Sports Day

I'm baccck! After a long delay due to vacation and lack of computer, I'm back with a vengeance! Well, not really, just back to discussing all the ridiculous things that happen to me here in Thailand :-)

Sometimes it feels like this place isn’t real, as if I’m living in a parallel universe. Sports Day is a great example. Sports Day, or really Sports Week, since it took place from Tues-Thurs, is basically school Olympics. The students were split up into four teams: red, yellow, green, and blue, and had to compete against one another in various sporting events. This was legit. There was an opening ceremony just like in the actual Olympics. It included a parade through the village where our school is located, and proceeded to the school track. Following the parade, there were dance performances (each team performed), plus the “big performance” by Mat. 6 (12th grade, the seniors). They even lit an Olympic torch. I’m telling you, I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I was awake and that it wasn’t all just a dream; can you picture any of this happening in the U.S.? The most amazing part of it all, is that it is all put on my the students, with barely any help from the teachers. The students spent months choreographing their dance performances, and even created their own costumes. I think the only thing the teachers did was set up the electrical equipment and the sports schedule. Plus, all of this preparation (picking out the music, choreographing, creating costumes) took place outside of class time, after studying for exams and doing all of their homework (okay, well maybe not AFTER, but you get the picture). It’s amazing all of the creativity and energy the students have!

Besides the opening and closing ceremonies, everything in between was kind of boring. Mainly, because sports is not my thing, although it was fun to be out and about on campus and not be stuck at my desk all day long. As stated earlier, the students competed in various sporting events. Thursday was dedicated just to track events. There were individual and team relay races, long jump, javelin (that stick-throwing one), and even that event where you hold that heavy ball and have to throw it as far as you can. Although, because it was so hot out, some students passed out from the heat after competing (mainly because we don’t have track at my school, so they’re not used to running in the heat, and it was SO hot out), I felt so bad for them. The closing ceremony was just as fabulous as the opening ceremony. This time, however, there was even more elaborate costumes, dancing, and cheering! Oh, Thailand.