"Good character and positive attitude keeps me on the right track”

New Skills and Experiences

The life in Thailand is simple and definitely, different from my country, Philippines especially the culture. I knew I had to face adjustments the moment I said “yes” to be part of this project. It was never easy to cope up with change, but thankfully I survived knowing that I prepared myself and willingly accept the challenge.

For the past decade, education became a bridge to make nations with different beliefs and tradition as one. One example is the SEAMEO Sea-Teacher Project. Hundreds of students from different universities in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines had come to share the same interest; expose students to wider perspectives and diverse learners; and to help students like us to have new knowledge and experience as future educator of new generation.

I rely on good character and positive vibe to overcome fear and go out from my comfort zone. I met different people and eventually, build friendship. It was one of the reasons why I could say, it was all worth it!

I learned how to deal with the students behavior and I overcome the fear of not having a good classroom management. I did this because behind me was the circle of people who believed in my capabilities. Being exposed in another culture is not a problem but a challenge, especially the language barrier. I made this as a motivation to look for another way wherein students can learn better. I was thankful because I made it all throughout the internship.

I realized that language barrier due to diversity will never stop the humanity to communicate and yearn for education. It was really the last straw of hope towards sufficient economy, stable community and for addressing the society’s needs. Now, I can say that I’m able to handle situation under any circumstances with an open mind and a heart to cope up with change. Learning is not easy but we can keep our pace to have it. But then, it greatly depends on one’s will and willingness to learn and accept the challenge.

Besides, exploring the different cities of Thailand had helped me understand their culture and the way they lived. I learned that they valued education and was making great efforts to answer the society’s problems and the community needs.