William & Mary Freeman Intern Fellow Layne O'Connell's First Week at Mae La Noi Daroonsik
Global Playground is excited to welcome Layne O’Connell as one of two Freeman Intern Fellows from the College of William & Mary who will be working with us this summer! Layne will be teaching English at Mae La Noi Daroonsik Secondary School, one of our partner schools in Northern Thailand. Read on below to learn about Layne’s experience during the first week of her internship.
Hello! My name is Layne O’Connell. I am a rising senior studying English and Music at William & Mary with plans to attend law school post grad. I am ecstatic to be a Freeman Fellow intern with Global Playground! For the next two months, I will be teaching English as a second language in rural Thailand at Mae La Noi Daroonsik School (MLNDS). Located in the north-western mountains on the Myanmar border, MLNDS is a secondary boarding school made up of kids from the neighboring hill tribes like the Karen, Lawa, and Hmong. Each tribe has their own language and culture, and many were founded by people who migrated from neighboring countries to escape war or persecution.
This is my first time in Thailand, and actually my first time on the continent of Asia. I went in with a very open mind, wanting to say yes to everything and excited to embrace the adventure. There were certainly some initial elements of culture shock, and I had to do some adjusting! We have a gecko the size of my forearm living in our kitchen (he still needs a name), I sometimes struggle to find things I can eat that aren’t crazy spicy, I sleep inside a net because malaria and dengue fever outbreaks are occuring in the area, I have seen (and been bitten by) all sorts of new bugs, and as a longtime-resident of the Northeastern United States, I am still getting used to sweating in the heat. I also spent a portion of my first day here in the ER as a result of an ear infection that was caused by bacteria in the water, which was a bit overwhelming for sure!
But despite all of the changes and challenges, I have found myself unable to stop smiling. Fortunately, my fellow intern Morgan and our third roommate Jiaxi, who has been teaching here as part of a separate program for the last few months, are amazing company and support. In addition to them, the people here are the kindest I’ve ever known and it’s so wild to think that I’ve only known them one week. My co-teachers in the English Department are so eager to get to know us and show us around, and they work hard to include us in everything from class activities to after school sports to meals. In fact, the food culture is one of my favorite aspects of life here, as teachers, students, and community members are always inviting me to eat with them and have even shown me how to cook a few traditional dishes myself! In addition, the teachers have shown us their favorite spots in the village, taken time out of their weekend to drive us into town to do our laundry, and have taken us on field trips to the surrounding areas to learn more about the culture. During a break from classes last week, they even took us to a traditional Karen Tribe clothing store to get hand woven shirts because there are different uniforms for each day of the week and Fridays are traditional clothing days. My biggest concern coming to Mae La Noi was actually the fear of being isolated, as the village is so small. The nearest bus station is in another town 30 minutes away, making it nearly impossible to visit other Freeman Fellows in my program or travel to larger city centers on weekends. I knew that I would stick out both physically and culturally in the village, and was worried about being accepted. I am so grateful that these fears were quickly alleviated as a result of the kind, welcoming, generous, and incredibly giving culture.
The school has approximately 1000 students that range from mathayoms 1-6 (the equivalent of US grades 7-12). Each mathayom has a different level of English speaking ability. On my first day, I shadowed the Thai teachers to their classes. A lot of the kids have never left the area, so they are not accustomed to seeing foreigners. As a result, I faced a few unexpected challenges at first- everyone stared at me and took pictures of me, many students were afraid to talk to me, and many made comments about how beautiful I was because of my light hair and skin. I struggled a little with all of the attention, and I didn't really know how to react because a lot of it centers around my whiteness.
But the students are so respectful and curious, and I have been so curious to learn more about them as well. Now that the ice is broken, I have spent time at their dorms cooking and eating with them, they give me Thai snack and movie recommendations, and one of the highlights of my week was when they invited me to a traditional Thai dance class so I got to experience some of the music that is a part of this very unique culture!
I have learned a lot about teaching English as a second language already as well- I have to speak much louder and slower than I am used to, repeat myself a lot, and really think before I speak to put things in the simplest terms possible. Sometimes I think that I am doing a good job, but the body language of the students shows they aren't getting it so I have to change up my teaching methods on the spot and try something new. I still have a lot more to learn! But I really look forward to doing so, and to getting to know my co teachers and the students on a deeper level next week!
