Christmas Is Coming (12-19)

The business of the week at school last week was decorating the classrooms. On Thursday there was a field trip that students went on for half of the day. The other half was spent decorating. I had planned to see two classes, as the third was during their field trip, but I saw none. I had a test scheduled for one class, but we postponed it till the next class. Who am I to tell students they have to take a test instead of decorating, especially when they were in the midst of the project.

Every classroom has a tree and a manger 

as well as bulletin boards, window decorations, and hanging decorations. 

Some of the mangers are quite creative; all are interesting. Most are made from recycled or natural materials. One of the competitions was for the best-decorated classroom.

The other event of the week was a series of contests. I was asked to read words for a spelling contest and to help judge a singing contest. When I asked why students were having a spelling contest, I learned that “Christmas belongs to the English department;” so there must be contests related to English. The spelling contest had Christmas words. The singing contest was not related to Christmas, but students sang in English. There was also a contest with questions related to information about Christmas, such as “How many reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh?” And there were contests for drawing a picture, drawing a picture with Paint, coloring a picture, and making cards.

Monday morning there was a special Blessing of the Manger mass. It was the usual mass, but I’m sure special words were said, and the music was Christmas music—some in English and some in Thai. I had been told that the ceremony would last all morning, and, therefore, there would be no morning classes. I was getting a little concerned when it looked like the mass was over before 10:00. Then things were moved around and the rest of the program began. It consisted mostly of giving out the awards for the various contests that were conducted last week. 

A group of kindergarten students danced, 

and three boys dressed as Santa threw candies to the crowd.

Saturday night I went with Khun Dakom and the group to a friend’s birthday party. The birthday man turned out to be the man who owns the various tutoring centers. There were about 120 people at the party, which was a nine-course dinner—shrimp, two salads, pork leg, fish, oysters, soup, rice, and fruit. Then cupcakes were brought to the tables. There was a stage show with the usual dancers and singer, and there was a slide show featuring photos throughout his life.

Weather: Last week it was very cold (by local standards) for a couple days. After not sleeping well one night due to being cold, I got out the comforter, which kept me cozy for the next two nights. After that, I now keep the comforter handy in case it is needed, which it is some nights.  During the cold spell, I was wearing a jacket in the house in the morning and evening. Some teachers and students wore scarves and jackets most of the day.

Adventure of the week: My Christmas box arrived on Thursday. When I picked it up after school, a 9^th grade boy was there and decided to help me. I told him I was going to the bus station. Our first stop was Khun Toom’s office to see what I had said. She translated, and he was ready to take me to the bus station. Outside the school, he put the box down, saying he would get his car. I was a bit surprised that he has a car. I needn’t have been surprised, as it was a motorcycle. The Thai word is the same, meaning vehicle. He also had his friend on the motorcycle with him. He put my package in front of him. I was thinking I would walk to the bus station and meet them there, but he motioned for me to sit behind his friend. Then we took off. I’ve ridden with a number of people, but this was my first ride with a 15-year-old full of macho hormones. We zoomed and stopped. We didn’t slow down much for turns. I was glad I was only going to the bus station, about a three-minute ride. It was nice of the boy to want to help me, but I was never happier to arrive at the bus station.

Two 6^th grade girls were in the songtaew with me and got off at the same place. They motioned that they would help me with the package. It was a bit heavy, and I didn’t know where they were going; so I let them carry it for a few minutes and then told them I had to turn down the road. It was sweet of them to help.

Feast Day (12-8)

Feast Day was Thursday. There was a special ceremony in the morning for the occasion. This is a Catholic special day honoring Mary. I think it’s known as Feast of the Assumption. Students all carried paper candle holders with paper “candles.” Teachers had real candles. I wondered if these were in imitation of the candles carried at Buddhist ceremonies. I’m not sure why we had them, as we didn’t do anything with them. 

A number of students had poinsettias, and the preschool students had other potted flowers. 

There was a parade around the school. A group of boys carried the statue of Mary on poles on their shoulders. 

They were followed by girls dressed in white. (I thought of them as the Vestal Virgins.) Then came the students carrying plants. They were followed by the students carrying the candle holders. Some of the preschool students lined the driveway near the preschool. Other students who did not walk in the parade were taken to line the driveway on the other side of the school. 

When everyone returned, the flowers were placed in front of the large statue of Mary outside the school. Then a priest said a few words. 

The girls in white danced around the statue that had been carried around the school. Everyone sang “Happy Feast Day to you” to the tune of “Happy birthday.” It was strange. A Sister talked briefly and all the students bowed to the statue and prayed. Then we went to class—only 20 minutes late.

In talking with Kate about Feast Day, I learned that in the Philippines, Mary is sometimes called “Mama Mary,” and God is called “Papa God.” She said these terms are often used with children, but she still uses them. She found aspects of the ceremony to be strange, different from her customs. A lot of it was Thai style—the parade and the candle holders and the singing.

Health: Last week after having a fever for five days that wouldn’t stay away more than a few hours after taking meds, I was feeling quite concerned about what was wrong. I decided to pay the extra money and go to the private hospital where the doctors all speak English well. Also because it crossed my mind that they might want me to stay and I’d rather stay there where people speak English than in the government hospital where they don’t speak much English. Also I didn’t feel like waiting for a couple hours to see the doctor at the government hospital, and service at the private hospital is quick. They don’t seem to be very busy, at least when I’ve been there. And I can get there easily on my own. The doctor ordered a blood test for dengue fever and a swab test for flu, both of which were negative. He said my throat was very inflamed. The doctor who gave me the results said I should stay home from school two or three more days. When I looked at her report for the school, it said I have bronchitis, which she didn’t mention. Stronger antibiotics and other meds were prescribed. Meds at this hospital are expensive, which is how they make their money. But the new antibiotics did the job and the fever stopped after taking the first one. Cost of the hospital visit and meds: 3000 bahts (about $100). This may not seem like much in the scheme of things, but it is almost one-fourth of my monthly income, which is a big chunk. So, this was another Thailand first: the first time I’ve missed a week of school for illness.

Friday afternoon Kru Toom, Kru Tang, and Kate came to visit. They brought me a huge basket of fruit. I guess that was a benefit of being home ill for a week. It was nice, and it was good to see them. The obligatory photo was taken (on their camera, not mine) showing me receiving the gift. Kru Tang explained that it was for their report to show everything the school has done. 

After the week and the weekend (three days because Monday was the king’s birthday/Fathers’ Day), I was able to return to school. I took it easy this week and took a bus to school and home instead of walking because my energy was still low. It got a little better every day, so I’m almost normal again. Fortunately, I was able to read through the illness, which is good, since I don’t have a TV and it kept me occupied.

We have another three-day weekend coming up for Constitution Day.

The school is getting ready for Christmas. Classrooms are being decorated. Students are preparing for the big program on the 23^rd. This will be interesting to see.

A Housewarming (11-28)

Last Saturday morning Khun Dakom called me at 8:00 and told me to come to breakfast “Now.” He had first mentioned lunch at a nearby restaurant and then he talked about breakfast at a teacher’s house opposite Khun Kwan’s house. So I was a little confused as to where to go. (I think I was an afterthought, as they were already there. Since I am not living near them, they don’t think about including me as often.) When I was part way there, Khun Suwit met me in his truck. It turned out that one of the teachers has bought the house across from Khun Kwan’s house and this was her house-warming party. Since I hadn’t been clear exactly what I was going for, I had not worn silk (a missed opportunity, as I hardly ever get to wear my silk skirts these days), but I was glad I had at least dressed in nice casual clothes.

               

Outside the house was an altar with a Hindu god and two masks. This was different; so I was curious to know what this was about. After the monks left (I missed their blessing of the house.), another man went around and tied string around the circumference of the lot. Then a man wearing animal skin patterned fabric came to the altar. A small group of people joined him there. 

He lit incense and prayed and then sprinkled water toward the entrance. After eating, we went in to see the house. A small group of people was sitting in the living room around this priest. He used one of the masks to bless people. Some came out with a gold patch on their foreheads. When I asked him, Khun Dakom was able to tell me a little about this. He said it’s a religion originally from India, not a branch of Buddhism; so I think it is Hinduism. He said many people in Thailand follow this religion. It’s not something I’ve encountered before; so it was interesting to see. I thought it was interesting, too, that they had both the Buddhist monks and this Hindu priest. Walking through the house, I noticed that the bedroom was set up for the monks.

I’m enjoying my weekend tutoring group. They’re fun, and it gives me something to do with social contact on the weekend. They want to have general conversation; so that’s what we do. We chat and see what language comes up that need practice. Speaking practice is always good for the students, since they don’t get that in class. They do pretty well. I learned that Khun Dang does laundry on Saturday for four people. It takes her three hours to wash the clothes and two hours to iron them. That’s quite a chunk of time for laundry. She doesn’t have a machine.

The women invited me to have lunch with them on last Sunday. They cooked special food that was quite good. We chatted in English, which is a challenge since they don’t know much. But it was fun. These experiences always remind me what it’s like for Thai people to have to decipher my Thai. They have talked to their school director about my teaching there next year and he is interested. They asked how much money I want. I’m putting this on hold, as I don’t think I’m interested.

At school, the boom, boom, boom was back for a couple days but not as loudly as last week. Thursday and Friday students spent an hour practicing standing in a greeting double line to greet the government officials who will visit the pre-school on Monday. (The officials will walk between the two lines of facing students the center.) Unfortunately, both practices were when I didn’t have class. Even my larger school didn’t spend that much time practicing the greeting line. More “We have to do it better because we’re a private school” I guess.

The other excitement on Friday was when the firemen came. (Another missed class that didn’t affect me.) I don’t know what they talked about, but they demonstrated lighting gas coming out of the gas tank, the kind that everyone has in their kitchen. The students loved seeing the huge flames. They did this several times.

My 8^th grade make-up English class was last week. Only half of the students came. Kru Toom told each student about the opportunity; so I guess the rest weren’t interested. They worked well in class but did more talking to share answers than the 7^th grade did, which is not a surprise, as that’s what they do in class all the time. And I didn’t notice any changes in their classroom behavior like I did with the 7^th graders, most of whom are now trying to do the work. Those who aren’t trying truly can’t do anything. I really feel bad for them. I’m trying to point to the words they need to copy. I’m thinking about having them come in the morning and just giving them the answers to copy. I don’t want to do that in class, as they’ll get circulated—no matter what I do.

I spent the weekend being ill—fever and then a cough and congested chest. When the fever was still there Sunday, I went to the clinic. The doctor gave me four medicines: antibiotics for the pharangitis (I hadn’t realized I had a sore throat but she said it was infected.), one for the chest mucus, one for the fever, and cough syrup. (Cost 140 bahts, about $4.60) Since I still had a fever Monday morning, I went to school to listen to Bank, since his competition is Tuesday, and then came home.

Random acts of kindness:

One day a woman riding her motorcycle in my neighborhood asked where I was going and then told me to get on. When she dropped me off and I started to walk, she asked again where I was going and said she’d take me to the bus station, which is near the school and most people know. We stopped at the morning market where she purchased some soy milk from a woman I sometime buy from. Then we delivered the milk to a woman and boy. That woman told the driver what school I teach at. I have no idea who she is and we were not near anywhere I walk; so I don’t know how she knows me. Then the driver understood where I was going. When she let me off at the intersection to the school, Kru Oy pulled over and took me the rest of the way.

At the morning market Saturday, I bought some cookies from a woman I sometimes buy such things from. Then she gave me a pack of buns, saying that I teach her son, who is in 5^th grade at the school.