Tag: thailand

Healthcare System in Thailand

October 11, 2013

Healthcare is a seemingly constant policy issue coming up in the United States. Frequently, the healthcare systems in other countries are held up as either examples of improvements or as warnings. Healthcare in Thailand is an interesting topic, as the top reason for tourism to the country is actually medical tourism. In addition to the world class medical centers in Bangkok, people in the rural areas are covered by a universal healthcare scheme.

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Reflecting on My First Semester During Bpit Term

October 8, 2013

My first semester of working in Thai schools in now on the books and completed. Last Thursday the students had their second of two days of testing and the school shut down for the semester after that. Officially, by the government, school was supposed to go until October 10, but I’m not complaining. We’re supposed to go back on November 1. It is officially bpit term, literally meaning “closed term.”

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Open Letter to Future Peace Corps Thailand Volunteers

October 1, 2013

Dear Future Peace Corps Thailand Volunteers,

You may have found the Facebook group* already and had some of your questions answered. You may not have found it, and are heading over there right now to get your questions answered. I’ll wait here for you to come back. You may have seen the common response from those who are currently where you will be of “Don’t worry; just relax; enjoy the States!”

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Bpai Tiao: School Field Trip to Chonburi

September 27, 2013

In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.

On Tuesday in the wee hours of the morning, I made my way to school. The fourth, fifth and sixth graders were to go on their end of semester field trip and rather than spend the day sitting at school in an empty classroom len-ing Internet (playing on the Internet), I decided to go with them. This was the quintessential Thai trip.

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Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Schools

September 24, 2013

Last week, I attended a Peace Corps workshop called Student Friendly Schools. This was the second time ever that Peace Corps did the Student Friendly Schools workshop; the first time was in Malawi. This is a new global initiative of the Peace Corps. Myself and 14 other volunteers along with Thai counterparts attended a two-and-a-half day workshop to learn about gender-based violence and school-based gender-based violence. Then we started working on a plan to implement what we learned back at site.

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Activities in an English Classroom in Thailand

September 15, 2013

As I’ve mentioned, most learning in Thai classrooms is done through rote memorization. My job is as a teacher training, and I want to help my co-teachers to learn more student-centered teaching techniques. Part of that has involved introducing fun and games into the classroom. It hasn’t always been easy, but thankfully my co-teachers are willing to give it a shot. Check out some of our classroom activities!