MELODY TIENYUN

Breaking the Ice 

Since no one went by their English names here, we did introductions twice. The first time on the night we met, when no one knew what to say or made eye contact with us, and the second when we were all sitting around the wooden rectangular table. 

They are: Scarlett (17), Yuan (16), Wendy (16), Luke (16), Stella (15), and Ethan (13). Noon or Emily (9) sits at the table with us, but doesn’t partake in our lessons. She is the newest member of the center, and arrived only a few months ago. Scarlett and Ethan are siblings and from Chiang Dao, Stella is from Masai, Wendy is from Tak, Luke is from Bangkok, and Noon is from a village in the mountain. Here at the House of Grace, all are different ethnicities and most are mixed, which I learned is very common in Thailand as it is rare to find someone of full Thai ethnicity. The students come from minority groups including: Lisu, Lahu, Kelun, Chinese, and Burmese. 

Profile on Noon

Noon wanted to come last year, but Jia Mei had her concerns since she was so young. All the students here need to be able to wash and iron their own clothes and uniforms, and also do their part in chores weekly. However, once she came to visit while my sister was here in May, she decided she was going to stay and didn’t want to go home. When her mother dropped her off and was leaving, many tears were shed, but not one by Noon! In fact, when Jia Mei asked her if she wanted to call her mom at all, she simply shook her head no. 

Our Classes

Jia Mei says that the students don’t like to study, and that she needs to constantly be on their case and remind them to do their homework, or else they’ll be rushing in the morning. From the short amount of time we’ve had with them, they love to play games, sing, and joke around (trolls).

I was pretty lost with how to start. For the first lesson, we quickly saw that some struggled to phrase these “about me” questions. It took a long time just going around the circle, and since they are all good friends, were chattering in Thai for most of the session. 

Language Skills

Even though English is not their strong suit, a few of the students are fluent in both Thai, Mandarin and another dialect. Here, I communicate primarily in Mandarin, since my hosts are Chinese and do not speak English; also, it is the easiest for us to carry a conversation in Chinese (a.k.a. using our dictionaries and Google translate less). For those who know less English, they rely on the others to translate into Thai after we give instructions in English/ Chinese. 

My takeaway: Come up with more interesting activities to keep everyone engaged, and don’t let them speak Thai! For that, David and I decided to use punishments for future sessions if they are caught speaking Thai or Chinese other than for translation purposes.

I am incredibly thankful for: 

1. 1. lesson ideas from my sister (who’s a teacher)
   2. the internet