Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, from her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: “Burma is at the beginning of a road. It is not the sort of road that you find in England: it is not smooth; it is not well-maintained; in fact, it is not yet there. It a road that we will have to … Continue reading »
Filed under Teaching English …
Lions, Tigers, and Hungry, Hand-Eating Hippos: A Day at the Yangon Zoo
Question: What’s better than going to the zoo in Burma? Answer: Shepherding a class of 13 4-year-olds around the zoo in Burma in 106 degree heat, trying to stop them from sticking their hands in animals’ mouths, deflecting tearful requests for ice cream, and keeping them distracted/entertained at all times to prevent a meltdown. I … Continue reading »
An Unexpected Easter
This afternoon I walked out of my apartment building, bag packed for the gym, and was surprised to see one of my students’ cousins pacing the street in front of the door. She immediately ran to me, hugged me, and said: “Teacher Alyssa! I’ve been waiting for you over an hour! Dinner is already ready. … Continue reading »
Mingalaba from Myanmar
Mingalaba!This is one of two Burmese words I know, and it means “Hello.” Here are a few things I’ve done in the past week that I never thought I’d do: 1) Direct a staff meeting. 2) Say to my roommate: “Remind me to put oranges on the shopping list for the maid.” 3) Have dinner … Continue reading »
the end and the beginning.
Today I taught my last class in Thailand. When I went to school this morning, I didn’t know this would be my last day of teaching. Mid-morning, I overheard a conversation in Thai mentioning something to the effect of “last day of school on Friday.” To which I expressed surprise, and it was communicated to … Continue reading »
“Speak English on Monday”
Recently the foreign English department at my school has been putting together a series of videos to promote the school’s new “Speak English on Monday” campaign. A couple of the videos were featured on the Bangkok Post, which is the main English language newspaper in Thailand. You can check out that article here. I wanted … Continue reading »
