First full week at work

Because of the various public holidays, my first two weeks at work were both 3-day weeks. This has been my first full week, and it has been a bit busier than before.

 

On Monday I helped out with the first day of the Training of Trainers course. This is a course run by World Education, which is designed for teachers and school directors, to help them develop effective training techniques. When I worked at STEPS PD, we used to run 5-day courses, and our participants were always exhausted at the end of them. This course runs for a full four weeks! The trainers rotate, so they get to rest, but for the participants it must be a real challenge, especially in the heat! No air conditioning at the venue, so it was a pretty sticky day, with over 60 participants in the room.

 

The teachers are all from different parts of Burma; some are living in Thailand and others travelled from eastern Burma for the course. The course is run by a team of young and very talented Burmese trainers. As with all such events here, it started with an opening ceremony with speeches from various key people, including the deputy director of the Ministry of Education here in Mae Sot.

The first day of the course explores issues around cultural and personal values, and why it is important to take these into account when training in multi-cultural situations. The trainers were brilliant at building rapport with the group and getting them involved and the participants were very keen and motivated (I'd like to see them half way through week 3!!)

 

I presented one small session in the afternoon - my first experience of presenting through an interpreter, which was interesting. In some ways it makes it less stressful, not being in direct contact with the audience (though some of them did speak very good English). However, there is also a negative side to that which is that it is difficult to respond directly and build relationships with the group. It is something I will have to get used to for my own training role in Thai schools - either that, or I need to make very rapid progress with my Thai!

On Wednesday we held the interviews for the coordinator role - the person who will work with me to provide logistical and language support for the project. In some ways it worked out well that the appointment had not been made before my arrival, as I was able to design the interview questions and interview the candidates myself, together with a Thai colleague who assessed their Thai language skills and cultural awareness (all the short-listed candidates were Burmese). It is not an easy post to recruit for. The coordinator needs both Thai and Burmese language skills, as well as English, as I will be working with Thai schools and communities and also with migrant families and communities. They also need experience of project coordination, working with communities, financial management, education/training and an understanding and sensitivity towards the issues facing both communities. The main stumbling block was the level of Thai language skills. We have decided to make an appointment with a 3-month probationary period to see how things go.

 

An example of different cultural approaches/expectations: My Thai colleagues were blown away by how professionally I went about it all - preparing written questions and recording sheets, designing simple tasks to test their translation of documents between Thai and English, and following the same procedure for all candidates. I get the impression they would have done something much more informal and haphazard. I was well-drilled in selection and interview procedures when I was a trustee at the Harbour project, where everything had to be done in line with Swindon Borough Council's equal opportunities and transparency policies! I guess things are a bit different here!

 

Early in the week I began to develop a bit of a croaky throat and cough, and by Thursday it had developed into a full blown cold which sapped the little bit of energy I still had in this heat. On Friday I had to go to the hospital to do the medical check for obtaining my work permit, which was an interesting experience. I arrived with no idea of where to go, armed with a piece of paper I had been given which explained in Thai what I was there for. I parked my bicycle and wandered off looking for a nurse to show my piece of paper to, as I had been instructed, when I heard someone calling after me. I turned to see a security guard, who was indicating that I could not leave my bicycle where I had put it. So I took the opportunity to show him my piece of paper! He showed me where to park my bike by the little security hut and then one of his colleagues escorted me right to where I needed to go.

 

Thankfully I had got there in good time (as instructed!) so I was one of the first and did not have to wait around. They have quite a little production line going. First they take your identification (I went armed with a photocopy of my passport, as instructed), allocate you a number and relieve you of 600 Baht. Then you are given a little pot and sent off to produce a urine sample. In order to get to the toilets, you have to go through the canteen. I did wonder what the diners must make of that, all these people trouping past with their little offerings! The experience was made rather distressing by the fact that there was someone being very sick in the cubicle next to me. Made it rather difficult to concentrate on the task in hand!

 

When you return with your sample you are sent upstairs for a chest x-ray. I was all set up in front of the machine and the chap said something which I didn't catch, but I guessed might have been an instruction to take a deep breath and hold it, so I did..... and held it..... and held it..... and then he said: "Now breathe in and hold your breathe", so I quickly breathed out (what a relief!) and started again.

After the chest x-ray, you go off to another room to give a sample of blood. Once again I was kindly accompanied by a member of staff. I must do the "little girl lost" look very well! The blood-taking was uneventful, and then back to the desk again to collect the receipt and be told to come back on Monday for the results. I do hope that the fact that I had a horrendous cold won't affect any of the tests - I don't really want to do it all again!!

 

In the afternoon in the office we had "Happy Friday" - cakes and fruit and soft drinks. I think it is a weekly event, but this one was special as it was also a farewell for three people who are leaving.

 

By the time I got home I was feeling really quite ill with my cold, so took some paracetamol and went to bed, where I lay for a couple of hours feeling as if my whole body was in meltdown. Thankfully the paracetamol kicked in and I was able to get up later and have a shower and something to eat. Today I feel much better. If that's what a cold feels like in this climate, I hope I never catch dengue fever!! 

 

(A little question to the scientists/doctors out there: how come in northern hemisphere countries people catch cold mostly in the winter, whereas here the season for colds and flu is at the height of the hot season?)