ASSIGNMENT 1: INTRODUCTION

[Sam Glossop]

I’m Sam, a second year medical student at Oxford University. For me, home is Derby, and has been all my life. This is one of my major motivations for travelling to Thailand, where I hope to challenge myself by living and working in a new and exciting environment. However, I also recognise that this will pose challenges, as I have not travelled to Asia before. This means there are many unknowns which I will have to manage to make the most of the experience, but the unknown aspect is what makes this opportunity so exciting to me. A second challenge is that my direct classroom teaching experience is limited, so I will need to quickly adjust to this new way of working.
Through my school placement I hope to develop my confidence, communication and teaching skills. More broadly, I’m seeking to experience a different way of life and approach to community. I hope this will give me new ideas about my own life, a more critical view of my culture and new perspectives on how best to live and interact with others.

[Nikhita Bagga]

Hi, my name is Nikhita.
I have just graduated from my master’s degree in Physics at Warwick University. I was born and raised in England and have been tutoring maths and physics for 4 years. Having never been to Asia, travelling to Thailand seemed like a great opportunity to explore a new part of the world and experience a new culture.

I expect that the language barrier will be an interesting challenge when teaching, but this will help me to develop more new and creative ways of communicating different ideas. I hope to learn as much as I can about Thai culture, do a good job with teaching, try new experiences and foods, meet new people and explore as much as possible!

[Mahika Tulsyan]

Hi everyone!
My name is Mahika Tulsyan and I am an international student from India studying Business Management at Warwick University. I am currently a second-year student on my summer break. I wanted to try something new and work on my self-growth and self-development and being a part of gotoco seemed the perfect opportunity to do so effectively.
I have previously worked with mentally challenged students here in India and I immensely enjoyed it.
Teaching abroad is a bonus for me to explore the culture while at the same time helping me work on my passion for working with children.
The major challenge I will face in this journey will probably be the language. Communicating with the locals in places like restaurants and supermarkets might be difficult. However, I hope to overcome this by preparing myself with a basic understanding of the language before hand.
At the end of the program, along with the certification I hope to gain additional skills and refine my current ones. I can only wish to call another country home by meeting new people and understanding the new culture. Once I immerse myself and adapt to the country and its customs, I will want to visit it again with a new mindset and walk down memory lane.
While gaining teaching skills, I hope that this will be an enriching and enjoyable experience.

[Mahika Tulsyan]

Hey Lola!
We have pretty similar goals for this program I feel!
Hopefully, we can meet in Thailand.

Good Luck with the program.

[Cyrus Yazdanpanah]

Hi! My name is Cyrus. I graduated a year ago from the University of Cambridge, studying Politics & International Relations, and have recently completed a masters in law, and have been travelling in the Middle East and Caucuses over the last few months. I want to visit Thailand as I love travelling and have been told by so many people about what an amazing time they had in Thailand. I’m sure being so far away in a totally different culture could potentially be challenging at first however I know by remaining patient and keeping an open mind I will be able to overcome any challenge. I am hoping to meet some new people, and fully immerse myself in Thai culture.

[Juliette Webb]

Hey everyone, I’m Juliette and I’m from the UK. I am half French and so have grown up speaking both English and French, and was brought up in the South West of England. I’ve just finished my first year at the University of York studying Law. I’ve lived in the UK my whole life so was super grateful when the opportunity to travel to Thailand was given to me, I travelled a little last year and of course had an amazing time so would love to see more of the world. Also teaching children will be a super valuable tool for me as family law is one of my current career options, so having the experience of teaching and being around children will allow me to better understand how they behave and their needs. As I don’t speak any Thai, I recognise that the language barrier will be a barrier at first, but once I have become more confident and more used to the way people interact in Thailand, I’m excited to immerse myself into the culture. This opportunity will provide me with training valuable to my experiences that will help me in my future career, but also undeniably will allow me to see an beautiful country and a new culture that I have yet to explore whilst meeting amazing people. good luck everyone and i’ll you guys out there!

[Angel Harnedy]

Hi Juliette!
I have also just finished my first year at the University of York studying psychology, hopefully we meet in Thailand. I’m also very excited to explore a new country and learn about a new culture. Good luck with the program!

[Chantelle Chambers]

Hello everyone. My name is Chantelle. I am 25 years old from the north east of England. I attended Sunderland university, studying health and social care graduating in 2021. since graduating I have taken time to travel and work. Working as an aupair in 3 different countries. I also spent last summer in America working as a camp counselor.
I am deciding to move to Thailand as a new adventure. I want to see that side of the world whilst also trying out a new career path in teaching. Working as an aupair, developed my skills with children thus confirming a teacher role could be great for me.
I understand I will face challenges along the way. I think moving and staying in Thailand for 2 months will give the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the culture. Allowing me to see life from another perspective. Staying in Thailand for that length of time will be my biggest challenge, however I plan to deal with this with the support of my peers and keeping myself busy. I am prepared and organized Moreso, this will help me deal with the culture shock i could potentially face on this journey.
I do not have a lot of expectations regarding this journey, I am going into this new and ready to learn new ideas and meet some amazing people from around the world. Picking up new skills along the way, whilst experiencing Thailand’s culture.
Chantelle

[Lois Aggett]

Hi! My name’s Lois, I’m 20 and I’m from England. I just finished my second year studying Law at Sheffield uni.
I decided to take part in the programme because the idea of being a teacher has always interested me and Thailand is a country that I’ve wanted to visit for a long time; the opportunity to do both is perfect for me.
I think the main barrier I will face will be learning Thai, especially the pronunciation of certain phrases. Alongside this, I think adapting to culture shock will prove a challenge. I hope to overcome these things by throwing my all into the experience and taking the time to really appreciate and understand Thailand as a whole.
I hope to meet so many new and incredible people, immerse myself in a completely new culture, and gain skills in language and teaching which I can carry forward with me in any future ventures.

[Alec Baldwin]

Hi everyone,

My name is Alec Baldwin and I am from Bournemouth in the UK. I study Aerospace Engineering at the University of Sheffield and am in my third year. I am really keen to visit the rest of the World and make friends while I do it. I am passionate about learning and experiencing Thai culture, and their hospitality so I decided immersing myself in their way of life was the best way to go about it! Teaching is a field of life that I think I would really enjoy, so having the chance to build on this skill whilst being in an unknown environment is a prospect that I find really exciting. I love adventure so going abroad is a challenge I would love to share.

I can’t wait to meet all those on my course and am excited for the adventure we will have as a group.

[Emma Grummitt]

Hi, my name is Emma and I am 21. have just finished my final year studying an English Lit degree at the University of Oxford. I grew up in South London and moved to Oxford three years ago and plan on returning to Oxford for a job after Thailand. I want to travel to Thailand because I have never travelled so far from home before so I think it will definitely challenge my comfort zone. I also want to get into teaching after so it will be very good experience to teach English in a foreign country. I think I might be quite nervous about speaking the language, I am dyslexic so find stuff like that doesn’t come naturally, but I am keen to give it a go! I hope that during experience I will be able to fully immerse myself in Thai culture and gain opportunities try things I never would of come in to contact with in the UK.

[Fraser Wilson]

Hello, my name is Fraser, and I am a 3rd year History student at the University of Glasgow. I am excited to travel to Thailand as I have an interest in teaching and have never travelled to this part of the world before. I think that the differences in language and culture will be an interesting challenge, yet after living there for the 6 weeks this will hopefully become easier. I aim to build on my teaching and communication skills by completing the course and gain insight into local cultures.

[Maria Macdonald]

Hiiii I’m Maria. I’m from Glasgow and have just graduated from Dundee 🙂 I really love travelling and meeting new people and I’m so so excited about this opportunity! I first discovered my love for travelling around when I did a semester abroad in San Francisco and spending time in South America last summer. I really love experiencing new things but meeting new people and chatting away to them is probably my favorite thing about traveling. I think my biggest challenge will probably be missing home comforts back in Scotland and missing my mum! Im also really looking forwards to teaching in the school and having some kind of purpose whilst traveling and meeting new people seems like the perfect environment for me. I really love working with kids so I’m looking forwards to learning more about teaching. I think a challenging part of it will be the language barrier but I suppose that just means I need to be good at my job!

[Isabel Logan]

Hi I’m Isabel, I often go by ‘el’ – I am 19 and originally from Stratford-Upon-Avon. I am currently an undergraduate student at Cardiff University studying English Language and Linguistics. I have been particularly interested in psycho and neuro-linguistics, I love learning about how language has evolved, developed and been acquired over time, how it is stored in our minds and how we as humans depend on it as one of the main tools in our life.
Outside of my degree I’m part of my University’s Ladies’ Basketball tram. I’m an avid reader and occasionally find the time to sketch or paint. I enjoy hiking and being in nature and want to travel as much as possible; so, I thought gaining a qualification, that helps my global employability, in a country that is at the top of my bucket list, would be a great start. Two years ago, a friend of mine moved back to England after living in Thailand for almost 10 years, she speaks so highly of her time there and I have wanted to visit the country ever since she first told me. I am eager to learn and experience different cultures. I think travelling by myself for the first time will be the most challenging aspect, but I’m excited to have a new level of independence and meet new people along the way, all whilst learning to teach a subject a share such a passion for!

[Josephine Coulibaly]

Hi everyone! My name is Josephine and I am a law student from the UK. I will be travelling to Thailand to teach English. I have always wanted to visit Thailand because it is a country rich in culture, history, and natural beauty. I have always been interested in teaching and this will be a great opportunity for me to gain experience doing so.
One challenge I anticipate facing is the language barrier. However, I plan to overcome this obstacle by learning the basics of Thai, which will help me to communicate more effectively.
I hope to obtain my TEFL qualification and immerse myself in the local culture by trying new foods and visiting new places and meeting new people. I am excited to have these new experiences.

[Author]

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