Teaching in Ayutthaya Part 1

Imagine travelling to school by boat every morning. This is exactly what this boy does with his mum.

I was a substitute teacher for 3 days in Ayutthaya, Thailand's historic city and its first capital. Situated on a beautiful stretch of the Chao Phraya river, Ayutthaya is 70km north of Bangkok. I travelled there by train; a slow, hot 4 hour journey in 3rd class . However, in the open air carriages you can take in all the scenery and the aroma of the array of food that is presented from the outside and through the windows every time the train stops. A great way to go to work but you do have to get up early and you arrive covered in grime!

My arrival at the school gate created a lot of attention, because not many foreigners come to teach at Wat-temple- schools. Quickly my arm was pulled to a corner of the quadrangle to listen to the National Anthem- played every morning everywhere in Thailand at 8.00am. This one though was special; rather than emitting from a loud speaker, it was being played by the school brass band.


At this school I taught 5 -9 year old students and they were delightful even if incredibly noisy.Having not taught this age before it was interesting to see how receptive they were to different games and activities; the Thai way of teaching children through repetition had not yet ground these kids down and they were most enthusiastic.