ASSIGNMENT 1: INTRODUCTION

[Stephanie Korbakes]

Hi, my name is Stephanie. I am from Chicago, Illinois. I am a physical education/ health teacher, and volleyball coach at a high school in the states. I have always loved traveling and learning about different cultures and traditions. I had the opportunity to go to Nicaragua and help build water tanks to support a local town. While we were there, we got to know the townspeople and provided them with everyday supplies, and seeing their reactions to certain items was very eye opening for me. From then on, I knew I wanted to continue to help people. When the opportunity arose to travel to Thailand and teach English, I knew it was something I had to do.
Some challenges I expect to face are the language barriers and homesickness. I plan to combat the language barrier by being patient and working through conversations with people. When I have dealt with this in the past, I usually work with the person I am trying to speak to and find common words or hand gestures so we both can understand what we are saying. With homesickness, I hope to make new friends here and build a small little community of people where we can experience different events or activities around the area we will be staying in.
I hope to meet new people, experience the culture and traditions, and I hope to grow as an individual. I have been wanting to live abroad for a long time now, so I am excited to get to experience that here in Thailand.

[Kgoboso Dichabe]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Kgoboso Dichabe and I am from South Africa. I was born and raised in Durban for the first 7 years of my life and the later on moved up to Johannesburg where I spent most of my life. I have studied Early Childhood Development and recently furthered my studies by doing a Bachelor of Education in Foundation Phase Teaching at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town. I am a patient, generous, caring and loving person who is very understanding. I love being around children and people. My hobbies I enjoy doing is baking, knitting and doing arts and crafts in my free time.
The reason why I would like to move to Thailand is so that I can experience the Thai culture and people, I would like to explore the food, history sites and most definitely the elephants in Thailand. Some of the challenges that I think I will encounter are cultural differences and norms, language barriers and religion . I will try my best to adapt to the way Thai people do things and follow the rules and regulations of the culture. For language barriers, I will use google translate to try and communicate with the Thai people, to understand each other. I will use visuals to indicate what I want to get when I am at the stores or other places. Lastly for the religion I will accept people as they are and what they believe in.
I hope to grow myself as a person, learn a lot
from the Thai people. Experience Thailand in full and the history of Thailand.

[Ashley Hill]

My name is Ashley, and I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communications with a minor in Graphic Design, as well as a medical coding certification from Austin Peay State University. Over the years, I’ve gained experience in a variety of fields including sales, hospitality, event planning, and medical records coordination.

I first learned about this program through a friend, and after doing my own research, I was drawn to Thailand. Known for its hospitality and reputation as one of the safest destinations for solo travelers, Thailand felt like the right place to begin this journey. Although I love to travel, this will be my first time doing so alone, which makes the experience even more meaningful.

I know there will be challenges along the way such as navigating a new culture, adapting to a different lifestyle, and being away from home, but I consider myself adaptable and open-minded. I’m eager to fully immerse myself in a new environment and believe that teaching is a powerful way to connect with others while gaining a deeper understanding of the local culture.

Through this experience, I hope to grow both personally and professionally, and I’m genuinely excited for everything that lies ahead.

[Donnisha Peacock]

Hello Ashley,

First and foremost, I just want to say thank you for sharing your story. It takes a brave soul to leave their hometown, home country, and everything they know behind to embark on a new journey all while doing it on the other side of the world. This is a journey that not a lot of people are willing to take. So kudos to you for taking that leap of faith. Wow, you are well-rounded as far as your career and your academic studies. I hope you gain everything that you need from this experience and I wish you the best of luck with everything.

Best,
Donnisha Peacock

[Sonia Will]

Hi I am Sonia from Adelaide South Australia, and am a mum to 4 young adult men, 2 dogs, a cat, fish, and chooks. I have been a social worker for 30 years working with vulnerable families and children. And so as a mature age person, but young at heart, I am excited to be going to Thailand to start doing the things I wanted to do in my 20’s but didn’t get the chance to do.
I have travelled a lot over the years and am currently a host to a Vietnamese Uni student who is studying here in Adelaide and have previously hosted Japanese students. So I have a passion for travel, other cultures and meeting new people, and challenging myself with new adventures.
I am looking forward to going to Thailand to experience more of the real culture and people by living there and not just the tick box tourist things you do in a quick holiday. And I am looking forward to meeting and working with some of you too.
And yes I may get homesick but think the new experiences being away, and support of my family and friends back home, plus team in Thailand, will help me get through it. And I know these challenges will help me grow too. Having a sense of humor, smile, and being patient and creative I think will also help in overcoming the communication barriers.

[Zachary Sigall]

Hello, my name is Zachary. I recently earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English and was raised in New York City. My background is in historical research, focusing on American music and culture, as well as dealing in antiques from the late 19th to mid-20th century. After years in these fields, I’m excited to begin a new chapter as a full-time teacher. I’m moving to Thailand to explore its rich history and culture—especially the architecture of landmarks like the Grand Palace and Wat Arun, which have long fascinated me. I’m also eager to continue my lifelong study of Buddhism in a country where it plays such a vital role. While I expect some challenges adjusting to the climate, I plan to adapt with patience and flexibility. Above all, I hope this experience will broaden my perspective and help me grow both personally and professionally.

[Nicholas Routh]

Hello! My name is Nick and I’m from New York. I have had the privilege of traveling a lot in my life. I was raised in Norway and Indonesia and went to university in the U.S. My mother is Thai so I have visited the country quite a bit and am familiar with Thai culture. That is part of the reason of why I have decided to travel to Thailand–to reconnect with my heritage and to give back to the culture that has helped raise me. I hope to immerse myself more in the spirit of Thailand and learn from it’s rich way of life. Since I am new to teaching, I expect there may be some challenges in adjusting to my role as an educator. However, I am eager to embrace the challenge and am confident that with some hard work I will learn from this program, and from my students and colleagues, how to be an effective and well-respected teacher.

[Sophie McLeod]

Hi! My name is Sophie McLeod and I am from Gainesville, Georgia. I attended the University of Georgia where I got a Bachelor’s in Journalism. After college, I travelled throughout the United States doing seasonal work and adding to a long-form photo project about life in America. I decided to move to Thailand because I have always wanted to travel the world. I am deeply fascinated by the culture in Thailand and want to absorb every bit of the culture. I think that travelling is vitally important in understanding others and the world around us. I expect the language and cultural barriers to be challenging at first as I am very unfamiliar with Asian languages and culture. I think that I will overcome these challenges by keeping an open mind and staying present in challenging moments. Also studying the language and cultural practices in my free time. I hope to gain a deeper perspective of the world and of people in general through this experience. I also hope to meet incredible people throughout my travels and create a larger network to be able to continue travelling the world.

[Emma Hadacek]

Hi! My name is Emma, and I’m from Minnesota. I studied business marketing at university and moved to New York after graduation to begin my career. Over the past year, I’ve been exploring ways to bring more service into my vocation, and I believe teaching is a wonderful way to do that, given its beautiful balance between giving and receiving. The rich culture of Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, has always fascinated me, and I’m excited for the opportunity to immerse myself in the language, food, art, and music. I’m eager for the inspiration that I know this experience will spark, which I hope to channel into my own forms of art. I expect the Thai language to be my greatest challenge, but having studied languages thoroughly in the past, I’m confident I’ll find creative ways to communicate with others and practice in my free time. Whether I stay in Thailand, teach in another country, or return home, I hope to gain a deeper understanding of how I can continue to integrate service into my vocation moving forward. I have many ideas and look forward to having the space and time to explore what I truly want to do next.

[Emma Hadacek]

Nick – I am excited for you to dive deeper into your culture at this new stage in your life. Best of luck to you!

[Olivia Polzer]

Hi everyone!
My name is Olivia and I am a biology/special education teacher in New Jersey. I love to travel and a teaching abroad program is the perfect combination of my passions: teaching and traveling. I chose Thailand because it is completely new to me, and I want to immerse myself in a new culture and experience something completely new! I there will be an adjustment period when I learn the lifestyle of Thai people, but I am never afraid to ask for help. I hope this experience helps me grow as a person!

[Maia Patterson]

My name is Maia Patterson, and I recently graduated from Howard University with a degree in Legal Communications. I’ve always had a passion for education, community work, and travel, and I’ve spent the past few years teaching and mentoring children. I’m moving to Thailand to teach and immerse myself in a new culture. I want to grow personally and professionally while gaining a global perspective that will shape my future career in education and event planning. I expect to face language and cultural barriers, but I plan to approach them with patience, openness, and curiosity. I’ll also stay connected with loved ones and build relationships locally to create a support system abroad. I hope to strengthen my communication skills, learn from a new community, and better understand global education systems.

[Geraldine Westerhoff]

Hello, Tita! A fellow Chicagoan. How exciting you have braved the teaching platform of Chicago Schools and for ten years! This will be really fun for the both of us learning an entirely new way of teaching. I am also unbearably nervous about it. Although this will bring to the table a whole plethora of new challenges, I think your abilities of maneuvering as many challenges as one could face while teaching in Chicago will prove to be comforting and strengthen you as you gracefully maneuver the new challenges we will be facing as well. You got this! I hope our paths cross so maybe we can help provide a feeling of home and discuss our favorite Chicago pastimes. Here’s to taking on new things!
– Geri

[Jayna Gore]

Hi my name is Jayna and I’m from London, United Kingdom. This is my first time teaching abroad. I have always lived in London and I have taught adult education for the last 7 years, its been challenging dealing with a vast array of learners with different needs. I actually wanted to teach abroad in 2020 but with the pandemic and the loss of my dear mum in 2021, the goal disappeared from my mind. It was only at the start of this year that I was speaking to a friend who asked me whether I would consider teaching abroad. I asked myself a few questions like if I wanted to go and what I would gain from it. The challenges I would expect when teaching in Thailand would feeling homesick, missing my dad and friends, other family members of course as well as local foods here in the UK but it is a chance to embrace the new. I can have weekly video calls with my dad, listen to my favourite music on Spotify and try new local thai cuisine. I could meet locals and practice my Thai as well interacting with teachers. By the end of say next March, I would hope to feel more confident with myself and maybe just maybe I may surprise myself with skills I never expected.

[Tracy Tyler]

Hello everyone! My name is Tracy, and I am from a small town between Seattle Washington and The Olympic Peninsula. I am a lifelong artist and musician, thorough nature enjoyer, and a fan of swimming with a leisurely pace. I graduated from Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary studies a couple of years ago with a degree combining education, art, and psychology, and a minor in audio technology. The past couple of years I’ve been working various jobs trying to find a direction for myself, when I realized I really needed a sincerely different experience from my norm. That’s how I came upon this course!

Thailand really appealed to me in a multitude of ways. In short I am very intrigued by Buddhism, and have never been to a predominantly Buddhist country before. I want to learn more about how Buddhism ties into the rich cultural heritage of Thailand — which is one I’ve had a lot of reverence for through seeing traditional arts and crafts — but there’s nothing better for understanding significance than being in the country of origin, and immersing yourself in a new way of life.

I think my main challenge will be learning Thai. I’ve already begun learning some basics, and using pneumonic devices is helping a lot, but it’s slow going. My other challenge I envision for myself is a feeling of imposter syndrome kicking in when teaching. I have teaching experience to rely on, but nothing as important as setting the foundation for learning a new language. Both of these potentials can be dealt with in the same strategy I believe: reminding myself that ultimately we are all learners, and to be a good teacher requires humility, and willingness to be curious as much as it does mastery of your subject.

I believe this experience will hone my skills as a teacher and learner.

I am so looking forward to meeting you all, and working through the newness together!

• This reply was modified 6 months, 2 weeks ago by Tracy Tyler.

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