t I learned all of the students names by the 2nd week and that some of the shyer students have finally opened up to me. I teach my student a variety of subjects in English. I teach them Reading and Comprehension, Spelling and Phonics, Grammar and Writing, Health and Art. I also have to prepare my students for the many events the schools participates in.November 5th was my birthday and I had a mellow celebration. On my birthday weekend I went to a few Thai clubs with friends and listened to Thai rock bands – I didn't understand the lyrics, but it was a lot of fun. Then we went to lounge where they play western music so that was enjoyable. On Monday, my ac
tual birthday, the students gave my flowers and told me 3 nice things. It was really cute – so in English they said “1. We're glad you're teaching us English 2. You're nice 3. We love you.” It was hilariously adorable. Then my fellow teachers got me a decadent chocolate birthday cake and a lovely card in which Rachel, an awesome artist and former art teacher in the U.S. Made me. It was a surprise and very much appreciated. All in all my birthday in Thailand was a lovely one :) Wish you all could have been here! ....On the following Sunday I met up with a few teacher trainees from my program and went to the Linkin Park concert. I was surprised to see how many Thai's
are really into the band. It was good time to meet up with the other trainees (one of them being Taryn with whom I roomed with in Ko Samet) who aren't in Bangkok and swap teaching stories!Oh and somehow I ended up crowd surfing for 5 seconds, a rocking time indeed :)This previous week, on the 21st, the students had U.N. Day – in which the various classes in our department (ELPC – English Learning Program Center) grades 1-6 focuses on 2 countries and do reports, songs, dances, decorate their classes accordingly, etc. The whole school outside of ELPC ( My school is huge and has children from Pre school to High School in one campus but different buildings) visited ELPC to check it all out so the kids were excite
d to show their stuff. Unfortunately I missed the actual event, I was traveled down to southern Thailand where I went to Phuket and Ko Phi Phi. It was soooo nice to get out of Bangkok and be on the beach...Funny thing is I actually went to where they filmed “The Beach” featuring Leonardo Di Caprio (Pictured on the left) – of course it was crawling with many other tourist who were also hoping to capture that never-never land of escape, but ended up meeting with hundreds of other tourist who had the same idea - alas, it was beautiful all the same. On Thanksgiving, friends and I tried our very best to have a traditional Thanksgiving feast – so we went to a restaurant in an expatriate part of Bangkok and had TURKEY in Thailand – with all of the fixings. It didnt beat my mom's Turkey and stuffing but I was so thankful to be able to have something resembling Thanksgiving food so I can't complain. To make the meal uniquely in Asia – I decided to grab a few sushi rolls, wh
y not!? I had such a wonderful week, one that I'll never forget!!!Also, on Friday the 23rd the school celebrated Loy Krathom – which was on the 24th. Loy Krathom is one of Thailand's most aesthetically pleasing holidays. Thai's make Krathoms – which are little boats that are made of banana leaves. They decorate them beautifully with flowers, candles, and place coin on the little Krathoms. Thai's light the candles on the krathoms and float them down the many waterways of Thailand at night which is absolutely a sight to see. They pray to the water goddess and float away their regrets and anger in the krathoms and whole process symbolizes a fresh start. Pictured my friend and fellow teacher at my school, Jessica, with our Krathoms. A young
boy ( of many young boys) actually did the dirty work of setting our Krathoms afloat for us in the river, the boys do this so people dont fall in the slippery sides along the Chao Praya river! I watched a few people take a fall, so Jessica and I opted to utlize the boys' services - as we didnt want to risk getting wet. The boys actually get in the river- they have boogie boards and all. Its funny, because I think they also make money from taking the coins off the Krathoms ...even though those coins and krathoms are suppose to stay in the water. I saw a few boys retrieving the Kathoms from the river and putting them all in a huge basket - so they dont go too far. Perhaps this is for environmental reasons?? Anyways, After we set our Krathoms free, there was fireworks AND an awesome boat parade on the river. It was like Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade! All the boats had these elaborate light decorations in honor of the king and Loy Krathom. It was such a visual Feast! For another event and school event for that matter( Father's Day) I worked with some students with reciting a poem for father's day and had them make gifts for their dads. On the father's day event, the children sang songs and it was special day for the children to talk about how much they love and respect their fathers through songs and poems. After the performances, all the parents from each grade were called to sit on stage. The students then got on their knees ( diffrent from the U.S. but to be lower than an elder is a show of respect - even when students walk by us, they're suppose to lower their heads as a show of respect.) and told
their parents how much they loved them. It was really cute to watch! All the parents were really please with the performance and the activities.Father's day in Thailand is also the King's Birthday – since Thai's consider him to be the father of their country, so it isn't in June like it is in the states. So there is no school ( Yippee!) on December 5th . There's festivities going on all around the country celebrating his majesties 80th birthday. On every Monday, most Thai's wear King Shirts. At my school, we are required to but the students do not. They are yellow, which is the color for Monday. So on Father's day we'll also wear king shirts - as well as the students to honor king.
