Kindergarten at 60
A Memoir of Teaching in Thailand
by Dian Seidel
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Pub Date Jun 20 2023 | Archive Date Jun 20 2023
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Description
Teaching kindergarten in Thailand wasn't the job Dian Seidel had in mind when, at age sixty and craving adventure, she convinced her husband that they should try working abroad. But coping with rambunctious children, sweltering heat, and Covid-19 turned out to be the challenge she needed. Struggling to understand Thai culture, their school, and their marriage, could she learn Thailand's essential lesson: mai pen rai, don't worry, keep cool?
Part travel memoir and part second act story, Kindergarten at 60 is a retirement tale like none other. With gentle humor and polished prose, Seidel explores universal themes via the adventures of everyday life. Job-hunting retirees confront age restrictions. A couple navigates 24/7 togetherness for the first time in their lives. Professionals accustomed to working with adults are overwhelmed, and charmed, by a passel of two-, three-, and four-year-olds. An introvert struggles to forge cross-cultural and cross-generational friendships. Americans face the challenges of the five-tone Thai language and five-alarm Thai chilies.
Seidel's heartwarming story offers a unique perspective on contemporary Thailand and introduces readers to an unforgettable cast of characters at Pathum Thani Prep. Join the journey, meet the kids, and experience Kindergarten at 60.
Advance Praise
This delightful and inspiring work recounts an important and forever altering time in the author's life."
—The BookLife Prize
"Dian Seidel turned the page on an eminent career in climate science to embark on a completely different pursuit: teaching English to children in Thailand. There is a wisdom and warmth here in discovering adventure at an age when that word has departed most people’s vocabularies. They say learning a language stretches the mind. What happens when that is combined with immersion in a completely different culture on the other side of the world? Seidel presents her adventure in a series of vignettes, seeing big picture issues through the lens of a kindergarten classroom. She emerges from her trial with strength and grace and gentleness."
—David Goodrich, author of A Hole in the Wind: A Climate Scientist's Bicycle Journey Across the United States
"Former climate scientist Dian Seidel chronicles her revelations as she and her husband Steve teach kindergarten in Thailand. While realizing that life past 60 is full of adventures, they try to embrace the Thai philosophy of mai pen rai, or relax and enjoy what life brings. This well-written travelogue will appeal particularly to people looking forward to the next chapter of their lives."
—Blythe Grossberg, Psy.D., author of I LEFT MY HOMEWORK IN THE HAMPTONS
"Dian Seidel gives us a delightful glimpse into Thailand and its culture, reminding us that we can find adventure in post-retirement years. Her memoir brings to life the commonalities of children around the world and the struggles of teachers everywhere."
—Sarah Birnbach, author of A Daughter's Kaddish: My Year of Grief, Devotion, and Healing
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9781627204460 |
PRICE | $18.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 298 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
This was a great read that followed an older couple on a journey to teach in Thailand. It was raw and honest, capturing emotions and feelings perfectly. I enjoyed learning about Thailand customs along the way.
I really enjoyed this book! It's the story of a 60 something professional couple who retired and were searching for the next chapter in their life. They chose to become teachers in a foreign country. In a surprise to both of them, they found themselves teaching Kindergarten in Thailand!
In the interest of full disclosure, my wife and I are of the same age, and are pondering a similar path. AND one of our foreign exchange daughters is from Thailand. So this book came about at a very appropriate time.
The author does a great job of explaining the entire process. And of what she found in Thailand, what she liked, and some things she did not like. She covers the culture, the food, the living conditions, the Thai education system, and touches on the political side of Thailand.
Through all of this, she threads together an easily readable, thoughtful, and fascinating story. I honestly read it in three nights after work, finding it very hard to put down!
I'm not sure if this is what the future holds for my spouse and I, but I think that I am much more prepared to make a decision after reading this.
Excellent book. Highly recommend!
Dian Seidel and her husband decide to embark on a foreign adventure to celebrate their early retirement. After working in the environmental field for years, they decide switch gears and teach English hoping to get adult or high school students. Because of their advanced age, the opportunities are limited but they settle on a program in Thailand. Instead of high schoolers, they are assigned to a kindergarten which has children aged two to six years old. I enjoyed this because it was a novel idea. When I retired from teaching, I never would have considered going to a foreign country and living in a small apartment. Seidel does a very good job of describing her challenges and triumphs in the classroom as well as their travels around Southeast Asia. She sometimes got a bit bogged down in details but overall this was a cozy, enjoyable read.
This was an enjoyable read and I commend "Teacher Dian" and "Teacher Steve" for making this part of their journey! Knowing a few people who have travelled to teach ESL this was a great insight to some of the trials and tribulations that they would have faced.
Thank you to Netgalley and Apprentice House Press for this advanced reader copy.
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I was drawn to this title from the synopsis and cover, I am a sucker for unorthodox retirement stories and hopeful second acts. "Kindergarten at 60" is an well-written account of a very specific time and adventure in the life of one couple, and an interesting travel memoir. Recommended for readers who enjoy these genres, or who are looking for inspiration to try something new! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. #Kindergartenat60 #NetGalley
An insightful and unexpectedly moving book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.
A really enjoyable retirement story an older couple seeks adventure they head off to Thailand to teach.Their adventures their story is fun honest open a really enjoyable read.#netgalley#apprenticehousepress
I wanted to read this book as someone who is both in a long-distance relationship with Thailand (meaning I've always wanted to visit, but haven't had the chance), and as someone who taught English in Korea. I really enjoyed the book on both accounts, though I would have enjoyed learning more about Thailand. I love the way the book was organized in that it seemed more a book of short stories rather than a cohesive day-by-day memoir. It felt more like a friend telling you a bunch of stories about their adventures, I definitely could have done without the graphics between chapters and the formatting could have been a little cleaner, but overall it was a really good book.