Michael's Introduction 4U

This is a typical host school. The lower floor is for admin, and classrooms are above. If the school has more than 500 students, there may be several buildings like this.

This is why we love Isaan: vast expanses of rice fields and buffalo under the bright blue sky.

A typical volunteer's bedroom (rooster crowing at 6 a.m. optional).

This is a typical homestay, maybe the house of an English teacher or a student, somewhere close to the school. We can provide you with photos of your homestay and their email/postal address before you arrive.

Other homestays have a Thai style bathroom: a squat toilet that you flush manually with water from the concrete tank, and a separate drum of water that you scoop on yourself to shower (feels great on a hot day!).

Some homestays have a Western style bathroom: a sit-down toilet that flushes and a hot water heater for the wall-mounted shower. There's also a spray hose by the toilet to clean yourself off with when you're done.

On weekends when you go out with your hosts, more casual outfits are fine. Here we see long shorts and tee shirts (but still with high neck lines and low enough to cover the tummy). Again, note that the Thais are even more conservatively dressed that the foreigners.

Here are two well-dressed volunteers. She has a long skirt and leather shoes, and a blouse that covers her tummy, chest, and upper arms. He has a tucked in button down shirt, belt, trousers, and shoes that cover his toes (actually that's me visiting a volunteer last year). Note how well dressed the Thai teachers are as well; Thai schools are very proper places!

Dressing mistake #2: Clothes that are fine in the West can be too revealing in rural Thailand. Note how the volunteer on the left is showing her chest when she bends over, and her dress comes above the knees when she sits. Too sexy for the school and village!

Dressing mistake #1: He looks pretty good with trousers, leather shoes, and a polo shirt... but why didn't he tuck it in??? So close, and yet so far away!

Dressing mistake #3: Nice clean shirt, nice long dress, but the shoes are too casual for school. Thai people wear flip flops when they are at home or going to the market.