Xiangjun Sun,China 2012

Volunteering is nothing special but a choice that you make, nothing other than that you decide not to have a cuppa at Starbucks but Nero or Paul every morning. It does bring you something as you process and experience things on the way, that if you’re sensitive enough, and probably in quite different ways for different people. However, it does not award you anything as if you would be higher in morality than others.

After the very first week working with the local teachers and the kids from a few schools around the rural area of Watthana Nakorn, the most striking realisation I would like to share is, that they, the locals and the students, are helping me out much more than what I was supposed to do for them, in an unexpected way. The other day we were having a farewell party for someone who was gonna leave the next day. We went around to different schools every day since early morning and got back to the one where we stay in the evening. So a little bit of conversation only occurred at the party. When we were talking about the days spent here, the guy said something just exactly what I’ve thought. We came here supposedly to help and we’re doing our job. Meanwhile, by everyday life contacting with the locals, we see different ways of people living in a different world, and it does make a profound influence on us. Yes. That’s what I meant by “they are helping me out”. The kids always send greetings wherever you see them around the villages or on the campuses, the people always smile and wave at you even if you are just going for a run. Thai people are fairly traditional and they do pay their respects to seniors and teachers. If you walk across some students, the moment you walk by each other, the students always bow. You find yourself receiving appreciations every day which you even start to doubt that whether you truly deserve them.

The kids made me floral garland. 2013-07-09 14.17.09_副本A girl was waiting for me at the school main gate early morning today just to give me the heart. Yes. Volunteering is nothing else but a choice that you make. It does not make you anything special than others. You can help people in many ways. Thus, there are a few points I’d like to make here. First, knowing what you are doing. So please do make sure that you’re capable for the volunteering position. If you’re going to teach English, make sure that you do speak English fluently with no grammatical errors, in case you are not a native speaker. The kinda interesting thing that I have seen here is, some are actually having problems communicating in English with others but go on teaching the kids. The project is new, and the founder, Jason, a local teacher who stayed in the US a few years and then came back and created the project, says, “My English is just so so, so I think how can I interview someone? I just take every application as it comes.” I mean if you come here just to practice your English by teaching English, it might not be a great idea. There are other things that one could volunteer, such as helping out errands, creating the website of the project, or you might apply for else where. Willingness of sacrificing your time is one thing, and being capable of doing the job is another. Make sure that both sides, you and the people, can make the best of the sacrifice. Second, being prepared before you set off. I mean that you’ve got to know to where you’re heading off.