Beginnings

I still remember arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport for the first time. I had journeyed from my home in Ireland with a layover in Doha, Qatar. I was a lone traveller, going to a foreign place where I knew no one. The pervading emotion was one of open excitement; the kind of excitement that balances itself out against a backdrop of uncertainty. It would all be new to me. 

 

And so, at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, I entered the country. I soon felt the back of my shirt dampen from the heat as I collected my luggage. Three monks in full orange robes were in the bookshop I passed. It was a wonderful sight and filled me with a sense of new beginnings. 

 

Why did I come to Thailand?

 

Well, as it turns out it was a mixture of vague wondering interest and timing. Towards the end of college, a close friend mentioned that he knew someone who went off to teach in Asia after their studies. I never knew that was possible. You could say it was a lightbulb moment. I was sold. The question of where I would go took a lot of consideration. I had varying interests in Japanese and Korean cinema that put them at the top of my list... but Thailand seemed like it was at an interesting stage and had a lot to offer culturally and geographically. 

Though I progressed far into my visa process for Korea I was also aware of the differences in work culture between it and Thailand. Finally, when COVID-19 quarantines continued to be mandated by Japan and Korea I leapt on recently opened Thailand. 

 
Before Thailand?

 

I graduated from university in Ireland with a double major in English & Philosophy. It was a great education but even better was the self-education I received from hundreds of hours spent studying independently and reading books. In my final year of university, I wrote a 100-page novella called Lucy’s Spiral and after graduating I soon got a job as an assistant teacher. My time in the Irish education system was challenging but a vital building block of experience before I would teach abroad. It gave me insights, but perhaps more importantly it give me something to contrast. I worked at both secondary level as an assistant and later at primary level as a special education teacher.

 

What is the purpose of this blog?

 

It’s been two years since I first arrived in Thailand. And in that time everything in my life has changed. I still work as an English language teacher but now I have a family, businesses which I help and generally a deeper and richer understanding of Thai life and culture. 

 

My aim is to capture some of what I’ve learned in that time and the time to come in this blog. I will publish weekly on topics as diverse as Thai Culture, Language learning, education, writing and travel. I hope you will follow along and whether you teach, travel, or even have a passing curiosity you will get some valuable insights.

 

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