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.