Korp khun kub, laa la gorn.

Thank you for reading this blog. It has been a pleasure chronicling this eleven month journey. I am sad to end this, but there are other things to do now. Hopefully I will find something half as interesting as my experience in Thailand to write about and, consequently, bore you with. I encourage everyone to go abroad at some point. If you really want something different than the good ol USA, go to Asia.

Although things seem sharply familiar back at home, my outlook on all things cultural and social is forever changed.

Thank you, and goodbye.

Chok Dee, Suksanaree(No Tears...)*

As my time here in Thailand comes to an end, I am left with the feeling of already being gone, of looking back on the many experiences I have had in poignant reflection. Many of these experiences have taken place at my school. It has been interesting learning how to adjust and actually become a part of school life. In a way I feel like I have earned a certain amount of respect from the entire school, and that is very gratifying. This is important to me because I have taken this job, or at least my interactions with Thai students and teachers, very seriously. I wanted to be more than just some dancing bear, placed on display for everyones amusement(an exotic creature, if you will). I feel like I have surpassed that standard as a teacher and that maybe, just maybe, people take me somewhat seriously. It is kind of ridiculous, the whole thing. They throw 2 or 3 foreign native speakers in the mix at a school that is 100% Thai and expect some natural bonding of spirits and meeting of minds. I may be overstating the case a bit, but this expectation, or anything near it, is simply impossible to meet. In all honesty, it has been a struggle, a challenge, and, most optimistically, an opportunity for personal growth. I have had ups and downs, but overall I feel like my tenure at Suksanareewittaya School has taught me many invaluable lessons. Not only have I learned to work with people who are from a completely foreign place, but I have also learned to understand the social nuances of the culture which, in many ways, resemble any other society. Life for many Thai's is quite demanding. The good thing about Thai people is that they do not need much to be happy, so the students, for the most part, keep a positive attitude and light-hearted disposition. Many of the students come from lower socioeconomic standing, and I presume that their life at home is not ideal. It is obvious sometimes in the classroom when these students are acting out or just possibly escaping the woes of their domestic situation. But I am sure that this is an element in public schools all over the world. I have learned to take the good with the bad, to embrace the joy of teaching and let go of the more troubling aspects that are, at times, shoved in my face. This is the essence of what I have learned by teaching these students: to be driven by the positive aspects of the experience of teaching and not distracted by the perplexity of instructing a diverse body of people. There is no escaping certain difficulties when you're dealing with thousands of young students, but the rewarding aspects of being a part of their education certainly outweigh the more disturbing ones(student deaths, violence, alienation, indifference). I love this school, and I am sad to be finished here. Today I walked around the school, in and out of seemingly abandoned classrooms that, during school hours, are hardly able to contain the constant outflow of frenetic adolescent energy. I feel like I have already left because, in many ways, I am gone. Goodbye school.

*Chok dee= Good luck.

*Suksanaree= Suksanareewittaya School