Life in Tak

Friday 11/12/15 3:00 PM

The view from our porch

The last week or so in Tak has been great, and I am really starting to feel settled in. Last weekend we stayed at home and had some friends come visit on Saturday night. We all went out for dinner and drinks Saturday night and it was a blast. This weekend we are going to a small waterfall near Tak, but will mostly be hanging out around here. Next weekend we are heading back to Chiang Mai for a Loi Kratang festival. Loi Kratang is one of the major Buddhist holidays here. Each city has its own way of celebrating, but they all center around the release of lanterns. In Chiang Mai they will release hundreds of floating lanterns into the sky. Here in Tak many lantern floats will be released into the river later that week. Since we have been taking it easy lately I have decided to dedicate this post to information about what the daily life is like here in Tak.

A typical day here starts with me waking up just before 7:00 am, getting ready, and making the 5 minute bike ride to the school. In the morning Molly and I typically have breakfast at the school “canteen” where meals can be purchased for 20 baht (roughly 60 cents). The food there is delicious; there are 14 stalls that all sell different Thai dishes. You can get chicken with chilies, rice with a huge variety of stir-fries and curries, fried eggs, noodle soups…I could go on forever. And it’s all made fresh everyday by people in the community.

The stands on the left all serve cheap food!

Teachers sit on the stage with the fans

After breakfast I usually have about a half hour of downtime before first period. The students all have a morning assembly during this time, complete with a marching band performance (yes, every day) and speeches from teachers and staff. I use this time to finish checking worksheets from the day before or to check in on my fantasy football teams, which might I add are in first and second place. I teach 18 classes a week: four on every day except on Friday when I only have two. I teach the equivalent of 7^th 9^th and 10^th graders with most of my classes coming from 7^th and 9^th grade. Right now I am working on decimals, inequalities, and functions with my classes. Molly teaches 16 classes a week. She teaches two gifted classes in grades 7 and 11 called MEPs (Mini English Program) and are kids who have really high levels of English proficiency. These are fun to teach because she can do more advanced projects and activities with them. She also has two other 7^th grade classes, and 12^th graders at various levels.

I have found that in teaching here, each class is really different. Since the students are organized into classes by grade, skill level and even further by special programs their parents can’t opt to pay for, they really vary in their abilities. Some of the groups of students are quiet and eager to learn while some are loud in class and more difficult to get through to. Some can read articles in English and discuss them with you, others you have to teach basic vocabulary. Most days I will have two classes in the morning before meeting Molly at her office to grab lunch during 4^th or 5^th period. Her office is across campus from mine as she is in the English building. After lunch I will teach the remainder of my classes. Math classes start with me reviewing the past week’s material and presenting the day’s lesson. Then I have a worksheet I help my students complete; if they complete the worksheets quickly we play a math game at the end of class. It is really fun to play games with kids; they tend to relish the competition! During my free periods I am either lesson planning, or checking worksheets. The days tend to be pretty busy.

Molly on the way home from school

Molly and I usually get home around 4:30 or a little earlier on some days. There is about an hour of downtime before we head across town to a local sports complex. The complex has a small weight room, a basketball court, a mile-long loop to run around, and various other amenities. I try to make it over there 5 times a week if possible. If we are travelling on the weekend that number drops to 3-4. After the gym we grab dinner at a local spot. We have been trying many different places but our favorite thus far is a small stand that serves amazing pad Thai for only 20 baht. It is right next to the local river, and about a 5 minute bike ride from our place. When we get back we usually read, make travel plans, or watch Netflix until it is time to go to sleep. Molly is also working on submitting her law school applications right now so she can be busy with that. The weekdays can be tiring but we do usually find time for activities like a Thai massage, exploring town on our bikes or hanging out with the other foreigners sometime during the week.  And that is a typical day of life in Tak.

The "Welcom To Tak" sign on the way to the gym

Two of the strays that live by our apartment (front: Swaggy P. back: Tom Haverford)

Tak can be somewhat simple but it’s a really nice, peaceful place. I am really enjoying it and am grateful for our placement. Being away from any tourism has allowed us to really immerse ourselves in Thai culture. I feel like I am really learning what life here is all about: the go with the flow attitude, a focus on people and relationships, kindness and friendliness…it’s a really great place to live. I have had a lot of fun playing basketball with the locals and getting to know the town. I feel like I am starting to figure out good ways to teach here too. I have lots of help from my Thai co-teachers, they are all such great resources for school and life in Thailand in general. Living with Molly and getting to spend so much time together is incredible. All in all life in Thailand has been everything I wanted so far!