaching in the local Thai community. These new volunteers will be joining us for 4-20 weeks to take part in quality teacher training and assist with GVI's education and community development projects in the Ao Luk community.

Our newest set of volunteers are joining us from England and the United States and are looking forward to getting settled in their new home and delving into their newest adventure.

The weekend was full of health and safety tours and information, cooking workshops, TEFL introduction, lesson planning and a presentation about GVI's presence in Ao Luk. It was a packed weekend but new volunteers still found the time to get to know their new friends and join together for some drinks and relaxation in the evenings.

Stay tuned for updates on their progress and adventures!

New Arrivals in Ao Luk!

Hard Working Interns

Thanks to our new interns, we were able to make some much needed beautification improvements to the base before our newest team of volunteers arrived. Besides the normal cleaning, shopping, and general prep work, interns took to painting our outdoor input area to brighten things up a bit.

Hard Working Interns