"I not have a chubby."

June 10, 2010

I only had one afternoon class today (another weird schedule), so I spent about 90 percent of my day making worksheets on the computer. I feel the need to make a "Directions" box for this post. And border it with stars. And then make 35 copies on a machine that works at the pace of a snail.

Anyways, today was "Wai Khru Day" - a day when students show respect to teachers (according to Prakop's translation). Kind of like Teacher Appreciation Day in the States... but a little more intense. Instead of a few kids bringing their teacher an apple, the entire student body presents gifts to every member of the teaching staff during a 2 hour morning assembly, which was rehearsed the day before.

We arrived at school (dressed in orange - 'cause it's orange day!) and made our way to the assembly area. Every student's parents sent their child to school today with a small bouquet of flowers, wrapped in palm leaf, newspaper, or regular lined paper. The students lined up with their home room classes in the morning, removed their shoes, and filed into the open-air room - Kindergardners in front, 6th graders in back. Each student sat with their bouquets (and about 4 students from each grade carried larger, more elaborate bouquets in vases or bowls) and faced the stage, where the school Director sat with about 12 other teachers. It appeared to be the oldest/most respected teachers on stage, including Prakop - the younger teachers stood on the sides near their students. The Director started the ceremony by lighting incense at a Buddha shrine on stage, then at the large picture of the King** that was propped up on an easel. He then knealt before both images and waii-ed - hands together and at his forehead, forehead to the floor, 3 times. (Waii-ing becomes more elaborate as you move up the social ladder - monks, the King, and Buddha obviously get a seat at the top).

**Tangent: have I talked about the King yet??? Thailand has an elected government, but its head of state is King Bhumibol Adulyadej "the Great." And his likeness is seen EVERYWHERE : on billboards, on city streets, inside classrooms, restaurants and restaurant menus, clothing stores, supermarkets.... He is beloved by all, and no Thai person ever speaks ill of the King or the Royal Family, no matter one's politics, religion, or social class. Each morning at our school, the kids sing the national anthem, a Buddhist prayer, and a song for the King - it's pretty much a package deal everywhere in the country.

Back to this morning:

Next, the big bouquets were brought to the stage by a couple of students from each grade. After that, chairs for every teacher were lined up in front of the stage. The Director asked us to sit next to him. Grade by grade, row by row, every single student in the school brought up their little bouquet to one of the teachers. They would kneel in front of us, hand us the bouquet, and bow with their foreheads to the ground. Then (at the direction of the Director), we were to pat their heads, have them sit up, and send them away. This process took about 45 minutes to complete. How's that for teacher appreciation?

The rest of the school day was somewhat uneventful (other than worksheet making of course). After school, the four of us grabbed early dinner. We biked over to the mall for Hot Pot, and it was just as delicious as the first time. On the way home, we bought 7-11 out of yogurts.... We go through them fast.

Now I'm sitting here lesson planning and grading papers... These worksheets are like individual artworks. Thai kids have the neatest handwriting, and they don't tolerate scribbles or mess-ups. Pencils and dirty eraser marks? ohhh no. Every single student writes in ink pen and has his desk stocked with about a year's supply of White-Out. Plus they love to embellesh a boring old white page with colored pencils. Today when I asked my 6/1 class to pass up their homework at the beginning of class, I noticed Flook frantically scribbling on his paper. I thought to myself, "Okay, Flook forgot about the assignment last night - guess I better talk to him." When I approached his desk, however, I saw that his sentences were perfect and he was feverishly coloring in the shapes on the worksheet's border. He looked up at me with a guilty expression, and asked, "Is it okay?", to which I replied, "Yes, Flook. It wasn't mandatory to decorate the homework."

I'll post a few colorful and entertaining examples of sentence errors on Facebook.

....Tomorrow night, my fellow ajarns and I are going to hit up Terrace (a riverfront restaurant-bar that our landlord owns) to unwind, drink some Thai brewskies, and watch the World Cup. Soccer seems to be a pretty big deal here. Will the Thais root for Mexico or S. Africa? We shall find out!