My name is Femke and I am from Holland. I spent four weeks at Isan Survivor. It was a fantastic experience.Jack, Patricia and the rest of the family are such amazing people with hearts of gold. They make you feel home. The Thai people are very friendly. Thailand is called the land of smiles and it really is. Their smiles made me feel happy. When we were on the bike people were looking at us and cars kept honking, people shouting “farang” at you, which means foreigner. Teaching the Thai people felt really good. It was intense, but they gave me energy back as well, it was just so amazing to do.I taught at different schools. This made it very diverse. First I taught at a high school. They ask you anything and they want to take pictures with you all the time.

After this I went to a primary school. The kids are very pure and cute. We played a lot of games and sang songs. I once introduced bingo and after this, every time I walked into the classroom they were shouting “Bingo, bingo!”

Something I did that was totally different, was teaching teachers. I really loved to do this. They are really motivated to learn English and at the same time you can still have fun with them. After school you have time for yourself. You can stay to relax in the house and read a book, but you can also go to the village or do something else.

The house is really nice and well located. You’re surrounded by rice fields and other beautiful nature. It is very peaceful and that’s what it made me feel at home. I also helped planting rice in fields. I got really dirty, but it was really nice to do. It was just for half an hour, but I could have done it for a longer time.

Jack also took us to a lot of places and learnt us about Thai culture. He took us to several temples, a waterfall, a sculpture park, taught us the Thai language and a lot more. I went home with a backpack full of positive memories. I will never forget this experience. It was hard to say goodbye. I definitely want to go back to Isan Survivor, because I really had the time of my life.