My Thai Diary

In May 2013, hoping that my Visa application is accepted, I will be flying from my hometown of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to the capital city Bangkok.

The official name of the country is the Kingdom of Thailand
The national language is Standard Thai
The currency of Thailand is the Thai Baht

Approximately ฿1 = £0.02 / ฿1 = €0.03 / ฿1 = $0.03USD / ฿1 = $0.03AUD

The Orientation

My orientation will take place in a hotel in Bangkok over a span of 4-days. I will be reminded on lesson planning, keeping classes steady and also be introduced to Thai culture.

My Placement

I have been placed at Satrichaiyaphum School, a high school of about 2500-3000 students per annum. The average class size at this school is 50 students.

I will mainly be teaching English but I may be asked to help in extra-curricular activities regarding acting and singing as I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts

Where Am I Going?

The city i've been placed in is Chaiyaphum, the capital of Chaiyaphum district and is in the North-East of Thailand



As expected, when I'm there it's going to be very very hot - the average temperatures being:



My local Supermarket will be ...



... created in 1998 on a venture with the UK and Ireland Supermarket-Chain Tesco.

My first lesson outcomes:

It is customary in Thailand to greet a person with a wai.

Wai is the Thai term for the bow where you place both hands together and as a mark of respect you bow to the person you greeting and saying the phrase "sa-wat-di-khrab" (or sa-wat-di-kaa if female)

Thai is a tonal language, meaning that if you change the tone of something, it will mean something else.

Máa = Rising Tone = Horse

Mǎa = Falling/Rising = Dog

My attempt at the tones vocaroo.com/i/s1Yax2qLcGJ1