Volunteer in Thailand with Friends for Asia

Thai Schools Begin a New Academic Year

Traditionally, Thai schools end their academic year in mid-March, and after two months holiday, the children are ready and willing to return to the classroom for the new academic year, which begins on the 16th or 17th of May. The hottest months of the year, April and May, sees the mercury rising to 40 C and over and with almost 100% humidity, the Thai New Year celebrations of Songkran are a welcome break for the entire nation. Songkran is a time for families to spend some much needed time together and the holiday traditionally runs from 13th – 15th of April, although there are usually an extra two or even three days added, which is just enough time for the workers to return to their family home in the provinces.

Wet, Wet, Wet

The traditional way to celebrate Songkran Festival is to pour a little water on others, and this is often mixed with talcum powder to make a gooey white paste, which is smeared on the faces of passers-by, and for some tourists who know nothing of Songkran, arriving in Thailand to see everyone throwing water at each other can be more than a little confusing. This year, the government saw fit to declare a six day holiday (including the weekend) which was very well received by the people.

Thai Seasons

Thailand has 3 seasons, winter, summer, and of course, the rainy season, which usually arrives early to mid-May and lasts for 5 months. Of course, it doesn’t rain continuously for all that time, but you can expect some very heavy downfalls during this period, with flooding a real possibility in some parts of the country. The start of November is marked with the Loy Krathong Festival, in which the Thais pay respects to the goddess of water, and this is also the time for the winter to make an entrance, as cold weather pushes down from China, bringing down temperatures in Bangkok to as low as 15C, which might not be cold for westerners, but the Thai people will typically adorn jackets, gloves and balaclavas in an effort to keep warm. At the higher altitudes in the north of Thailand, temperatures can plummet to zero, but the rest of the country rarely sees single figure readings on the thermometer.

Memorable Life Experiences

Check out the many positive testimonials on this site from former volunteers who really enjoyed their time with us, and we have a wide range of community projects that involve working with the locals to improve their way of life. You might be very interested in Buddhist teachings, and you can enroll in our very special “Teaching English to Novice Monks” program, where you can spend time with Thai novice monks and can exchange ideas and opinions, as well as passing on your valuable language skills.

Thailand is rich in culture and diversity, making it a very popular destination for gap year students, and by enrolling with a professional organisation like Friends For Asia, your experiences will be remembered for a very long time, and most people who visit Thailand will return at some time in the future. If you have yet to enroll in a volunteer program, sit back and browse our website, which will give you a clear idea of what to expect when working in a volunteer program in Thailand.

Volunteer Program Break

FFA School 381

In line with the Thai seasons, our Teaching Volunteer Programs shut down for the month of April and usually commence at the same time as the schools reopen in mid-May, which is an ideal time to join one of our volunteer programs. One of the most popular volunteer programs is teaching English in a Thai school, where you can experience Thai culture at its finest, and pass on your valuable language skills to the Thai students, who are hungry for knowledge and are always looking for an opportunity to speak English with a foreigner. If job satisfaction is important to you, teaching English is a very rewarding experience, and for many young travelers, this is the perfect way to spend time in the land of smiles.

Mild Winters

By coincidence, the Thai winter is also the tourist high season, which runs from November through to February of the following year, and this is a time when many Europeans like to escape their winter and spend some time in the pleasant 20-25C temperatures that this season offers. Temperatures slowly rise at the end of February, with summer peaks reaching the mid-forties in April and this continues until the end of May, which is almost upon us already.

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