Moin Moin !

Hi everyone, or as we say in Hamburg "Moin Moin". My name is Miriam, I am 19 years old and from Hamburg in Germany. I just graduated High School and I am very excited to be volunteering here in Chiang Mai for 6 months. It has always been a dream of mine to come to Thailand and I am so glad that I have the chance to be here until February!

I am a very active person and enjoy sports, cooking and spending time with my family and friends.

During my time here I will be volunteering at Wildflower Home, which is a shelter for young mothers and their children that come from crisis situations. As a volunteer there I will be helping with the kids in the daycare, gardening, farming, organizing or where ever a helping hand is needed. During my first week, the other volunteers and I inventoried all the items that are handmade by the mothers and sold on our website. I was really surprised of how many beautiful bags, jewelry and other things we had in the storage room.

So far, my highlight was cooking pasta with tomato sauce from a huge donation of tomatoes for all the mothers and kids last Wednesday! It was so much fun to cook with the other volunteers and the mothers!

Wildflower Home is such a beautiful place and everyone there is super nice and welcoming. Every morning I am excited what the day will bring. What I like best about my work is that there is always something to do and that it is something different every day!

I am so excited for the time ahead and I am sure I will learn and grow so much from the experiences I make here.

It's Already Almost Over!

Okay. Almost over is a little over-exaggerated with 18 days left in my project and 3 months of travelling after that. But let's say it’s almost almost over! Because that is certainly what it feels like. Working with FORRU I don’t experience a break like all the other CCT volunteers that I live with but that's totally fine by me! The last weeks are jam packed with super cool stuff! But there are most certainly things I will not relive. For example the first time I rode the pickup truck up to my work site. I was almost certain I would die. I did not and my fear was completely based on the good roads back at home and TV shows like “the most dangerous roads” where this trail, if filmed correctly, would be perfect!

Or the one time we got stuck in the mud having to pull out trucks for local farmers and drone pilots. Written down, this seems like a really odd aggregation of individuals but at that time all I could think about was how to get my feet dry and, again, not die on our way back down. But it’s not the unbelievably cool Automated Forest Restoration conference or the numerous field trips with the most incredible views that stick out to me the most. But rather the people I met along the way.

One of the best days I spent with my fellow Intern / Volunteer / Student, Ibren from the Netherlands. For a science project he needed 1g of plastic cable. Approximately 3000 pieces of said cable. It took us around 5 hours to cut all of it but I guess you can imagine us sitting in a really small lab as happy as only people in Babyfood commercials and organic wheat burgers can be. Listening to great music and just talking with someone who has traveled the world quite a bit was an enlightening experience! 

After the five hours of finger numbing scissor action and a really nice coffee at my new favourite place I didn’t even realise it was time for pickup. But of course all the other people I met and most certainly the ones I have to meet are fascinating. I really didn’t know the world was filled with so many awesome people until I started to travel!

You Are Never Too Old... Or Young!

Hi there, my name is Silvana, an Italian / Swiss woman, living in Switzerland, and only 63 years young! 

When I applied for a volunteership I had the feeling people were smiling at me. And when I went for the introduction evening before I left Switzerland I was absolutely the "old lady" amongst teenies. I thought "Oh dear......"

Meanwhile I have started my voluntary services at the Wildflower Home. The home provides safe shelter, education, health and other services to young single mothers who are either pregnant or have young children. WFH offers emotional and educational support to help them move from crisis and poverty to steady jobs or continous education after leaving the home.

I immediately noticed that the children (up to four) were quite agressive to each other. They tore away each other's toys. Young volunteers seemed to always try to be nice to them. I learned that they needed firmness and limits to their behaviour. You would not believe it, but after three weeks everybody noticed! The children became calmer, they now play together, they share, and they politely ask if they want something! I am amazed how quick they learn. 

I just love them. Everyone wants to be hugged in a different way....... their background has certainly not been easy.

In the next edition I will talk about the young mothers!

As you can read, I am still eager to achieve a lot, step by step, whilst just being a little bit over 30!

Teaching English to Mums and Kids Alike!

Hey there,

My name is Alina and I'm from Stuttgart, Germany. I'm 19 years old and I finished High School this year. My volunteer programme will take three months to complete, from September to December 2015.

I decided to spend some time in Thailand because I am really interested in Asian cultures and I hope to get to know the Thai culture. I want to become at teacher later so the work at a School here will prepare me for my occupational future. I also think that it is really exciting to get to know how kids in other countries are taught and how their parents nurture them. In addition I hope that the time here will be a great and unforgettable life experience.

Because of the school holidays I spent the first 4 weeks of my volunteer programme at the Wild Flower Home. This is a home for single mothers who are either pregnant or have young children. During my time there I took care of the kids, helped in the garden or in the office and I helped to clean the Buddhist temple kitchen from where the foundation gets most of their food and drinks. In addition I taught English to some of the older kids and to a few of the mothers.

Since November I have been working at the Wat Kuang Singh school. These children are essentially refugees from Myanmar and kids from the hilltribe villages in Thailand attending the school. I teach 3 lessons a week in 3 different classes. The most difficult part is the size of the classes (up to 48 kids) and the communication barrier, especially with the little kids. But I have a Thai teacher by my side and I realize that it is getting easier from lesson to lesson.

I'm looking forward to the following weeks and every experience I will get there.

Alina

A Day in the Life of Volunteer Teaching in Thailand

Hello,

My name is Tang and I am from the University of Kansas. My major is Global and International Studies along with a minor in Anthropology. 

I am currently volunteering as an English teacher at Wat Khuang Singha School in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Thai students that I teach English to range from ages 6 to 12 years old. Almost every day I assist the Thai teachers with teaching English and one day a week I teach on my own, which has become a wonderful experience.

To be honest, I am loving this volunteer work! The Thai teachers and students are very polite and respectful towards everyone and I felt very welcomed when I first arrived at the school. There are so many things that I enjoy about this school, such as everyone singing the Thai national anthem every morning, the food, and the people. I really enjoy teaching the Thai students because they love to participate which makes teaching much easier for me. 

I would recommend this volunteer work to anyone who loves kids and who loves to teach. You don’t even have to be highly experienced in teaching because the volunteer work itself assists and provides you with the necessary skills. It’s not difficult, nor is it easy, but once you get the hang of it you will enjoy teaching as much as I am, especially with these wonderful Thai students.

Until next time, 

Tang

สวัสดีครับ (Hey!)

ผม ซื่อ Cormac! ผมมาจากไอร์แลนด์ ครับ ทำงาน มูลนิธิเอ็มพลัส ที่นี.

Phew! Okay I need to work on that a bit more.

Anyways, my name is Cormac, I’m from Ireland, and I’m volunteering with Mplus+ in Chiang Mai this summer as part of the EIL Ireland Global Awareness Program in HIV/AIDS.  Like my partner in crime at Mplus+ - Maria Flavin – I’m a travel award winner with EIL.  

Mplus+ is a fantastic organization that works mainly in promoting sexual health among men who have sex with men (MSM), preventing HIV and other STIs by promoting safer sex with condoms and lube, and encouraging and facilitating testing. In addition it aims to promote LGBTIQ rights and positive visibility – just last week we had an event on LGBTIQ rights and social movements in Thailand (shown below), and on Sunday Mplus+ hosted the annual Miss Healthy Thailand, an event focusing on sexual health, rights, wellbeing and positive visibility for trans women in Thailand.  I am really excited to be working with this organization, and I have already learned so much from them.  I hope that my different experiences and background in LGBTIQ and HIV efforts back home will mean I can contribute at least in a small way to the project, as we exchange ideas and experiences in this area.

You can spot us quite easily in the above picture. I’m to the left of Maria and we’re in the left of the photo. This photo was taken at the opening of the LGBTIQ History Gallery for the ‘No His-tory but Ours’ 2 day event on LGBTIQ issues last week. That’s most of the team there – they are so much fun! Also shown below is myself and Maria at the opening of  Miss Healthy Thailand 2015!  

About me: I’m a medical student in Dublin just finished my second year at University, and I’m also a committee member of my University’s LGBTQ+ Society – so you’ll usually find me at a lecture, the library, a coffee morning or workshop.  I’m interested in sustainability, renewables and development – I was that ten year old kid who used to pester the principal about getting a compost bin and pleaded with my parents to get solar panels – I still get really excited about developments in the field and how each one of us can empower ourselves to make for a more sustainable, greener life. I’m also a Disney fan and like to listen occasionally multiple times a day to cheesy pop music!

So far my experience in Chiang Mai has been thought provoking, adventurous and inspiring.  I have already learned so much not alone from the people at work and in the locality but from living with the other volunteers.  Each of us has our own unique background and experiences and it’s allowing us to find out more about each other, which is fantastic. 

I also like languages (I’m learning some French in University and I did Spanish in secondary school) and the language here (especially the written language) is very different to my experience of European languages. The language is tonal which means how you say a word changes its meaning, and Thai script so far has been a bit of an unfolding mystery. For example, Thai script is written as an abugida rather than an alphabet (which means that vowels can go above, below, to the left or right of consonants and the form of the vowel changes depending on the syllable in question), so reading it is like playing detective, because you do get more familiar with it in time and there is a nice feeling of accomplishment when you finally get why something is written like it is. At the same time, while the tones and script make for another dimension to the language, much of the grammar is simpler than its European counterparts, such as with tenses, plurals and conjugations. Given how friendly and willing to engage the locals are - even with my plundering tones and faulty strung-together phrases – I’m looking forward to getting more familiar with this interesting and exotic tongue

I can’t wait to see what the next six weeks has in store for me, both in work and with the other volunteers. You can follow my EIL blog at http://www.eilireland.org/users/cormac   

Thanks, Cormac 

A Brazilian in Chiang Mai

 Hello there! 

My name is Jessica, I am 19 years old and I’m from Brazil. I arrived in Chiang Mai on January 10th and right from the start, the wonderful staff from Cultural Canvas and the other volunteers made me feel very welcome. 

I am staying at a guest-house 10 mins away from the volunteer home-base, but I just spend most of my time at the house along with the rest of the girls.  My day usually starts at 7am when I go to the volunteer home-base to eat breakfast and get picked up at 8am. I get to the Wat Kuang Singha School, where I teach English, usually about 8:30am.  At 9 am the classes start and I usually have to teach three 1h classes per day, so from 9 to 3:45 I spend my time teaching, planning my future classes, and just talking to the other teachers at the school. 

Everyone in the school is so wonderful, they are always asking me about my life in Brazil and are very interested to know my future plans even though they don’t speak English very well. Aside from the teachers at the school, the kids are also amazing and VERY special.  Whenever I get to a class, the students stand up and say altogether “Good Morning teacher” and whenever I’m leaving a class they stand up and say “Thank you teacher, goodbye” and always do the “wai” for me whenever they see me. 

I teach 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10 year-olds, so I definitely need a different lesson plan for all these classes. The 4 and 5 year-olds are a bit crazy, they just want to play the whole time and they definitely need something in their hands all the time. As they get older they really learn to appreciate their teacher and my classes with the 10 year olds are always so mature and insightful. They don’t always understand what I say, but try their hardest to figure it out. It’s really hard teaching kids a completely different language when you don’t even know how to speak Thai to explain what each word means, so I do a lot of pointing, drawing, dancing and singing (thank god for Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes). 

On the weekends I just visit the city and hang out with the rest of the volunteers. Doi Suthep is definitely a “must see”, and the Sunday Walking Street Market is also a good place to visit.  





It’s incredible how the Thai culture is so different from most of Western cultures. Simple things like touching someone’s head is seen as a “bad” gesture, or the different types of Wai they do for the different types of people. Even the transportation here is different; we usually take Red Trucks to get around, it’s very cheap (20 baht), or the tuk-tuk which is a type of taxi. The food is also so different, since I got here I haven’t eaten pizza, fries, red meat or basically any western food, I just eat a lot of curry, pad thai, and spring rolls. It’s so delicious. 

I’ve only been here for 2 weeks, but I really love it! The Thai culture is wonderful, along with its food, extremely kind people, amazing views and temples, and its cheap prices. Being here really made me appreciate simple things from home, like hot showers, my comfy bed, and even the food. Seeing how the Thai people live a simple life and are just so happy, makes me appreciate everything. I’m loving this experience, you learn so much from it and from the people you spend time with, it’s crazy.

Thanks for reading xx

The City of Chiang Mai

I don´t think I have wrote a word about Chiang Mai so far, the city which has become my home in the past three month. Maybe because this place is already so familiar to me, that I don´t realize its extraordinary beauty anymore.

First of all, Chiang Mai is not only the destination for thousands of travellers every year, but also the economic centre in northern Thailand. In fact, the wealth of the city has grown fast in the last years – I found some old travel guides in the volunteer house and it´s very interesting to compare the Chiang Mai they describe with the one I experience. Chiang Mai isn´t a city where you have to miss anything, maybe that´s why a lot of western people mad it their home.

 Chiang Mai is not as hectic as a big metropolis but has all comfort of city life.  Don´t get me wrong, it´s definitely a busy place, the traffic is always a nightmare and no matter what time, you´ll find always an open bar or street food stable. But there is something about this city, that makes me relax, makes me smile.

Maybe it´s because of all this cosy cafes where you can drink a lot of coffee and where your office work seems to be a little bit easier than home. Maybe it´s because of the small galleries all over the place, showing works of local artists. Seeing their view of Thai society, their thoughts about developments – both positive and negative, I remember works to the invasion on western deserts – their dreams for their country expressed in art impressed me very much. Of course not all art is about social or political issues, it´s just the part that interests me the most. You´ll find a lot of landscapes, self-portraits or abstract sculptures, too. In fact, Chiang Mai´s art scene is much to diverse to describe it in one blog post – it´s a city of art!

Nicola,

I Heart Pai

Last week I wrote a lot about work, this time it is all about the so called "rest". I might be the wrong one to tell you much about the nightlife of Chiang Mai, mud shipping and taking care of toddlers makes you tired. But enough about work! Yesterday a few volunteers went to sticky waterfalls. This is a quite popular place, well known, because the stones in the falls are not slippery at all. You can climb up the falls, which isn´t too difficult. The whole setting is set in between huge jungle trees, so that you can overview an ocean of green tree crowns from the very top – a stunning view. I could have sat there for ages, just watching the forest with the water all around me. Life can be so easy. The falls itself are from such beauty, that I couldn´t get rid of the thought, someone must have planned this. It´s too perfect to be just there, without purpose, without plan.

Pai- more a promise than a name, more mythos than reality. Who hasn´t heart lots of stories about legendary nights in Pai?Most travelers in Chiang Mai are either just coming from or about to leave to Pai. What is it about this small village, that drives people crazy? My travel guide says, Pai is somewhere in between hippie heaven and commerce, a tightrope walk, sometimes working out, sometimes not.

First, the bus drive form Chiang Mai is not as bad as everyone tells you. I slept in both directions nearly the entire time. Pai itself is truly a pearl, surrounded by mountains and forests offers everything that lets a nature lovers heart beat faster. Waterfalls, hot springs, breathtaking views, even a so called canyon. Reasons enough to visit Pai.

It is truth, nights in Pai are magical. Maybe because of the promise, that everything is possible as soon as the sun disappears, maybe because everyone is your friend for the night, maybe it´s the beautiful setting or just the fact, that you cannot be further away from any duties. There are this moments, where Pai seems to keep every promise. You turn around – just for a few seconds and suddenly your friends´ faces are hidden behind layers of paint. Someone starts in the early morning hours an awesome fire show right at the river in the light of the full moon.

Before I left, a Thai friend told me, Pai wouldn´t be a path of Thailand. I can understand why, Pai could be everywhere, especially because the majority are red-white tall Westerners. For me, Pai was a sort of vacation from Thailand, a place where I could stretch my feet, . I didn´t feel a need for a time off the time I left, nevertheless it was very  restorative. But that was definitely enough for me and it feels good to be back to reality, back in Chaing Mai, Thailand, back at work.Pai, that´s a double-edged sword to me. It´s like walking on a small mountain track- it´s all about your balance.

Nicola

Winter at Wildflower Home

Last blog was about the Christmas celebration at Wildflower Home and this time I will tell you a bit about winter here. In Europe, Christmas and winter are almost synonyms, it has to be cold outside, nice and cozy at the fireplace inside. It is the time of hot chocolate, candles, early sunset, needle trees, salty roads, gloves, bonnet, icicle and -if you are luck-, of snow. Winter in Thailand is slightly different, less cold in the first place. Surprisingly, it can still be very freezing. The women at Wildflower Home are often wearing gloves and coats in the mornings and my skiing socks have become my new best friends. There is now infrastructure for cold nights, no insulated walls, no double glazing, often not even closing windows. Maybe worse is, that you are not prepared for the cold, too. Even with two blankets and a warm pyjama's is a temperature drop from 32 °C to 8 °C degrees nothing your body likes. As a result, all of our infants have running noses, colds and look rather unhappy. Nothing too serious, thank god.

The days are still as hot as always and it feels wrong having a cold while the sun burns on your face, but that might be stupid European problems. But the heat is different than in August, not as standing as it has been. The shadow is therefore often very chilled and it might be the only time in the year,  everyone at Wildflower Home sits after lunch in the sun to get warm again.

Nicola,

Plans may be changed (Marie Eberwein)

I told you I want to spend Christmas and New Year in Cambodia. But one day before departure all my travelling plans were canceled by myself. But that is a long story...
Nonetheless I left Chiang Mai and I set out for Southern Thailand. After 20 hours bus ride, 13 hours stay in Bangkok and 2 hours passage I finally arrived in Koh Samui. What can I say? I´m sorry, but this island will never see me again! There are only tourists and young people making party-awful! And it wasn´t possible to find good Thai food and it rained every day! Nevertheless I tried to take time by the forelock. In my hostel I met a nice girl from Sweden. Together we explored Koh Samui. On one day we made a tourist tour and visited the most important places in Koh Samui. For example: Big Buddha, Grandfather Rock, Namuang Waterfall, Tarnim magic Garden, Wat Plai Laem.

On Christmas we rented motorbikes and explored the island by ourselves. It was such amazing trip, because we had so much fun and we could visited places we wanted to see. We saw places outside of tourism. That was great! After that we had a nice Christmas dinner (Pad Thai and Springrolls, the most Thai food we could get). In the evening we went out with other people from our hostel.
Next day we relaxed and gave ourselves a Christmas present: A Thai massage! I have to say it was my first Thai massage and it was so good. It takes getting used to because the masseur touch every part of your body and sometimes your bones creak. But after the massage you feel so good, it was great.
That´s all I could talk about. Finally I have to say I had a lot of fun and I met so many nice people from all over the world. But it feels like I wasn´t in Thailand. A fortiori I´m happy to be back in Chiang Mai.
Because I can´t spend New Year in Cambodia I´ll go with the other volunteers to Pai. I hope it will be great :)

All the best!

Christmas at Wildflower Home

Christmas is a really big deal here for that it is a Christian organization. Weeks before the big celebration day the dining area was decorated with reindeers and small Christmas tree images and small snow globes hang from the roof. Three “real” trees completed the scenery and making small tags for them was a lot of fun for both, mothers and children. From time to time you could hear someone singing “We wish you a merry Christmas” the women were practicing the song for our Christmas party and within the weeks, Christmas was all over the place. A nativity scene, a lot of big stars and glitter were added around the pond and it took us a long time to make all our handmade Christmas cards for donators and friends abroad ready. – Yes, Christmas is big at Wildflower Home!

The menu for the party was planed long before and it took us all day before to prepare the food, we even killed one of our pigs. The party was great and –of course- the food was very delicious. It was so good to see the women getting out of their daily routine, wearing their best dresses and just enjoying their self’s talking, laughing, making fun with their kids. It was a truly a great day for everyone at Wildflower Home and we hope, for our guest too.

Sawasdee Ka!

My name is Marie Eberwein and I`m from Germany. I`m 19 years old and I finished high school before I arrived in Thailand.Having  just arrived three weeks ago, but I already feel home. That isn`t difficult because Thai people are the most hearty and friendly people, I`ve ever met. Everybody smiles and you can only do the same.During Cultural Canvas Program, I`m the volunteer at FORRU. FORRU is an environment organization, which reforest the rain forest around Chiang Mai. That means that I spend a lot of time in forest. We collect seeds, tend this in the nursery, we execute germination experiments, monitor formerly planted sites and even more. I really enjoy working in  forest, because it`s kind of paradise.We also offer educational programs in order to prepare this I have to work in the office, too. Our office is in Chiang Mai University. Therefore most of FORRU staff are students and teachers.

Enough about my work I also had time off. And Chiang Mai is a city with  many sights. Wat Phra That Doi Suthep was only one of the impressing temples I visited, covered by incense sticks. I also went to many waterfalls. It`s so amazing to relax there, breathing in the fresh, cool air and chilling in clear water.

Starting from now I`ll keep you informed about my work and my free time each week.

Thanks for reading!

Marie