Finding the Joy of Teaching in Thailand…
GERALDINE GULLE DARAY PUGOY
By Fiel Angeli E. Araoarao – Gabin
(FOR SUNDAY POST. Sunday, November 12, 2006 issue. Thank you very much!)
Reporting
back to the office after the May 1 fiesta could be very tiring.
Tagbilaranons, especially those who make it a point to prepare
gastronomic treats for the visitors or fiesta goers, would rather take a
few days off from the office to relish the time to stay home to rest or
simply be with their families. However, in May 2005, it was rather
exciting for me, after Lawrence L. Medilo, our systems administrator,
handed me a print-out of the e-mail from a certain “Gege Pugoy.” She
started her message by saying that she got my name from the City
Government of Tagbilaran website. She introduced herself as a Boholana
working as an English (English as a Foreign Language) teacher in
Thailand.
Geraldine “Gege” Gulle Daray Pugoy was practically a
stranger to me, but it was flattering to have received an e-mail from
somebody I didn’t know. I was even more interested when she told me she
hopes I could help her with her project: as part of their school’s
English curriculum, she, together with four (4) other teachers, will be
bringing to Bohol 10 students from the Kanlayaneesithammarat (KN) School
in Nakhonsrithammarat, one of the provinces in Thailand, our ASEAN
neighbor known for many years as “Siam.” (In the 20th century, the
country changed its name to “Thailand” meaning “land of the free
people.”) I was told that a significant component of the youth exchange
program was that 10 students and 5 teachers from Holy Spirit School will
also be given the chance to do the same program for two (2) weeks in
Thailand, with free accommodation from host families.
After
getting the approval of Sister Mary Joy B. Quizan, SSpS, Holy Spirit
School director and exchanging e-mails from May till the last week of
September 2005, Gege and I (thinking primarily of the PAASCU
accreditation) were ready for the Thailand - Philippines - Holy Spirit
School Youth Exchange Program from October 9 to 22, 2005. Mrs. Virgilia
A. Fudolig, HS principal, student leaders led by Lyn Limboy, Jean Joan
S. Ibba and Chryst Dalumbar (Gege’s Boholano colleagues in Thailand) and
I went to the Tagbilaran City Airport last October 9 to welcome the
group composed of Mayuree Karikarn, English program director, Usa
Siwamok, KN School director, Booncherd Pimsen, assistant director,
Scottish teacher John Andrew “Geordie” Robson with his wife Big, and the
students Natawan Tirakijpanichakorn, Praew Siripasert, Sumukal
Pleangrat, Chayanis Suddhavichai, Vanidcha Mahattanan, Araya Thongsame,
Naruporn Noo-Samien, Phattaraporn Potjanametha, Yawaree Pantaweesak and
Phattaraporn Phithakham. (Part of the beautiful friendship forged
between HSS and KNS was the pioneering sisterhood covenant signed by
Sister Joy, school director and Mayuree, KN School English program
director which stated that the same number of HSS teachers and students
will have the experience of culture in Thailand, as they did in January
this year (the same time Lola Pining got really sick and died).
Gege
told me that Kanlayaneesithammarat School is a large government school
situated in the center of the city of Nakhonsrithammarat, Southern
Thailand, with a student population of 3,500, with ages ranging from
11to18 years old. The KN English Program (EP) is housed in a separate
building, home to an estimated 250 fee-paying students who are taught
some of their subjects in the English language. The EP students are
taught by qualified and experienced Western and Asian teachers and are
also given the opportunity to do many interesting activities including
having to go to several English Camps to Malaysia, Singapore and other
Asian countries each year. Last year, their trip was different as the
students from Grades 9 and 10 attended classes and stayed with host
families, with the objective of providing them with learning experiences
that foster insights, cultural appreciation, and meaningful
friendships.
Ajarn (Teacher) Gege, the school’s English camp
organizer, born on November 23, 1975 in Sierra-Bullones, is the eldest
child of Zosimo Atup Daray (deceased) and Norma Nituda Gulle of Cogtong,
Candijay, Bohol. She was valedictorian when she finished elementary at
Cogtong Elementary School and high school at Bohol School of Fisheries
(now Central Visayas State College of Agriculture, Forestry and
Technology – Candijay Campus) and was conferred the “Most Outstanding
Student” award during her college graduation at Agusan Institute of
Technology, Butuan City.
As mother to three (3)-year-old son
Verm Gerald Pugoy, she takes the pleasure of having to shuffle
motherhood and a full-time career, with very little time left for sleep.
“The reason I like living here in Nakhon so much is that it's a great
town. It's not too big and yet big enough to have what you need on a
daily basis. It's also close to mountains, beaches, waterfalls and
islands, so it's a great location… I'll tell you this (Thailand) is a
very nice country - food, clothes and almost everything are super
cheap!” Having lived in Thailand for the past 11 years, together with
her husband, Vernizo Piloton Pugoy, a seafarer turned ESL (English as a
Second Language) teacher, she feels like it’s her second home, having
gotten used to its diverse culture and background, the usual Thai diet
consisting of rice and fish prepared with curry and sauce, with the
abundance of tropical fruits such as bananas, durian, jackfruits,
mangoes and mangosteen.
Gege worked in Bangkok, Ayutthaya and
Prachinburi and in 2000, started teaching at the KNEP. “I feel very
fortunate to be part of this English Program and have and still am
thoroughly enjoying myself here. The reasons I have enjoyed my stay so
much are varied; my fellow staff members, very helpful colleagues and
above all, excellent students. The students always make me feel good
even when I'm feeling low ... their intelligence, sense of humor and
their general outlook in life makes it a pleasure to come to school. I
feel truly honored to be the one teaching them,” she shares.
Her
other inclinations are reading, traveling, languages, fashion and bright
colors. Actively involved as adviser of the Filipino Association in the
South of Thailand (FAST), she also takes pride being the writer and
producer of the ‘The Best English Radio Show in the South of Thailand’
as she beams “ I am so proud to be the one in-charge of this program.”
Gege,
like her husband Verni, my Boholano friends and teacher-Friendster
buddies Purissa Buaya Plaras (Carmen), Chryst Dalumbar, Diana Lyn
Leopando de Castro and John Jasper Castillo Cortes (Tagbilaran City),
Michael Ortega Ligalig (Anda), Prince Paul and Roseth Ranara, and even
international dancesport champions Jonathan Cajes Reyson (Tagbilaran
City and Talibon) and Cherrel Justiniani Deiparine (Inabanga) may be far
away from home, but they certainly have found success and the joy of
working in Thailand.
.
According to Gege, “I really believe that
poverty is not a hindrance to success. I was born and raised in a poor
family, but I don’t find it a problem in getting what I’ve wanted in
life. Instead, I always consider it as a challenge. With confidence in
myself and the blessings from up above, I was able to achieve what I’ve
dreamt of… What goes around, comes around, and so forth. I believe that
with life, you get what you put into it. You don’t try to have a good
life, and you don’t try to have a bad life; you just let your life
follow its own path and just be who you are.” (FAEAG)
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