Volunteer Story
The following is a Volunteer story written by Max Savoie:
"It’s been a rich month. There is always something to do here, whether it be teaching a class, planning a lesson, cooking and cleaning or, perhaps most memorably following a commanding but disorganized megaphone wielding head of a small village out into the middle of nowhere to plant trees in the rain. Variety, as they tell us, is the spice of life.
Equally varied are the characters on base. Something that first struck me about this course was the range of personalities, nationalities and backgrounds of both the staff and the other expedition members. This has been one of the best things about staying here.
Planning lessons is hard work. Even after hours of planning it is never possible to completely certain that things will run smoothly in the classroom. Students can go from dead quiet to wildly over excited in a matter of minutes and the occasional blackout or deafening thunderstorm can make things extra challenging but is a constant reminder that we are in a tropical developing country.
In spite of all this, my most rewarding moments have been in the classroom. Listening to my students eagerly battling through the bombardment of new vocabulary I’ve just given them always impresses me – not least because I am completely incapable of following their example in our own Thai Lessons on base. Better still is the sudden look of realization and understanding on a struggling student’s face. Teaching here isn’t changing the world but it’s good to know we are doing something."
Equally varied are the characters on base. Something that first struck me about this course was the range of personalities, nationalities and backgrounds of both the staff and the other expedition members. This has been one of the best things about staying here.
Planning lessons is hard work. Even after hours of planning it is never possible to completely certain that things will run smoothly in the classroom. Students can go from dead quiet to wildly over excited in a matter of minutes and the occasional blackout or deafening thunderstorm can make things extra challenging but is a constant reminder that we are in a tropical developing country.
In spite of all this, my most rewarding moments have been in the classroom. Listening to my students eagerly battling through the bombardment of new vocabulary I’ve just given them always impresses me – not least because I am completely incapable of following their example in our own Thai Lessons on base. Better still is the sudden look of realization and understanding on a struggling student’s face. Teaching here isn’t changing the world but it’s good to know we are doing something."
Max Savoie is presently a 10 week expedition member on the GVI Teaching and Community Development Expedition in Ao Luk, Thailand. He will be residing in Ao Luk with GVI from 3 October-11 December 2008. Max is from England.
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