Mae Wang, Chiang Mai: One Week of Online English Teacher Volunteerwork

Mae Wang District, Chiang Mai

You might be familiar with Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand, renowned for its mountains. Mae Wang is a district in Chiang Mai in the southwest of the downtown and is a 40-minute rod daeng (a red songthaew, a pick-up truck) ride from Chiang Mai City Center. I hopped on the rod daeng at Bus Terminal 1, which runs every hour. I had to ask the locals to know the truck schedule as I wasn't able to find any information on this online or even at the bus station. It seemed like the earliest bus is around 7 am (there may be an earlier bus) and the last bus of the day is around 6 pm. 

This is where volunteers stayed. I loved chilling in the garden and enjoying time under the shade. 

Set up

I had online classes from 5:50 p.m. through 10:10 p.m. every day, but as Christmas approached, fewer students joined online as expected. Ban Bon Doi Homestay was where all volunteers were staying, and Brainstorm Homeschool was the online class program they joined remotely. Classes were held via Skype and students signed up for the class they wanted to take after reading the bios of the volunteers. Each class was 40-minutes long and the maximum number of classes each volunteer had per day was 6. Some students came to practice speaking English only, and others were interested in reading or learning grammar. Class materials were available online for teaching, but extra preparation was needed to meet each student's needs.

(Left): Volunteer notices and instructions (Right): Volunteers were given laptop to use Skype to connect with students online 

Days off + Thai Cooking Class

No classes were held over the weekends, but since I arrived during the mid-week and stayed short-term, I was scheduled for a couple of classes on Saturday. Other than that, I had mornings and early afternoons free during the weekdays. During my free time, I spent time going to local markets, exploring fruit stalls, hitchhiking to explore nature, going out for walks, etc., which was great! I also spent time with other volunteers at night- there was a bar right next to the homestay so I would have some chit-chat time. 

Ban Bon Doi Homestay staff also hosted Thai Cooking Class for volunteers on Christmas Day. We made vegan Som Tum (green papaya salad) and fried banana chips. Both dishes did not involve a lot of cooking, but it was nice to slice down vegetables to add it to our salad. 

We made Som Tum (papaya salad) and fried bananas- I decided to eat fresh bananas instead :)

Final Thoughts 

I think this was the shortest volunteer work I've done with Worldpackers but staying one week in Mae Wang was nice. I was able to connect with the locals, have enough time to explore the area and connect with other volunteers. I also enjoyed meeting Thai students online in all age groups, and I was able to help with reading, speaking and grammar. Throughout my stay, I had an amazing time and would recommend to volunteer in Mae Wang when you are in Chiang Mai.