-Acknowledgment-
First of all, I would like to thank Allah due to his mercy and blessing for me and my beloved parents and brother who always support me in every way.
It was an honoured to be one of the delegates of SEA TEACHER Project Batch 8. I wouldn’t have been this far without the chance given by Islamic University of Indonesia especially English Department and for that, I say thank you a lot.
I would like to say thank you to SEA MEO, the receiving university, Chiang Rai Rajhabat University, and also receiving school, Mengraimaharaj Witthayakom School. It was a wonderful experience and I got many lessons from that experience.
Last but not least, I would like to say thank you to my advisor kru Took who was being very nice to me and all of the English teachers in Mengrai such as kru Am and kru Sunny.
Also, my roommate Ahbi and all of the delegates. You guys are amazing peeps and I hope for the best to each of you^^.
-Day 28&29 : Bangkok I’m in Love-
This trip was very special. Happy and sad at the same time. I was very happy because I will go to Bangkok and then go back to my hometown but when I remember that this short event will be ended, I got sad for sure.
It was early morning flight. Ahbi, Aul, Awal, Sapta and me were on the same flight. We went to the airport by CRRU bus and accompanied by Ms. Nok.
After approximately an hour, we arrived at Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok. We put our luggage in the guest house and went to Chatuchak Market. We walked around and bought some souvenirs. We also went to the park close to Chatuchak.
Those were all amazing experience. I was in love with Bangkok cause it was a big city where there were so many things to buy and the vibe was so gladden. I hope I can visit Thailand next time^^.
The next day, we were heading to Indonesia. Ahbi, Sapta, and I had the same flight to Jakarta and continued our trip to home in a different flight.
Well, this is the end of my diaries in Thailand, during SEA-TEACHER program. All the good experience become life lesson that can’t be compared and will be last forever. I hope these stories can inspire you guys to join this program.
-The End-
-Day 27 : Farewell-
Huhu I remember this day was one of unforgettable moments I’ve experienced in Chiang Rai. Yup, farewell. That morning, kru Took drove me and Ahbi to CRRU and she also asked some of the students to come so they can help me with the stuffs. They were so lovely and funny. Below is our last selfies before I went back to Indonesia :(.
The closing ceremony went well and then we, the delegates presented our result of a month teaching in our schools. Ahbi and I have already made the slides so we just need to practice it in the last minutes. Here is our picture captured by Salma during the presentation. We thank Salma for this lovely pic.
After the presentation, we performed our traditional dance that we had been practicing before. It was a pleasure to show the audience our dance and we truly enjoyed it. And well, our dancing video will be uploaded soon^^.
We were tired but it was nothing because of the joy we felt. And… the last meal in Chiang Rai tasted very good:”. The next agenda was giving the certificates for all delegates. Then, went back to the hotel.
to be continued…
-Day 25&26 : Hangout!-
What a busy day! But still, I enjoyed every single moment of it.
The 25th day was Queen’s birthday so that the school did exercise for the whole students in the hall of the school. After watched the exercise, I prepared the material that I will use to teach reading in Matthayom 4/2.
Lunch time was coming and kru Took asked me and Ahbi to had a lunch outside the school. Then, we went to a Milk It Cafe owned by kru Took’s former student. The cafe gave us free bread and we were asked to give the review on their Facebook site.
After lunch, I assisted kru Took in Matthayom 4/1 and 4/3 and then went back to the dorm.
Today’s hangout was fun because we spent our lunch time together in a good cafe and accompanied by good drink and meal. Thank God we were grateful for having kru Took as our adviser. She was so lovely and funny^^.
to be continued…
-Day 23&24 : Take A Deep Breathe!-
Today was the day when I need to input my schedule for this semester and today was also the day when CRRU’s coordinator wanted to observe my teaching. It was confusing at that time cause I need to prepare for my teaching yet I need to arrange my class well.
-Day 22 : Batch 8’s Time!-
It’s Batch 8’s time!! Finally after a week being separated, we met and got together in Desy, Maria, and April’s house in CRRU’s President house. We were sleepover and spent the night cheerfully. We also prepared for our performance in CRRU later on closing ceremony. We practiced dance Maumere from Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.
In the morning, we the girls cooked a Sardines (instant fish) meanwhile the others do other activities. We had a lot of fun together.
After that, we went to the night market instead of go back to Mengrai. Ahbi and I were looking for souvenirs. We went to the night market close to Awal and Jack’s dormitory. We also stayed there to do our prayer. Lastly, we went back to Mengrai.
Well, I would like to say that it was a very pleasant thing to meet all of the delegates from batch 8. I really was happy because of you guys. Lastly, I just wanna say that whatever you will be, our memories will be one of the most meaningful memories in my life^^.
to be continued…
-Day 21 : Traveling with AFS Students-
This day was very exciting day. I had been waiting for this day since the day my adviser told me that I would have English Camp and day off to traveling around.
Our first destination was Golden Triangle. I guess it took around one and a half hours to get there. As we arrived there, we walked around and enjoyed the view (especially when we saw the border of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand itself). Back then, it was very hot there and I decided to buy pineapple.
After Golden Triangle, we went to Mae Sai. We got a free time to explore Mae Sai ourselves. We ate our lunch first then we went to its market and it was quite big. Accidentally, we met our friend Diah, Varni, and Aul in the market. We were so happy because we hadn’t met since the first weekend.
The next destination was White Temple, but before that, we went to Choi Fung Tea Plantation first. There, we enjoyed the view and looked around the caffe and tea shop. I bought a green milk tea that I assumed as the best green milk tea I have ever tasted^^.
Not too long after that, we continued our trip to White Temple. Unfortunately, we arrived when temple was nearly to close, so that we just had a look in the front gate and took some pictures.
On our way back home, we stopped by the Singha Park. There, we went to the Singha statue. Two of AFS students, Niklas and Katya had a race (from the parking lot to the statue) and for sure, Niklas won.
We just stopped by the Singha Park for around 20 minutes and after that, we went to Chiang Rai Night Bazaar. We were given time around 2 and a half hours to explore the night bazaar. Before exploring the market, we went to Sreeneen Food to had a dinner. Then, we went to the market and met Korn, one of AFS returnee from Thailand. We got together and we spent a very fun day together.
After having fun together, Ahbi and I went back to our friends’ house, nearby CRRU.
to be continued…
-Day 19&20 : English Camp!-
It was 20th day in Chiang Rai I participated in English camp that was held by one of the primary schools in Chiang Rai. There were also returnee of AFS students and AFS students that were currently exchange in Thailand. I’m not going to mention their name one by one but I do still remember them^^.
Well, we had a briefing on Thursday, the day before the English camp was held. We also had a dinner together with the returnees and AFS students. I had no idea what would I do at the English camp until they told me that I was going to be chaperon of one of the group (the students were divided into groups and there will be one chaperone for each group). I was so excited for the camp!
D-Day!
It was English Camp day. We went to the school and had a brief ceremony and then start the camp by introducing the chaperones and dividing the students based on their school. One group one school and one chaperone. We made a song for our group that was named Watermelon group. I was so happy to accompany the students. They were cute and funny students^^.
The camp was very well-organized and the games were dizzily engaging. It encouraged the students to speak English more and more. It was tiring though but I had a lot of fun there.
to be continued…
-Day 16-18 : Teaching and Students’ Evaluation-
As usual, the school started from the ceremony and every Monday, the students and all of the teachers should wear scout or red cross uniform. For the teaching practicum, I just helped kru Took in some of her classes by scoring the students in speaking test. Apparently, the students were obliged to do their own evaluation sheet. Each student should write their score in every test and also their friends’.
I entered Matthayom 4/2 and 4/3 to helped them in speaking and reading test. In Matthayom 4/3, I played “Catch The Ball” game in order to challenge the students to speak correctly. The student who catch the ball should be able to pronounce the word I said (s/z/iz). That was fun activity and the students became more enthusiast.
The next day, I replaced kru Took in Matthayom 5/3 and gave the students feedback of what they have done in the previous meeting. I also gave them the worksheet and discussed the answers. After this class, I went to Matthayom 4/4 and played the game just like yesterday. For the student who can pronoun the word correctly, I gave them key chain from Indonesia. Besides, I also went to Matthayom 4/2 and helped them with their evaluation sheet.
to be continued…
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