Like in every school holidays in Thailand, Project Abroad organized an English camp for kids this October. It is mostly targeted at kids who live in rural areas close to Krabi and therefore do not have a lot of access to the language. The camp was held for seven days and was joined by forty kids aging from seven to fourteen.
Before the camp was held, we had an instruction week. We learned what it takes to be a teacher, the characteristics of a good and a bad teacher, how to control the class and about the most common problems Thai kids have while learning English. The training also had parts where we got busy, for example did we act as a foreign teacher who does not speak the same language as the students and instruct them to do things. This way we learned that body language and acting is a very important part of teaching especially young kids. Every volunteer had to prepare for his own lessons which run 45 min and were held three days during the day.
We were five volunteers at the beginning but one left soon after the camp started. Therefore we divided the kids in three groups each taught by one volunteer while the fourth one had the role of the MC which means he held the opening and closing ceremony of the camp (every day of camp ended with the superfun Yes We Can dance). In the opening ceremony, the MC welcomes the kids, briefly introduces the topics of the day and then plays a game. By closing the camp, the MC tests the kids of what they have learned. Each day, we announced the team which did the best during the lessons. The winning team was then rewarded with lots of candies which served as a great motivation.

The topics we taught ranged mostly around every day language such as transportation, occupation, dates, counting etc. Some lessons were quite creative e.G.  pot painting. To learn about the colours the kids painted small miniatures of animals or plants. One teacher also created a small maze on the schoolyard to learn about directions. One student was blindfolded and instructed by the others to go the right way out of the maze or to find the treasures.

As most of the kids were not very advanced in English, teaching them was more a challenge of how than what to teach them. Mostly a lesson begun by introducing the new topic and words, for example the days of the week. The students repeated the vocabs out loud until the teacher was sure they more or less got it. Then the fun started and games were played. Simon says and similar acting games turned out to be very successful but in general is it safe to say that the children loved every game as soon as they understood it. We also got to know many Thai games, such as "flag tag" which is basically relay in a circle while one has to try to catch the runner of the other team.
Songs were another huge part of teaching in camp. It of course included all time classics like "head, shoulders, knees and toes" for the body parts. The most favorite one was the BINGO song though, the kids loved to clap along and most of the times it was repeated at least two times on every season.
Once, we also had a theme day about nationality. Characteristics of our different countries were presented in many ways. The flags were shown, music from each volunteers country was played which included a huge dance battle. Launch was also a highlight of culture day. We served many different types of food like Pizza, Thai food and even Sushi.

On our last day the volunteers from the nearby diving resort joined us. Basically they gave an insight into their project and activities. It started off with the beach cleanup (which the diving team does on every Friday on a different beach). We went to the local beach in Krabi Town and with the help of the kids collected the rubbish which was spread over it. By separating the garbage in different categories (glass, plastic etc.) we made the kids aware of the different types of garbage like the recyclable bottles etc. The reservation team always keeps track of the collected items, as how many bottles etc. were collected. This way they can give out their data to other organizations who then evaluate measurements of how to improve the situation.

After the beach cleanup, the other volunteers taught the kids about sea life, diving gear and the importance of keeping the planet green. The kids especially loved to get their hands on some real diving equipment and trying it on.

This last day of camp sure was a great addition to the teaching and it was nice to have the people of the other project coming over and helping us.

In general one can say, the camp was a huge success and was greatly enjoyed by the kids and by the volunteers. If it was not for Projects Abroad, those kids would never had the chance to get English lessons by foreign people but this way they can improve their English which is essential for many of their careers as they often work in the touristic sector.

Jeg ankom til Thailand d. 8. november 2011. Det hele var meget nyt og anderledes.
Jeg startede paa mit projekt som frivillig i Nongkok Daycare Centre to dage efter. Inden jeg rejste var jeg lidt nervoes for om jeg kunne klare det, og om boernene ville kunne lide mig. Paa min foerste dag oplevede jeg at min nervoesitet var ubegrundet. Boernene tog saa godt imod mig - de stormede hen for at sige hej og kramme mig. Jeg blev naesten helt overvaeldet - de tog saa aabent og kaerligt imod mig, selvom de slet ikke kendte mig. 

Nu glaeder jeg mig til at komme paa arbejde hver dag. Hver morgen leger jeg med boernene og de danser til musik. De tegner ogsaa hver dag og jeg giver dem "karakterer" for deres tegninger. Selvom det godt kan vaere en udfordring at de ikke rigtig forstaar engelsk (og jeg slet ikke forstaar thailandsk), er bare det at faa dem til at grine og laere dem et par engelske ord, virkelig fedt. 

Jeg arbejder sammen med Fiona fra Schweiz, som jeg ogsaa bor sammen med. Det er rigtig dejligt at have en at vaere sammen med, og Fiona er bare saa soed. Vi soerger sammen for at servere boernenes frokost og vi tager ogsaa opvasken. 

Jeg er glad for, jeg valgte saadan en rejse her til Thailand - taenk, ellers ville jeg aldrig have moedt alle de soede boern eller faaet alle de oplevelser, som man faar hver eneste dag.

Hej derude mit navn er Signe jeg er 24 og studerer fysioterapi på University College Lillebælt i Danmark. For 3 års tid siden støtte jeg tilfældigt på projectsabroads hjemmeside, hvilket jeg fandt meget intressant og besluttede mig for at når chancen bød sig ville jeg rejse ud og opleve verden med dem. Efterfølgende startede jeg på fysstudiet og efter 2 år fik vi endelig mulighed for at tage 10 ugers praktik i Danmark eller udlandet. Jeg var ikke i tvivl om hvad jeg ville, så jeg kontaktede projectsabroads danske kontor. Vi fik os en rigtig god snak om hvad der var af muligheder indenfor min interesse, hvilket var at arbejde med børn. Asien stod på ønskelisten, Så valget stod i sidste ende mellem Cambodja, Sri Lanka, Thailand og Indien. Det var en svær beslutning at tage, men valget faldt på Thailand.

D. 31/7 var start datoen på mit fantastisk eventyr til Thailand. Jeg var utrolig spændt og mit hoved var fyldt med tanker om hvad der ventede mig. Rejsen var lang og jeg var træt. I krabi lufthavn stod Pasha en smilende og venlig thaidame fra projectsabroad klar til at byde mig velkommen. 

Varmen ramte mig med det sammen vi trådte ud af lufthavnen og jeg blev opslugt af de mange nye indtryk og sproget som jeg ikke forstod en pind af. Pasha gik til den lige fra starten af og begyndte at forklare mig om hvordan man hilser i Thailand, hvilke skikke de har og hvad der var vigtigt at værre opmærksom på når jeg nu skulle introduceres til mit nye hjem og værtsfamilie. Mit nye hjem i Thailand lå på Koh Klang, en ø overfor Krabi town, hvilket betød at jeg skulle sejle hver dag for at komme på arbejde.

Efter fem minutter nåede vi frem og min nye værtsmor stod klar på havnen til at tage i mod mig. Min kæmpe kuffert blev smidt op på en sidevogn til hendes motorcykle og så drog vi afsted på små smalle stier mod mit nye hjem. Da vi nåede frem stod hendes to børn klar til at sige hej, de sprudlede af energi, hoppede rundt og virkede glade for at se mig, så det var bare helt fantastisk. Jeg fik en rundvisning i huset, fik tildelt et værelse og så sagde Pasha farvel.

Tingene var langt fra hvad jeg kendte hjemme fra. Det var forbudt at smide toilet papir i toilettet, man skulle skylle ud ved brug af en balje vand, der var ingen håndvask, badet var koldt og der var insekter og skidt allevegne. Det var en udfordring for mig at finde ud af hvordan jeg skulle håndterer mine daglige rutiner, men det lykkedes. Den første nat var ulidelig varm og jeg havde svært ved at sove pga. de mange nye dyre lyde og muslimske bønner som der var flere af i løbet af natten da den muslimske helligtid Ramadagen lige var startet. Jeg havde selv medbragt et myggenet, hvilket viste sig at være en rigtig god ide, da mit værelse havde mange åbne huller i væggen, så insekter og kryb frit kunne gå ind og ud. Den næste morgen startede med at jeg havde en stor fed kakkelak til at stå og stirre på mig mens jeg var i bad.

Kl 10.00 kom Pasha og hentede mig og det var tid til introduktionsdag. Vi mødtes med nogle andre nye frivillige på et bageri, hvor vi blev introduceret til nogle af de mest populærere thairetter, gennemgik en masse dokumenter angående regler, skikke, forsikringer, thaisætninger osv.

Efterfølgende fik vi en rundtur rundt i Krabi town. Der var så mange nye lyde, ting at se og dufte, samtidig med at det var svært ar kaperer varmen. Vi sluttede introduktionsdagen med 25 min. bustur til deres kontor i Aonang hvor vi fik udleveret vores projectsabroad t-shirts. 

Efter dette fik vi at vide at nu skulle vi selv finde hjem. Det var lidt skræmmende at stå i et fremmed land og så selv skulle finde hjem til øen. Da jeg nåede frem til øen, var det blevet mørkt, men jeg havde en lommelygte på mig og syntes faktisk at det var ret fedt at rende rundt på en mørk ø og lede efter mit nye hjem også mødte jeg ildfluer for første gang i mit liv. 

Første arbejdsdag på Krabi Special Education center - en skole for børn med specielle behov såsom døve, blinde, stumme, spastiske børn, børn med AD/HD, down syndrom, autisme ulykkesramte børn og en del mere.

Tidligt om morgen mødtes jeg med Pasha på havnen og sammen tog vi en motorcykel taxa mod min nye arbejdsplads. Ved ankomst blev vi mødt af en masse smilende børn og personale. Jeg havde ingen ide om hvad der ventede mig og havde derfor i min kuffert medbragt 11 kg træningsudstyr og legetøj. Dette viste sig at værre unødvendigt da stedet var ret moderne og overproppet med alverdens ting og sager. 

På stedet var der allerede en engelsk dreng og pige David og Lara som var taget hertil for at få erfaring inden for fysioterapi området. Det var rigtig rart at de var der til at sætte mig ind i tingende, da personalet på skolen kun talte meget lidt eller ingen engelsk.

Dagen startede med hejsning af det thailandske flag til deres nationalsang efterfuldt af morgengymnastik, sang og bøn. Jeg fandt det rigtig sjovt og underholdende og husker at jeg også blev ret rørt de første par gange.

Resten af dagen brugte jeg på at observerer David og Lara's arbejde, læse journaler om mine kommende patienter, danne mig et indtryk af hvordan tingene fungerede og så havde jeg min første patient.   

Min første patient var en 2 årig pige. Jeg havde ikke fået nogen information om hvad hun fejlede, så det var en lidt svær start. I starten var det svært at få hendes opmærksomhed, men jeg fandt en bøtte med farvede snørbånd og tog hende lidt væk fra de andre børn. Det fangede hendes opmærksomhed og vi begyndte at lege med dem. Efterhånden blev hun mere og mere tryg ved mig og vi grinte og havde det sjovt. Via legen og observationer fandt jeg ud af at på trods af hendes meget dårlige motorik, fokuseringsevne og det at hun kun talte svagt var der ingen problemer med at forstå og hun kunne nemt udpege de farver jeg sagde. Vi lærte hurtigt at kommunikerer med hinanden via øjne, udtryk og bevægelser. Da dagen var slut fik jeg en dejlig kommentar fra David som sagde at jeg havde fået pigen til meget mere på mine 2 timer med hende end de nogensinde havde. Så det var en dejlig første dag.

Kulturen var selvvfølgelig forskellig fra hvad jeg kender fra Danmark og deres opfattelse af behandling og god opdragelse kunne tiltider godt være ret barsk. Men foruden dette og takket værre alle de utrolige livsglade børn blev mit pratik ophold en god og lærerig oplevelse som jeg ikke ville værre foruden. 

Jeg endte med at rejse hjem med stor kærlighed til Thailand og en fantastisk oplevelsen i bagagen. – Tak

Last weekend my roommate Kristin and I (Abby) took an amazing cooking class at the Ao Nang Thai Cookery School. We got picked up at 9 am and spent the morning cooking such tasty food. We got to choose what we wanted to make from a long list of great dishes. We made Pad Thai, banana fritters, bananas in coconut, massaman curry and so much more. For a full list look at the recipe book I typed up!

The teacher was nice and very good at explaining the essence of Thai cooking! "Thai cooking does not have any set times, it is done when it tastes done." Something of an adjustment for us that are used to specific times when cooking. She was willing to answer all of our questions even the ones about dishes we weren't making. We walked away knowing how to make 9!!!! dishes as well as sticky rice (sweet and savory). We also got to meet some great people. We took the class with an older couple from Germany and a woman from Singapore and it was great getting to know them.

We left the class stuffed to the gills with great Thai food that we made as well as taking some extra home for dinner that night!! Yay Thai cooking! Goal checked off my list!

Abby & Kristin

(Recipe book will be added to my trip blog as a seperate blog)

Beach Clean Up

During the last past three months we’ve visited six different beaches to collect data for the Ocean Conservancy Beach Clean Up survey. After eight surveys we’ve removed a total of approximately 1, 8 ton rubbish, consisting of everything from plastic bags and straws to lost fishing nets and car tyres. Our survey sites have been located around Ao Nang, Ao Nammao and Krabi Town, all along the coast of the Andaman Sea.

Mangrove Planting

In September and October we’ve had two major sites where we’ve been planting mangrove saplings; Toong Long and Talan. Toong Long lies in Krabi Town Talan is about 25 min drives west along the coast from Ao Nang.

The species we’ve been planting has been Ceriops tagal, Bruguiera sp., Heritiera sp., and Rhyzophora sp. These species are the most common trees around the Krabi area.

In total 741 mangrove trees have been planted. 

Dive Against Debris

Dive Against Debris is an international monitoring program of marine debris. By collecting data of the marine debris we find during our dives and report them we provide scientist, governments and other authorities’ with invaluable information about the amounts and types of rubbish that exists in our oceans.

In August, September and October we have done 27 surveys at 18 different dive sites around the Ao Nang and Phi Phi Islands. We’ve spent 1359 minutes underwater and covered a total survey area of 22 205 m2. A total of 72,86 kg of debris have been removed from the reefs. The most common items to find have been paper and cardboard fragments, masks and snorkels and glass beverage bottles. 

 Au milieu d'une petite foret tropicale, au bord de la plage pres de Ao Nang, vous trouverez le petit paradis ou travaille Project Abroad...

En effet, dans ce lieu magique, cette ambiance amicale et familiale nous travaillons durement. Mais quel plaisir de prendre soin des mangroves, de nettoyer les plages et les fonds marins quand tout autour de vous est parfait. L'equipe du projet est au petit soin, le groupe de volontaires tres amicale et l'endroit ressemble a une carte postale.

Le lundi c'est mangrove: collecter les graines, s'occuper de la nurserie et planter les jeunes mangroves. Mardi, mercredi et jeudi, c'est plongee. Nous plongons dans des lieux plus extraordinaires les uns que les autres pour les nettoyer des debris ou ressencer les especes sous marines. Imaginez que pendant votre travail passe autour de vous tortues, serpents de mers et parfois meme des requins.

Le vendredi direction les plages alentour pour retirer les dechets. Dur, mais tellement gratifiant.

Le week end, en route pour decouvrir les iles, paysages et villes alentours. Seul ? Non impossible de quitter les autres volontaires. L'esprit d'equipe est la, surtout quand il est temps de faire la fete...

Croyez moi, la vie est belle...

After an exhausting day of beach cleaning and spreading eco-awareness with the students at the “Yes We Can English Camp”, the thoughts of a monthly dinner could not have been sweeter.

V notified us that we would be spending our monthly dinner with the other Teaching volunteers who we had collaborated with earlier that day, many of whom we were all good friends with and hadn’t seen in a couple weeks.

When we were told that our dinner would be held at a local Thai style buffet restaurant, some people were a bit skeptic. Upon arrival however, all previous doubts were diminished. This place was awesome.

The restaurant was open to the street, necessary when humidity lingers around 85%, and we found ourselves surrounded by local families cooking their food on their own personal “Thai BBQ Grills” as we called them.

Everyone was on the verge of starvation, so we rushed up to the buffet table and began grabbing our grub.

I would say that the probability of taking something you’re familiar with was 3:1. I unfortunately made the mistake of grabbing almost everything in reach and found myself trying to finish food I could barely stomach, in order to not offend the people who worked there.

As much of a hassle as it was to be our own chefs, the food was delicious. Dipping chicken into small concoctions of sauces and then grilling them with our own hands was new to me, and I took advantage of it by putting as much variety on my plate as possible; some good, some not so good.

After an hour of grilling and eating, we all seemed to know what food was “Good” and what food was “Dude, don’t eat that”.

I think we all look forward to going back to that restaurant or one like it in the future, if not for the food, then at least for the laughs.

Welcome to Thailand. Welcome to Paradise.

-Max Donaldson

Last Friday was the final day of the seven day “Yes We Can” English camp here in Thailand.  The conservation volunteers traveled to Krabi to work with the community volunteers to teach the children about conservation and the environment.  Over the week we all prepared our activities to do with the children.  Zoe and I created a recycling game to teach the children the importance of recycling and keeping the oceans clean.  We collected different kinds of trash and labeled different bags with recyclables (plastic bottle and metal cans), general rubbish, and dangerous items.  Some of the children came and helped us sort the trash into the correct bags.  This was good practice for the beach clean up we did later in the afternoon.

            After we finished our recycling game Leilah and Pauline finished their presentation on the importance of conservation.  Everybody had a snack and then we all piled into the bus to go to the Krabi River for the beach cleanup.  The children were divided into groups and assigned to different volunteers.  We all took our groups down the river for an afternoon of picking up garbage.  The children were all very enthusiastic and excited to put the trash in their own bags.  If only we enjoyed beach clean up as much as they did!  After a tiring couple of hours in the hot sun, everyone stopped for a much needed lunch break.  We collected a total of 347 kilograms of rubbish that day!

            When we returned to the school the children had a fun afternoon of educational games.  Julie and Marit set up a scuba station where the children got to try breathing through the regulator, using the mask, and walking in fins.  Julie was decked out in full scuba gear complete with wetsuit and booties!  Everyone had good fun watching everyone get dressed up.  They showed a video about different fishes and explained why we do reef check surveys.  Lionel and Sophie set up a pin the fin on the shark game to educate the children about the problem of shark finning.   Everyone had fun getting blindfolded and trying to put the fin back in the right place.  Fiona and Didi played a memory game with the children.  They showed the children cards with different animals on them and told them different facts about the animals.  Then they removed some of the cards and the children had to remember which one was missing.  It was very entertaining to watch.

            When game time was finished we all gathered for a closing ceremony.  The volunteers and the children all did a fun Projects Abroad dance and everyone was presented with a certificate of completion, and the children got a reusable water bottle as a fun eco-friendly gift.  It was a long day and everyone worked very hard, but it was very rewarding in the end.  Everyone involved had a great time and all the children learned valuable lessons that day.