Interview about teaching English in Thailand: Freya on life outside school

Lampang is a small city, but it is still a city. So it has all the things you might expect. Temples, markets, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, a shopping mall, cinema, event venues, parks and sports grounds.
Lampang is a great balance – small enough that it feels manageable and like you know your way around, but large enough that there’s plenty to do. We are also lucky to be only an hour and a half from Chiang Mai, so we often spend long weekends there getting our fill of the city life.

Lampang doesn’t have much by way of public transport around the city itself but it is very walkable.

I often get Grab bikes where the walk is too long, and have just started renting my own bike to learn to drive. Getting a motorbike definitely gives you more freedom to explore the wider area (and it’s also fun), but it’s by no means essential to get around Lampang.

If you can find one, there are Songtaews that will drive you anywhere in the city for 20 baht per person.

To get further afield, Lampang has a bus station, train station and an airport so is well connected. Flying from Lampang is likely quite expensive so we’ve never done it, but the bus station has proved useful for trips to Chiang Mai.

This is a tricky one to tackle, the honest answer is both. Thai people are incredibly friendly, warm and hospitable. Despite the language barrier,it is very easy to get involved with your Thai colleagues. I have been for drinks, food and to markets with my co-teachers (and co-teachers of my friends in other schools). Everyone in my office is friendly and helpful. One of my co-teachers helped us arrange a Songtaew to take us to a nearby national park, which was very kind of her. Thai people will often go out of their way to help you and be friendly.

The challenge comes in taking these relationships beyond casual friendship and into more depth. Here the cultural gap between your experiences of life and the language gap of how you interact are a bit trickier to surmount. However, it may be that this is just a long-term game. I’ve only been in Thailand for 2 months and I’ve made some fantastic friendships. I’m excited to see where my friendships with my Thai co-teachers go.

Yes! In my school, we have 4 foreign teachers and we regularly meet outside of school for food and activities, often as part of a larger group of foreign teachers. It’s been really great getting to know the teachers in my school and being able to turn to them for advice as they had been here 6 months before I got here. All the foreign teachers I have met in Lampang have been great people.

I’m still figuring out this part of socialising in Thailand. We’ve plans to attend a dance class and maybe some Thai lessons but for the first few months we have been focused on finding our feet. Often knowing what clubs and activities are available depends on you knowing your Thai co-teachers well to get this inside knowledge.

So far, most weekends we go for breakfast at a local cafe. This is a spot for expats, and every week we play cornball (an American game) with the older expats. This is a nice way to get a sense of community beyond just people your own age.

Aside from the obvious seeing my family and friends, I miss cooking. In Thailand, it is so much cheaper to eat out (which is awesome as I could never do that at home). However, I am missing cooking as I’ve always loved it and it is convenient. Other teachers I know do a fair bit of cooking, so it’s definitely an option but it is more expensive and often apartments don’t come with kitchens as standard. Of course, I miss the western food I am used to occasionally but luckily Thai food is delicious.