In order to achieve a goal, you must believe that the time and effort input is worth the outcome. From our experience in Myanmar, ambition is generally not valued as it threatens the social bond and group dynamic.

From the front row, we cheered on our main teacher trainee and his teammates. It was the quarterfinals and they were up against a team from another village.

The job of teaching as we understand it is different from many jobs that people hold in Myanmar. Jobs in villages are physically draining; before a housewife cooks for her family she must generally trek into the forest, saw down the required wood and lug it back all while avoiding standing on a poisonous viper or twisting an ankle in a crevice. Then there is the setting of the fire, the tending of the fire and the pots to be washed at the river before the oils and MSG seasons the pan.

We are slightly robotic in our approach, perhaps colloquially known as Type A behaviour. We value our systemized way of working as it means that we can repeat events with a fairly predictable outcome in teaching as well as map the experiences onto other, similar events in order to problem solve.

I'm still impressed how Teacher Chloe turned me into what I'm doing right now. I'm not comparing myself with her, but just observing how much an impact an experienced teacher can have on her trainee.

Teaching is like mining for gold. The gold is not scattered all over the surface, and miners have to dig deeper and deeper. Yet, sometimes tragic accidents happen and the mine collapses, killing all of its workers underground.

I was the only one in my village to study English. My family and friends thought I was crazy for doing so and didn't appreciate it.

The hour that we collectively spent pouring over exams and remembering classroom interaction worked well for differentiation. Whereas before there had emerged a leader from each group and some very bored individuals, we saw a marked improvement in group cohesiveness and cooperation.

From the early morning to around 6:30 pm, parents are busy harvesting watermelons and vegetables, which will be sold in the main town.