The Country, the People, the Tea Shops

A Photo Essay

By Kyle 6B

My trip to the tea shop was absolutely amazing. But this is not really about me. Its about the residents of the tea shop. My class and I visited them to ask them what they do here why they are here by interviewing one of them, Tun Tun, and we gathered all that information to fully understand more about them and use that to make a

photo essay.

Introduction

Some of these people, like Tun Tun, are not from Yangon. These people are sometimes from another part of Myanmar, some are from different countries near Myanmar.

Tun Tun, our interviewee from the tea shop, one out of many other residents of the tea shops. He is not from Yangon, but Magway. Before he moved to Yangon, he went to Malaysia to have some work.

Most trishaw drivers do not own one. They have to pay the owner 700 kyat for rent per day (255,500 a year), and if they do not pay the owner’s given amount in 5 days straight, their privileges will be taken away from the trishaw owner.

Tun Tun’s son goes to government school. To pay the fee for his son’s school, they must give 7,000ks a month (84,000ks a year). When his son has private tuition, they pay, 7,000ks, same as the school’s monthly fee.

Many of the people here in the tea shops had other jobs before coming here. Some people had different jobs like a construction worker, a cook, or a waiter.

Electricity is very low here at these tea shops. Even without the electricity-powered ovens, the tea shop cooks use wood and fire to cook anything if they’re hungry or when a customer is.

Most of the kids here in the tea shops go to school, just like us. But when it is Friday, they get a time off to spend time around the shops whenever and spend family time with their parent(s).

There are a few animals who wander off into the tea shops or some just have lived there. Tun Tun owns two cats, while street dogs walk around and under the tea shops.

PhotosPhotos on Slide 9 and 5 – Mr. Rinker

Photos on 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10 – Tanach Sae Sae

A thank you to Mr. Rinker and U Win for bringing us to the tea

shops, my field trip teammates, Eaindray and Tanach, and all the people at the tea shop, especially Tun Tun, for making this happen!

Credits

WriterKyle