Merry Christmas (12-25)

Christmas has come and gone. The week at school was full of preparation for the big extravaganza Friday night. Students were busy practicing their dances, so I saw three of my 19 classes. There were no classes Thursday so students could practice, and Friday students did not come to school so teachers could get everything ready for the evening event.

The event turned out to be a dinner for parents as well as a show. Parents paid 250 bahts (about $7.50) for a seat at a table and dinner. About 1500 parents reserved seats. And the students also had tables and dinner. There were about 270 tables with eight seats at each. Dinner was prepared and served by a catering service that does these events.

There didn’t seem to be much for us foreign teachers to do to help prepare. Sometimes when these things are happening, I feel like I am more in the way than helpful. So I ended out spending most of the day in our office. I did get a little work done. I also helped Angela make ribbon chain necklaces to be sold at the event. Thursday afternoon I went for a walk and found her doing this and offered to help. She said Sister Viphaporn had told them on Wednesday to make 400 necklaces. Then Thursday she decided that there should be 1000. It takes about three minutes to staple the ribbon pieces together, and someone had already cut the ribbon; so this was a serious time commitment for teachers. I helped an hour each day. I did notice Friday night that there were hundreds of necklaces unsold. So there will be a good supply for next year.

The school gave all the teachers a new pink shirt to wear to the program. We were also given a ribbon to wear to indicate that we are teachers. We were told to go to school at 4:00 Friday afternoon to have dinner with the teachers. It wasn’t dinner with all the teachers; it was dinner available when teachers went to eat. Soup was served. It was good, but after several hours I was hungry.

After eating, I walked around and took photos of students dressed up for their performances. I always enjoy the costumes. During the event, teachers were selling small gift items. Kate and Lovely were helping at one stand. I offered a few times to give them a break, but they weren’t ready for one.

The school was all decorated for the evening. Entrances were set up. There were a tree and manger in the parking lot. Lights were strung hanging down the building and a “Merry Christmas” banner was hung. The Christmas tree lights were on. There was a screen showing a video of the performers so people in the back section could see what was happening on the stage.

While people were arriving, a few students sang Thai pop songs. The show started at 6:00. There are 35 classes, and each performed; so it was a long show. It was well organized, and a new group was entering the stage as the previous group exited. After performing, students went to a small stage for photos. During the performances, I walked around and sometimes sat on an empty chair, as there were no places for teachers to sit.

One part of the program was a brief Christmas story. It included the 7^th graders dancing and singing. Another part was giving certificates to teachers. And there were several raffle items.
































Kru Oy called me at 10:00 and offered to drive me home. Since I had been wondering how I would get home so late and I was tired and I thought the show was about over, I was happy to leave with them. We stopped for noodle soup on the way home, which was also nice, since I, as well as Khun Kwan, was hungry. Saturday I learned that the show didn’t end until about 11:30; so I missed quite a bit. I was asked if I was on the stage for the photo of all the teachers. So I missed that, too. Not a big deal, and apparently my absence wasn’t noticed. With so many teachers, each will be just a small speck in the photo anyway.

After dinner, parents whose children had performed went home. When I left, the whole back section of 160 tables was empty. I was surprised, as I’d been sitting in the front section for a while. I imagine that not much of an audience was left for the final performances.

Fortunately, the weather Friday night was good. It wasn’t as cold as it had been the week before, and I was comfortable with just my shirt jacket. And it wasn’t windy. Saturday it was very windy again, and we were glad that hadn’t happened on Friday. It was also colder. So the school was lucky to have good weather for the program.

Saturday was the party for teachers. We had been told to go to school at 9:00 for the party. As I was leaving Friday night, Kru Tang followed me to make sure I knew to come for the party at noon. When I asked what was happening at 9:00, she said teachers would clean up then. So, I took the opportunity to do a few errands that I had planned to do in the afternoon and arrived late. I was able to do a few things, which was nice. About 90 teachers and staff members ate lunch. After lunch, there was some karaoke, and some of the teachers danced. I was among them, which everyone enjoyed. It’s always a hit to have a foreigner dance. And I enjoy it.

Next was the giving of gifts. First, the sisters were all given a gift. Then we had the teachers’ gift exchange, for which we had all brought something. When we delivered our gift, our name was put on it. Then the names were rolled up and put in a pot. When someone drew a name, the person who brought the gift went up and gave it to the recipient and a photo was taken. Doing this for 90 people took quite a while. My gift was a photo album. After the gift exchange, names were drawn and other gifts were given to the winners. I got a small, black purse for dress up occasions. Then everyone lined up to receive a special gift—a shawl or towel. I was glad I was in the earlier group, as shawls are small and I don’t need any more towels. After all this, the event everyone was waiting for took place—giving of the annual bonus. We had been told that this usually happens. Each teacher received 1000 bahts (about $30). Four teachers who had been selected as the best teacher in their level received another bonus. I was really happy that Kru Toom was among them, as she does an awful lot of work in addition to being a good teacher.  Then there was more karaoke. Since it was 3:00 and I’d had enough socialization and teachers were starting to leave, I went home.

When I told Kru Toom I hoped she enjoyed her holiday, she said she wouldn’t have much. She had planned to go somewhere with her friends on Monday, but Sister Viphaporn gave her a job; so she can’t go with her friends. Then she has to go to a seminar. Then she has to go on the field trip for teachers to see an exhibition a few of the teachers are in. So, she may have four of the nine days as a holiday. I still have a hard time with the way teachers are treated here—like they are servants who have to do as they are told and who have to work all the time, even on weekends and holidays.

The male teachers and staff sat together, partly so they could drink whiskey. The bottle was kept under the table. Glasses with whiskey were covered with tissue so the drink couldn’t be seen. Glasses with cola and water were not covered; so obviously the covered glasses contained alcohol. It’s not a secret that the men—and a few women—were drinking, but it’s done like it’s under cover. What’s not seen is not a problem.

Sunday morning Khun Dakom called to say “Merry Christmas.” He invited me to go to Wat Hua Don with them. I felt bad that I couldn’t do that, as I do miss going there and this is the first time I’ve been invited for a while. There was a tamboon at 11:00 that included feeding the monks lunch. This was special, as they usually eat only in the morning. The whole family was going, which was why they could take me. Kru Oy would be driving back to Ubon and could give me a ride; the others would go on to the village.  Since I couldn’t go to the wat with them, Khun Dakom invited me to join them for breakfast. It was nice to see them, even for a short time.

Tony had invited us to his home for Christmas lunch. Sampong and a friend prepared the food. When I arrived, I cut the fruit while they cooked. She’s a good cook, and the meal was delicious. She sent some of the gang keow wan (sweet green curry) and chicken home with me. I had given the girls small gifts at school on Thursday. When I arrived, Ink gave me a gift. It was a scarf that she had knit. That was really sweet. I took a small gift for Sampong as well as some chocolate. It was a pleasant afternoon.

One of the guests was a French man who comes here for two months every winter. He has relationship with a Thai woman who is half American (Her father was an African-American GI.) They have been together for about 11 years.

At the end of class Sunday night, the girls said, “Merry Christmas,” which was sweet. All in all, it was a pleasant day, as I ended out spending time with several of my friends and had some good food.

The holiday felt a little strange this year. In past years, I was among Buddhists, and Christmas was pretty much a non-event. Just another day. For the Catholics at the smaller school, Christmas was pretty low key. Nothing was done at the school. There was a service at the church in the nearby village, and Catholic students didn’t go to school on Christmas day. Since I’m at a Catholic school this year, Christmas is a big deal. Since most of the students are Buddhist, it felt strange to have it be such a big deal. It felt really out of place culturally to have it be such a big deal. And it felt like most of it was just for show. The trimmings of Christmas were there without the spirit behind them. The rooms were all decorated and students practiced for the show, but it’s something to do and has no personal meaning for most of them. The big show was mostly Thai music and dancing that didn’t have much to do with Christmas. Preschool students danced to a few Christmas songs. The nativity story was told and included dancing to two songs, one of which some students actually sang. (All other music was recorded.) But most of the show could have been performed for any occasion.

In addition, this year I work with the Filipino Christians and Tony, who is not Christian but to whom the day has some personal meaning. It all left me feeling strange about the day. I found myself missing the spirit of the holiday, which I didn’t miss when it was just another day to everyone around me.