Off the beaten Track

Sawadeeka! Im Clementine Hardcastle studying Fashion Communication at the University of the West of England. This is a little page about my adventures in Thailand over summer 2013. I was given the opportunity to help teach English in Thailand for 2 months through the British council and Thai ministry of education. This is a little insight of what went, helped shown by my photography. - And remember not all Those who wander are lost.

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Back where it all started Ambassador hotel 6/9/13. Collecting certificate, saying bye to the girls and to my amazing mentor.

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Saying my farewells and singing twinkle twinkle little star 😭😘👣🌟✨

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Nearly all of the students had made me cards and gave me presents!! They are so cute.. Even if half of them spelt my name wrong haha.

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Say goodbye!!!

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My 7 year olds. Will miss them so much !!

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Last day- got my students to play for me.

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Last week - thai / English games

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Last week of teaching

2nd - 6th September -My last week at Bangyangwittaya school

Can’t believe this whirlwind of an adventure is finally coming to a end. It feels like I have only just arrived yet I’m suddenly saying my goodbyes. I cannot even describe the last 8 weeks and what I have been able to experience and I know it truly won’t sink in until I get back home and am looking through my photographs and I remember how this was such a once in a life time opportunity.

I have been welcomed into a new culture with such generosity and love and been able to experience their normality and be apart of their lives. I have had ceremonies thrown in my honour, I have signed autographs, Iv attended a Thai funeral, I have prayed with the monks, visited a 1000 temples, nearly died, given 100 speeches, had a thai sauna, sung in front of all the students, eaten scorpions/ frogs (and most of the food in chumpuang) driven 100 mopeds, met 100s of people…but nothing compared to being apart of banyangwittaya school and to actually being able to TEACH those 364 students and to have such an effect on them to get them truly excited about wanting to learn my culture and native language its so amazing to see.

I went round and said goodbye to all of the students who would run up to me, hugging and begging me not to go! I was holding back the tears.. They were all so sweet, giving me cards they had made and waiting for me to come back from my last classes. All I did was play games with them and let them teach me some thai games. I then went round and said my last goodbye to the teachers and Mr Sunchai, who kept saying how sorry he was I was leaving and asked me to come back to Banyangwittaya next year, how he will look after the tree I planted in the school garden until I’m back.

There’s even photos up all round the school of me at the schools events and with the teachers, I have never felt so appreciated in my life.. But for my little hidden school it was a big deal having a Native English speaker come in and teach. I’m so glad I made the most out of this opportunity and put my all into it or I would defiantly not feel worthy.

I have learnt so much from this experience and won’t be forgetting it or the people who have welcomed me into their culture anytime soon. And the amount inspiration I have gained will defiantly live on.

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If they can't reach.. Why not?

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Last week my school

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So proud of my little bubas

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Saying goodbye to kindergarden was hard!!

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Did someone say Sauna?

Last week of Teaching 2nd sep -6th On Monday I went to my last weekly massage at Jane’s house, but this time pikau had organised a special sauna for me.. You can’t ask for a better way to start your last week really, Can you! Spoilt doesn’t even sum it up.. Ill defiantly miss all this special treatment and attention when I get home, that’s for sure. The Thais generosity is amazing and sometimes quite overwhelming.

Anyway when I got told sauna, I don’t know what I was expecting.. To tell you the truth I forgot I was in Thailand and thought I was going to go to a gym type place and be pampered?! But god did I forget my surrounding. Of course it was a home made sauna in Jane’s house, that took place in a pin up tent with a hot pot of boiling water with various Thai herbs that she made to help soften my muscles. I got into a special thai robe and smothered myself in a weird home made yellow thai herbal lotion that made my skin as soft as a baby’s bottom and then sat and melted in a tent for half an hour. It was heavenly.

I love the pure primitiveness of Thai life, no need for luxuries just the simplistic organic style of living.. Sometimes I feel like I have gone back in time and certain things haven’t been invented yet or they just haven’t thought of it yet e.g. Sitting around a table on chairs..But why would you do that when you can sit on a perfectly good floor?

Anyway back to my sauna, so saying goodbye to Jane’s family was so hard! They had done so much for me and completely welcomed me into their home and just wanted to help me and pikau with her massages because she just wanted to make sure my back was okay before leaving was just beyond belief.. They are the most kindest and sweetest family. I promised I would go back to Thailand and see them soon and I really hope I do.