I have not taught a single class since my last post, but I have relaxed my attitude, gotten to know my students outside of school, and had a really enjoyable month.

All of last week was “Sports Day” – yes, all of last week was Sports Day. According to the schedule, Sports Day would take place on a Thursday. It’s a once-a-year event that splits the student body into four teams – Pink, Orange, Yellow and Blue. All of the grades are mixed together on these teams, and each team has teacher representatives (go Yellow Team!). Some students qualify to compete in the sports – volleyball, basketball, soccer, and ping-pong – and the rest are the cheerleaders. Each team sets up shop around our school fields, situating themselves on separate sets of bleachers that are decorated in the given team color. Sports Day is a Thailand cultural phenomenon, and whichever team wins at our school goes on to compete at a higher level against other Thai students.

The preparation for Sports Day is immense. The upper level students create the cheers, the designs for signs and bleacher layouts – essentially, the vision – and then oversee the lower level students on their team who carry it out. Each period as I arrived for my class, announcements would be made that classes were cancelled so that students could prepare. This happened every single class period on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. “I haven’t been able to teach any of my students!” I would say. “Mai pen rai – do not worry!” all the other teachers would reply to my dismay.

What I’m finding is that although Thai students are rarely in class, their level of discipline and their ability to take initiative is strikingly high. Students are at the sole charge of running events like Sports Day. They require no teacher supervision for coaching one another, cheering for one another, setting up and tearing down all necessary equipment. During Sports Day, students were the referees for the games, they were in charge of the scoreboards, they ran the sound systems, they cooked lunch for the teachers, and they picked up trash once the games were finished, all without any prompting. “These students seem to be working really hard,” I commented. “It’s good for them,” is the reply that I received every time.

The day following Sports Day, the school decided to hold a Sports Day Opening Ceremony parade. It doesn’t make sense, right? The teachers had debated the merits of holding the traditional parade in light of the King’s death and the year of mourning. We should show our bereavement by cancelling the parade, they initially thought. But, in the midst of Sports Week, it was decided that the parade is too much fun for the students to miss; so, the parade was held after the games, even though no one could part with the “Opening Ceremony” label. The students dressed in traditional Thai attire, marched around town, performed several Thai dances for the teachers, and cheered against one another as scores were tallied. It was a fun event, and it was exciting for me to interact with my students and see their personalities outside of the classroom.

I really feel that I’m starting to connect with my students more and more. The Thai greeting is always a wai, or bowing ones head with prayer hands. I partake in this greeting, too, of course, but when I see my students around town, it’s hard for me to resist the urge to wave. I replace the formal greetings of “good afternoon” with “hi!” and encourage my students to respond to the question, “How are you?” with something other than the textbook, “I’m fine.” Lately, when I see my students in public places, they will wave from afar, or run up to me and say “Hi, Teacher! I’m great tonight, how are you?” It’s fun to share in these more casual exchanges with them, and it gives me the impression that they feel the same.

I’ve also recently gained insight into the familiarity of my interactions with the other Thai teachers. I pick up the language that I hear spoken between my students, and the teachers are so delighted when I try out new words that they typically just laugh and encourage me to say these phrases at every opportunity, no matter what they mean. Finally, one teacher let me know that a phrase I used quite regularly was rather mai supbaph – “impolite.” The common phrase “What’s going on?” need only be altered very slightly to become, “What the hell?” something that can be said between peers but not from me to an elder. “Mai pen rai – don’t worry!” she told me, when she realized how horrified I was.

While certain impolite things that I do are ignored, some of my seemingly more trivial errors are noticed. The Thai way of using utensils is a spoon in the dominant hand, and a fork in the other hand. The back of the fork is used to push food onto the spoon, from which you then eat. I typically eat this way, too; the one time I used my spoon to gather rice without the help of my fork, I was told I was being very impolite. “This is Thai style,” a few people said, showing me as if I have never eaten that way before. “But this is my style,” I said teasingly, and they laughed it off and conceded. Confrontations hardly exist here, and if their reaction felt strained I would have adjusted. Sometimes, though, I can’t help but stick to my own norms and simply point out that we do indeed do some things differently.

Moments like this are rare, though, and in general I imagine I get away with errors far more often than I get corrected. There are many levels of politeness in Thai culture, and they are often age dependent. For example, no one is ever addressed by his or her name only. If I’m speaking with someone slightly older than I am, I say the word pi /-pee/ in front of the name, meaning “auntie” or “uncle.” If a woman is twenty-plus years older than me, I say the word mom in front of her name. If she is much older than that, I say yi – “grandma.” If I fail to say one of these words, or say yi when I should use mom, for example, I am being impolite. These mistakes are usually laughed off, or once in a while encouraged. One teacher will tell me to call another yi and then laugh at us both – “Sammy thinks you’re a Grandmother’s age!”

Another situation is that of touching. Women who are older than I am can touch and hug me as they please – men cannot. Girls who are younger than me cannot touch me on my shoulders or above – it is impolite. I hug the older teachers at least daily, and pat their shoulders all of the time. They love to play with and braid my hair, and I assumed mutual affection was appropriate. I had no idea this norm was in place and was completely shocked to finally learn of it. “I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed to the teachers. “Don’t worry! It’s ok because we love you.”

Although I cannot understand all of their Thai, it’s clear when the teachers are speaking about me. The phrase farang noiz is used around me often – “little foreigner” – a term of endearment. I’ve heard the words tuk a taa used about me quite regularly as well. I asked for clarification today. The answer: “like a doll.” The teachers told me, “You have eyes and eyelashes as if you are a doll!” The attention, praise, and love that I get far surpass any of the very minor criticisms that I have mentioned. I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such adoring, warm people.

The complimenting and the kindness and the generosity here are all boundless. Last weekend for Christmas, Teacher Polly invited Fang and me to her hometown of Thare for the biggest Christmas parade in all of Thailand. I was unsure of how to spend my weekend – I knew that I would be homesick and was anxious to video call my family, but everyone was so excited for me to experience Christmas in Thailand, that I decided to tag along.

The majority of Thailand is Buddhist. Teacher Polly’s parents were Vietnamese, but fled their home during the war and lived in the Vietnamese community of Thare ever since. Polly and these other Vietnamese expats were raised Catholic, so this town has an enormous Cathedral and takes pride in being the biggest Christian community in Thailand. As soon as we arrived, I knew I had made the right decision. Every house along the street adorned Christmas lights and decorations, and the cheer in the air was my first real taste of home since being away. There was an enormous parade of Christmas floats each with a Santa and his reindeer in the front, and a nativity scene in the back. Food stalls and craft stalls lined the streets, and we took more pictures in that one night than I have taken in a lifetime. Other teachers from our school joined for these festivities, and it was reminiscent of a family getting together for the holiday season.

Only Fang and I spent the night with Teacher Polly, her husband, and her daughter. On Christmas Eve Day, we explored Sakon Nakhon Province, went shopping, and took pictures along the most beautiful lake full of water lilies. We grilled shrimp for dinner, and I had my first ever Christmas meal outside in the sun. Following dinner, everyone in the town carried a bright, crafted star in a processional around the cathedral, symbolically lighting the way before we went to Christmas Eve mass. It gave me the same rush and feeling of Christmas as family parties and attending Midnight Mass as a kid. On Christmas morning, I was able to Skype with my family at the traditional Christmas Eve Party (13-hour time difference) and then attend morning mass with Polly and Fang. I made it home in time that night to Skype my family once again on their Christmas morning.

I had the best of both worlds this past weekend. I was able to stay connected with everyone I love at home, but I was also able to experience a new kind of Christmas, and a new side of Thailand. I feel so lucky that this weekend I was dreading was so filled with love and fun.

This week began with me getting my visa extension, so I am legally in Thailand for the next eight months! It also began with me picking up Christmas packages and cards from my wonderful family and friends, extending the Christmas spirit and feeling of home here. At school, this week is Girl Guide / Boy Scout week, so students do activities such as crafting, cooking, singing songs, and building campfires – also known as, no class. I’m itching to get back to teaching, but I’m also happy to chat with my students more casually, to spend more time with the other teachers, and to recognize what Thai people can teach me instead of focusing only on what I can teach them. Tomorrow, I will chaperone the students climbing a mountain, and Friday I will head to Bangkok to celebrate the New Year. I feel pretty good about what’s to come in the next eight months. Mai pen rai. I have no worries.

Sports Day – Pink Team

Sports Day Opening Ceremony – Traditional Thai dress

Christmas Market, Thare

Christmas Parade

Thare, Thailand

St.Michael’s Cathedral, Thare

Christmas Eve star parade

In charge of grilling Christmas dinner

Sakon Nakhon Province