The first afternoon after arriving in Yangon, Myanmar, we sped over to Shwedagon Pagoda, arguably the city’s most important and well-known sight, to check out the hype. The pagoda is beautiful and serves as both a religious monument and as a community center of sorts, with lots of locals hanging out, praying, and spending time with one another.

As we were walking around, we were stopped by a smiling monk who asked us where we were from. We chatted for a few minutes and he asked us if we’d come to his English class (called U Aung Hein Kyaw) the following day to work with the students on conversation skills. He handed us a business card and we agreed that we’d see him tomorrow.

Getting up to go to the English class took serious dedication since it began at 7:30 am, was about a 30 min cab ride away, and meant that we would miss free breakfast at our hotel. We weren’t sure what to expect, but were excited at the prospect of meeting some locals and learning more about Myanmar so we took the plunge. It ended up being one of our most memorable days.

We were separated as soon as we arrived and spent time talking with students in small groups of about 10 people each. The students had widely varying levels of English language skills and most conversations began with simple exchanges like “hello, nice to meet you” and “where are you from?” Most students were interested in learning our hobbies and glad to share that their hobbies included listening to music, singing and dancing, playing cane ball, and reading. One Direction seemed to be the most popular music group in the non-local category. Despite singing and dancing being top hobbies, no students were willing to demonstrate their talents!

It was very interesting to hear about their career aspirations and why they are studying English. Many of the students in class want to be tour guides, while others are interested in business, math, science, engineering, sales, and more. In many fields, knowing English provides increased opportunities for advancement and higher pay.

One common topic of conversation, typical of everywhere we have been, was the political situation of the United States. Lots of students (and other locals) have laughed when we say we’re from the US, immediately asking about Donald Trump. After we stumbled our way through the usual explanation the group discussed the political system in Myanmar and every student was shocked by how little we knew. Luckily they were happy to give us a quick lesson and then teach us some Myanmar language before the end of class. They also helped us apply thankaka, a traditional plant makeup that serves as sun protection and is allegedly great for your skin. They also made us French Toast and tea after learning we hadn’t eaten breakfast. People in Myanmar are the nicest.

After class a girl from Kelly’s group, Haymar, asked if we wanted to keep hanging out with her and her friend so they could practice some more English. Looking for a new a different experience we quickly agreed. We first wandered to St. Mary’s church, the Catholic Church in Yangon. It is a beautiful church that was still decorated (uniquely) for Christmas with thousands of flashing neon lights and astroturf.

Haymar’s friend Ngenge met us a few minutes later and we went to the Yangon Central Railway station to take the local train a few stops to Yangon University. Taking the train is an experience in itself – it goes extremely slowly through local neighborhoods where people selling all kinds of stuff (much of it carried on their heads) wander between the cars. Its quite impressive!

We arrived at Yangon University less than 30 minutes later. It was closed on this particular day for a national holiday, but we walked briefly around the campus before arriving at Inlay Lake where lots of students hang out to eat and drink by the water.  We had our first taste of traditional Myanmar food (tea leaf salad and fried gourd) at a lakeside restaurant while watching college students hangout at nearby tables and stray dogs trot among the food stalls.  It was a lovely afternoon and a truly unique way to learn about parts of the city we had not even thought of visiting.

Confession: at different points throughout the day, we wondered if we’d wandered into an elaborate scam. We’d heard of scams before (common especially in China) where friendly young local people ask tourists to hang out to practice English, ultimately taking them to some crazy expensive restaurant or tea house and getting them to foot the bill. When we arrived at a restaurant with no prices listed on the menu (a red flag!) and our new friend whipped out a copy of his Lonely Planet Myanmar guidebook, we became extra skeptical and decided we’d move along after lunch.

When our new friends offered to pay for lunch, helped us hail a cab, communicated to the driver where we wanted to go, and waved us off with a smile, we felt badly that we had suspected anything but were also glad everything had worked out OK and that people really are just that nice in Myanmar. Getting the chance to know locals and hangout with a few for most of the day proved to be our favorite city experience of the trip and made us even more excited for our time in Myanmar.

The folks at English class love to have tourists visit so if you’re ever in Yangon, head over to U Aung Hein Kway.  Weekday classes are at 7:30 and 9:30am, but we aren’t totally sure of their weekend hours. It sounds like they try recruit tourists pretty regularly so they will not be surprised to see you and will be delighted for a chance to work on their communication skills. The class is located on the third floor of a building – keep your eyes up for the sign and prepare for an unforgettable morning!