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When paths are crossed-lives are changed! Let
us help you cross paths with another culture. Join Thailand
Service Corps (TSC) today for a rewarding, memorable and
enjoyable life experience.
Live, work and serve Thai people as a Thailand Service Corps
team member volunteer participant. As a TSC Team member you
will live with a Thai host and join the staff of a local Wat
and school. Your host will provide transport to and from the
Wat and school for you each day. You will be immersed in the
mores of the local culture by participating in daily
activities with your host and your project mentor or
counterpart.
Each TSC team member will be assigned an English speaking
mentor or counterpart at the Wat and school. Your mentor or
counterpart will provide the orientation and language
ability necessary for you to be of service to the community.
The rapport you establish with the staff at the local Wat
and school will provide lasting friendships and memories.
TSC works through the Ministry of Labour and Education in
Kanchanaburi. In that capacity we provide team members too
many Wats and schools. Each team member volunteer
participant will be assigned to an instructional area in
consistent with their technical/academic abilities and
desires.
While teaching English to novice monks at the Wat you will
gain a first-hand knowledge of the impact of Buddhism on
families and students and the role education and the Wat
play in the life of a Buddhist. Team members spend the
mornings an evenings with their hosts and new friends, while
the days are spent teaching English and learning at the Wat
and schools. At the Wat, team members observe and experience
the day-to-day life of the Wat. Team members may enjoy being
mentored by the Abbot and monks in Buddhism. During open
teaching time there are opportunities to join in and learn
about meditation and to observe the daily activities of the
Wat.
TSC team members usually teach at a Wat three days a week
and at a local school two days.
The WHAT About Thai WATS
"Wat" is the literal translation for "temple," and is one of
the most important words that you will often come across
during your visit to Thailand. A Wat is a place where
Buddhist Monks live.
In a Buddhist Wat, the most important building is called "Ubosoth."
This is a place where religious rites or services are
performed on important occasions, such as on Wan Pra, or
other religious days. Next in importance to the "Ubosoth" is
"Sala Kara Parianya." This is a place where the Buddhists
usually assemble for merit-making, such as giving food to
the priests, praying, or attending sermons. In addition
there are a few small "Salas," where serve as resting places
for those who go to church, and rows of buildings, mostly in
the woods where serve as dwellings for the priest.
Wats are
numerous in Thailand, ever since the old days. It has become
a custom among powerful kings and wealthy people to compete
with one another in building Wats. To build a Wat is
considered by the Buddhists as one of the greatest merits of
the givers.
To the Thai people, Wats are important artistically,
educationally, morally, and socially. Artistically, they are
known to be places where the fine arts of the ancient,
especially paintings, sculptures, and architecture are well
preserved.
Since ancient times, Wats have been the center of education
in Thailand. It was the monks who gave not only
intellectual, but moral education to the Thai boys (in the
olden days, education was restricted only to Thai males),
and that would be their only schooling during their boyhood.
The unmistakable proof of this is that even today a lot of
schools are still found within the church precincts.
For Thai men entering the monk hood, English is part of the
curriculum at their Wat. However, English is taught by older
Thai monks and usually taught in Thai. TSC team member
participants assist and or teach classes of novice monks
English as part of their school curriculum. Team members
work with the teachers and the abbot monks to help students
improve their English through vocabulary, speaking, reading
and conversation. Classes are usually taught at the Wat and
last about 50 minutes per class. Usually two to three
classes per day are taught.
When the TCS team members are not teaching English, they
have opportunities to the explore the Wat and the Wat
grounds. They are also mentored by the monks in Theravada
Buddhism. Placement at a Wat is normally combined with a
school or health care facility.
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