Day 322 - Teaching English at Big Brother Mouse in Luang Prabang
Saturday, May 25th, 2019
Today we actually got up early because we planned to go volunteer at Big Sister Mouse, which is a school about 40 minutes from Luang Prabang. We ate our breakfast fast and rushed to Big Brother Mouse. We needed to be there by 9:00am. We made it and when we told the lady at the front desk what we were there for, she said, “But today is Saturday.”
I was upset because I really wanted to see a rural school and have experience teaching there. I walked away and calmed myself. I was getting all upset for the poor planning and for leaving this for last minute and then I remember that I shouldn’t complain because truly, I haven’t done any planning for a while. Gregory has done all the research and hard work. I’m on vacations baby!
If you would like to find out more about volunteering and teach English here in Laos, check their website
http://www.bigbrothermouse.com/index.html
Around 9:15, I told Gregory, Sunshine, and Daniel to come and sit down at the table because the students were arriving. It is not really teaching them English. They just want to have a conversation and it is a win-win situation because they get to practice their English and you get to ask questions about their culture. First, I got an enthusiastic student who smiled with every question I asked. He was 19 years old and wanted to be a chemistry teacher. We talked for a while but then the dynamic changed because another student arrived and sat next to me. He was well dressed and spoke better English and unfortunately, this affected the confidence of the other boy. I tried to include both by asking questions, but then more people arrived and the whole dynamic changed. I had to start all over with the introductions and repeat the same answers to the newcomers.
The first boy who I started the conversation with, took his cell phone out and I could tell that he was no longer interested. He left at one point. More boys came and left but one remained. His name was Seng, he was 20 years old and wanted to be an English teacher. He was from a Hmong tribe. Did I mention that there are 80 ethnic groups in Laos which can be grouped into four families, each one with their own language, traditions, and religion? Very complex. It was interesting to hear his story. He came from a mountain village (the Hmong are mountain people) and his parents were rice farmers. His father was a shaman, their religion is animist which teaches that everything has a spirit. They worship the spirit of their ancestors. I had many questions for him but he was having a hard time answering. I don’t if because of his English, he said he didn’t have the vocabulary words or maybe because he didn’t know how to explain.
I think he also felt uncomfortable talking about his beliefs. He was happy to hear that we have shamans in Mexico and that I knew a little bit about it (mostly from reading Castaneda a long time ago). We talked for almost two hours. Finally past 11:00am, we finished our class. I really wanted to help this guy with his studies. He seemed like a very promising student. I gave him our email address and encouraged him to apply for a scholarship. I told him that we would help him. I’m not sure if he believed it.
Today we actually got up early because we planned to go volunteer at Big Sister Mouse, which is a school about 40 minutes from Luang Prabang. We ate our breakfast fast and rushed to Big Brother Mouse. We needed to be there by 9:00am. We made it and when we told the lady at the front desk what we were there for, she said, “But today is Saturday.”
I was upset because I really wanted to see a rural school and have experience teaching there. I walked away and calmed myself. I was getting all upset for the poor planning and for leaving this for last minute and then I remember that I shouldn’t complain because truly, I haven’t done any planning for a while. Gregory has done all the research and hard work. I’m on vacations baby!
If you would like to find out more about volunteering and teach English here in Laos, check their website
http://www.bigbrothermouse.com/index.html
Around 9:15, I told Gregory, Sunshine, and Daniel to come and sit down at the table because the students were arriving. It is not really teaching them English. They just want to have a conversation and it is a win-win situation because they get to practice their English and you get to ask questions about their culture. First, I got an enthusiastic student who smiled with every question I asked. He was 19 years old and wanted to be a chemistry teacher. We talked for a while but then the dynamic changed because another student arrived and sat next to me. He was well dressed and spoke better English and unfortunately, this affected the confidence of the other boy. I tried to include both by asking questions, but then more people arrived and the whole dynamic changed. I had to start all over with the introductions and repeat the same answers to the newcomers.
The first boy who I started the conversation with, took his cell phone out and I could tell that he was no longer interested. He left at one point. More boys came and left but one remained. His name was Seng, he was 20 years old and wanted to be an English teacher. He was from a Hmong tribe. Did I mention that there are 80 ethnic groups in Laos which can be grouped into four families, each one with their own language, traditions, and religion? Very complex. It was interesting to hear his story. He came from a mountain village (the Hmong are mountain people) and his parents were rice farmers. His father was a shaman, their religion is animist which teaches that everything has a spirit. They worship the spirit of their ancestors. I had many questions for him but he was having a hard time answering. I don’t if because of his English, he said he didn’t have the vocabulary words or maybe because he didn’t know how to explain.
I think he also felt uncomfortable talking about his beliefs. He was happy to hear that we have shamans in Mexico and that I knew a little bit about it (mostly from reading Castaneda a long time ago). We talked for almost two hours. Finally past 11:00am, we finished our class. I really wanted to help this guy with his studies. He seemed like a very promising student. I gave him our email address and encouraged him to apply for a scholarship. I told him that we would help him. I’m not sure if he believed it.
Sunshine’s student, on the other hand, seemed even more promising than mine. It was a girl who wanted to become a lawyer and from what Sunshine shared with us, it seemed that she was brilliant and breaking traditions and norms. The bummer is that Sunshine didn’t give her our email. We told the kids to offer our help when they meet people like that. It is just so frustrating seeing so much enthusiasm and interest in people trying to study and progress and they don’t have the money to do it. I learned that if you want to become a teacher in a public school, you need to volunteer 2 to 3 years at least without any salary. I asked them how the government expects you to live? They all laughed and shrugged their shoulders! All the students that we talked to were working and living with families or mostly on their own so they could attend school.
I was so happy that we had the opportunity to talk to these kids. I was happy to see what Daniel and Sunshine got from this experience and how it changes their perspective about their own lives and education! We were drained after spending two hours at the center. We bought some books to help the organization. After this, we stopped to buy postcards and a drink. We walked to the hotel and stayed there until the heat passed. We went out for dinner around 6:00 pm and rushed to l'Etranger to watch a movie (Bohemian Rhapsody). We got there late but we all had seen the movie except Daniel.
I was so happy that we had the opportunity to talk to these kids. I was happy to see what Daniel and Sunshine got from this experience and how it changes their perspective about their own lives and education! We were drained after spending two hours at the center. We bought some books to help the organization. After this, we stopped to buy postcards and a drink. We walked to the hotel and stayed there until the heat passed. We went out for dinner around 6:00 pm and rushed to l'Etranger to watch a movie (Bohemian Rhapsody). We got there late but we all had seen the movie except Daniel.
We walked back to our hotel and we watched the season finale of Game of Thrones. Gregory wanted to wait because we skipped two seasons but there it was, playing on TV, so we watched it! I won’t spoil the end in case you haven’t seen it, he, he!
For pictures please click here
https://photos.app.goo.gl/c4B6Q7YZnFNZSuKZ7
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