Dear future intern, I write to you now, having completed my internship after 187 days as a teacher at KSDC in Northern Thailand. I am currently attending Singapore Management University as a student, a completely different experience from what I had grown to know and appreciate during my time in rural Thailand. From teacher to student, and from bamboo huts to skyscrapers, there really isn’t a bigger change in scenery and experience.

The same could be true for you as you move away from the city of Victoria to the province of Mae Hong Son. Change can be intimidating, but the best advice I have to offer is to go into this experience with an open mind and try not to have any expectations. Everyone reacts to this environment differently, so if nothing else, make sure you remain curious and ready to challenge yourself in ways you would never expect.

Advocate for yourself
Something that is important to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be afraid to advocate for your own needs. This is a challenging placement. You are in wooden structures with no air conditioning and eating food that is drastically different than what you have grown accustomed to in the west. You will definitely be eating strange foods at times, but do try everything once. You can always have conversations about your food preferences with the students or the house manager. They are always so excited and willing to do what they can to create the most comfortable living environment for you. I felt awkward doing so initially; we are already given more food than the students, so I struggled with bringing up concerns I had. As long as you remain respectful, there are always things that can be done to make you feel more comfortable. Make use of the CAPI network and reach out to people, it’s important that you feel comfortable during this placement.

Connect with your students
You are going to be their English teacher; that doesn’t mean that you can’t also be their friend. Find some common interests, many love music and sports. I bought a guitar and very early on would play music and sing with my students. They play football, volleyball, and a sport called caneball. I’ve never been super into football or good at foot sports, but it’s worth participating in or at least watching. Class time is obviously the place for students to learn and practice their English, but they learn just as much if not more outside of class time. So it’s important to spend that time with your students and have those conversations. It may seem difficult initially to think of conversation topics, but it’s about picking the right conversation topics and keeping it simple. “Do you like sports? what sport? What is your favourite team? Do you watch on your phone? We should play together.” Ask questions and pivot quickly if the conversation is heading in a confusing direction. They are very shy people and feel bad if they have a hard time understanding, so keep conversation light initially and build from there. You don’t always need to talk. My students and I started playing chess every day; it didn’t require a lot of talking but was an amazing way to connect. Play card games like UNO; there’s 100 ways to interact that require little to no conversation.

Make the first move
Since they are shy, it may be up to you to make that first move. I promise that they are all eager to interact with you, but it can seem off-putting at first. Don’t take it too seriously. If someone is working out, join them; if someone is watching something, ask what they are watching; if people are eating, ask if you may join. I remember one student who was particularly shy. We never had a conversation before. He was working out, so I picked up one of the weights and joined in. We worked out for 30 minutes. Every day after that, he would come up and say hi. Don’t be afraid to make that first move; I promise it is worth it.

Leaving KSDC
My last few days at KSDC were rather lonely. The students had gone through the refugee camp to go camping. An activity I could not participate in as foreigners are generally not permitted to enter the refugee camp. So me and a few of my students waited behind at KSDC. That weekend I got a terrible case of food poisoning. It is an unfortunate plight to have restrooms so far away from your bed when dealing with certain stomach-related illnesses, yet when in the jungle you make do with what you have. I thought it couldn’t get much worse; I only had a few days left at the school at this point. The students returned to the refugee camp after camping and were supposed to head back to the school. Unfortunately, the police decided the month of December that they were to survey the town of Nai Soi, looking for any refugees due to a recent influx of refugees from Myanmar. News of this spread quickly, and everyone still at the school started to panic. Those in camp were to remain there until further notice, and those still at the school had to very quickly pack up the things they could comfortably carry and head back into the refugee camp before the gates were closed. It was very sudden, all happening on one morning. I realized that I likely would not see the majority of my students who were already in camp again. I said goodbye to the 6 who remained and watched as they rode off, back to camp. Suddenly it was only me, alone at the school for my last 2 nights. It was not the send-off I was expecting and was disheartening to come to terms with the fact I would not be able to say goodbye to all the friends I’ve made over those last 6 months. A part of me always felt as though it wasn’t goodbye, like something would change and I would get to see them. However, that wasn’t the case. One of my students stayed behind that night; he had family in the area. He didn’t stay at the school that night, but we got a beer and sat on the beach talking about the last 6 months. Me and Syar Reh chatted about the future. It was the case that many of my students were uncertain about what their future would look like. There is no knowing when it will be possible to return home to Myanmar. Lack of identification and papers meant that travel was impossible. It was a bleak reality looming over the heads of many of my students over the last 6 months. Every day that passed was one day closer to the end of KSDC. The end of KSDC meant uncertainty about the future. The realities of that uncertainty vastly differ from the uncertainty faced by students post-graduation back home. In Canada, most people also dont know what they will do post-graduation; this is where these feelings are similar. Where they differ, however, is in the possibilities. Although many Canadian students do not have ideas about the direction they should turn post-graduation, what they do have are opportunities. The options my students have are limited; the reality is that a majority of them return to their communities, get married, and start families. The typical occupation is that of farming. Other options include joining the resistance groups and consequently the struggle against the military junta. The last option is to try and pursue work opportunities, but since they have restricted mobility rights, it means working for one of the many organizations in their community. I think my last week perfectly represents the uncertainty that not only my students face but everything I faced during my 6 months. You expect to give a lesson you planned, but the power goes out. You expect to give them an exam on Friday, but learn that it’s a holiday. You expect to be able to say goodbye, but you can’t because of the police. I have definitely learned to go with the flow since going to KSDC, yet knowing I couldn’t say bye the way I intended was still unfortunate.

There is so much to reflect about. In this moment, though I can’t help but think about one of my students, Syar Reh. He was one of my closest friends. I remember his birthday. On the day I had no idea it was his birthday, another student had told me. As soon as I learned, I went into town and bought him a cake and some stuff. Later that night, all the students gathered around and sang him happy birthday. Everyone wore birthday hats, and we celebrated a special guy. During that last night, when I drank a beer with him and all the other students were stuck in camp, he thanked me once again for that birthday. He said he never celebrated his birthday and had cake on his birthday before. I’m really grateful to have had that opportunity to provide that for him. It’s hard to put into words how that feels. It’s hard to write this blog post knowing it’s the last thing I must do for this internship. It’s hard to leave home after only just getting back, but that’s life.

The point of the story is to keep in mind that although 6 months feels long, it ends faster than you think. Especially due to the volatility and uncertainty surrounding their situations as refugees, you never know when something like this may happen. During those last conversations I had with my students, I didn’t realize it would be the last time I saw them. So cherish the moments you do have, and stay connected. These are relationships that will last a lifetime, and the impact you will make is like nothing else you have ever experienced. Remain patient and kind, and you will be immensely successful. I look forward to your journey and wish you the best of luck.