Thing's at school have been interesting to say the least. It's the norm for only about half of my students to show up to class over the course of the day which has become an incredibly frustrating situation. I have to say, I'm sorry to any teacher I ever disregarded or was rude to! It's not the best feeling in the world, I'll tell you that. Most of the students here don't feel that they have to attend classes. To their defense, classes are canceled more often than they are held. Teachers and students alike are confused as to when there are actual classes so some days the teachers don't go but the students do and others the students do and they have no teachers. It's gotten to the point where the students dictate whether or not we have class - if they show up then we hold class. If not, then 'free time!'. This whole 'free time' idea is great for those who are being paid to basically not teach but for us volunteers - it drives me crazy. They don't understand the fact that I'm here to actually do a job and not just 'relax' during school. The concept of planning for classes and making things such as classroom decorations is completely foreign. To be fair, the problems lie in the education system here. There are no consequences for being late or absent so students feel as they can do whatever they please. The school is basically a community center for the students as well - they are here at all hours of the day and night. While it's great for the students to have this place they can go to and feel safe, the concept of studying for something such as English or Math is completely lost on them now. But give them a song or a dance to perform and they do it 110%. So it's a battle to say the least. One I'm trying to work on.
But take this week for instance - today (Monday) we had off for the King's birthday. Which makes sense, we do this sort of thing in the USA. But then we have class tomorrow (Tuesday). However, some of the students are traveling to a competition as are some teachers. And there isn't a schedule for students who have those teachers or any sort of work for the students who are missing class. Then on Wednesday all the teachers are going to a province called Ubon Ratchathani for an 'educational tour' soo school is canceled. THursday is another national holiday - Constitution day - so there is no school. And thenn our school just decided to cancel school on Friday as well. So the students have one day of school this week. And NEXT week happens to be another sports week soo there is no school. Just sports aaall day long. It's no wonder that students don't come to class!
My fruit salad! the pineapple was amaaazing. I love the fruit here.
Everybody working together and making our feast :)
Thanksgiving on the floor!
We even got wine. Perfect ending to a wonderful night.
Everybody enjoying the meal.
So beyond thanksgiving, we had a holiday this weekend for the King's birthday. The King is super important here and is a huge part of Thai culture. This year, the king's color is pink. So I wear pink every wednesday and for the ceremony on Saturday, we all wore pink. Us foreign teachers were told to wear pink and just show up at 4:00. Which we did. We were taken to the main road to stand with a bunch of other poeple in pink outfits - that or a traditional Thai silk suit. Of course, it is at this time that we find out we are actually marching in the parade and going to a ceremony at the Provincial hall about a mile down the road. I had nooo idea. There were thousands of people in this parade. So we get to the provincial hall and all have to line up....then we're told that we have to go onstage and bow to the king's picture with our director. Another surprise. Soo we get on stage and have to curtsy. Okay fine. The next thing is that we have to sing Thai songs and light candles...and everybody across Thailand is going to be doing this at the same time. So that's actually pretty neat. There were food stands set up around the perimeter of the provincial hall so while we waited for several hundred poeple to get onstage and bow, we got some food. There was also Thai boxing that took place after the ceremony was over. All in all, it was a pretty cool event to be a part of. A lot of the Thai teachers ask us what the word is in English for what we are doing - as all of their ceremonies have a name. And a lot of the time I have to say that we don't have an equivalent word. They have so many traditions and ceremonies here, it's hard to keep track. But it's incredibly interesting and an honor to be a part of everything.
Everybody getting ready to march
My students! I didn't recognize half of them with their outfits....they were real shy at first but once we started taking pictures they were all over it - they kept saying 'teacher, teacher, picture picture'. It was really sweet though.
Notice my pink Nakhon Phanom shirt - I have to wear that ever Wednesday. And the black jacket and black skirt were given to me by other teachers since I didn't have anything appropriate to wear!
After the ceremony when everyone left..this is the provincial hall. It surrounded by a moat! And this ice cream truck is pretty standard just about everywhere...they show up on campus and ride around town. It's something like 5 baht for an ice cream - that's like 10 cents :). Love the food here!
Tomorrow I've got class and then I'm headed to Ubon for a few days - I'm gonna stay a few days longer since we have such a long weekend and explore the area. It's where Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia meet and you can go and step in all the countries! And so I sorta want to do that and be a tourist for a few days. So more pictures coming your way!
goodnight :)
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