First up, SPORTS DAY(s)! If you really know me then you know how excited I was for this, and the first day was great. We have some very talented athletes at our school! I got to watch all the different teams compete in volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, and soccer. But what happened on the second day was something I couldn't have been ready for even if I was repeatedly warned. So quick clarification- Sports Day is a two day long event. The first day is held at the school, and is comprised of all the team sports playing each other in bracket tournaments. The second day is held at Nan professional soccer stadium, and the students compete in individual track events and cheer leading. When you read the words "cheer leading" try to forget every preconceived notion you ever had about the sport of cheer leading. Something was lost in translation between the American style of cheer leading, and Thai style. I can't vouch for which is the correct way, all I can say is they are astronomically different. If there was an entry for "Thai cheer leading" in the dictionary it would look something like this...
- Thai cheer leading: a sport found in Thai high schools similar to dancing, that includes borderline exotic dancing choreography to numerous well known American pop songs
- Thai cheer leading dress: inappropriate costumes for anyone under the age of 18; including 5 inch platform heels, corsets, fishnet stockings, glitter, and hair extensions
Curious yet? My portrayal of the event will barely do it justice, but I will give it a go nonetheless. The cheer squads were comprised of around 4-6 girls and 4-6 guys. All of the cheer leaders were high school aged students, so between 14-17 years of age. They all had matching revealing costumes, even the boys. Their "routines" were choreographed dances to songs like "Come & Get It" by Selena Gomez or "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry. Before I go on, I want to give credit where credit is due. These students spent an insane amount of their free time and money to create these elaborate routines, and it showed. They created masterpieces. That being said, it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences I have had in a very long time. I witnessed these young innocent girls and boys that I teach, for lack of a better term, grind on the ground and on each other, and pulling moves that I hope my future daughter never learns. All in front of the entire school and town, parents and teachers included. I was mind blown, and so mortified that naturally I took numerous videos and pictures. Here is a little taste of what I witnessed during Sports Day...
Now that I've undoubtedly skewed your opinion on my students, my school, and the Thai education system, I want to share with you my ASEAN Day experience. ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Day is a full day long event where the Social Studies department at our school coordinates a school fair of sorts. Each of the 10 ASEAN nations had a both that was manned by participating high schools from around the Nan region. Some of the other large nations of the world were included as well: China showed up, India showed it's face, and I think Canada made it to the party too. Naturally, my school's booth was the United States of America. Who knows why. There are some questions that just simply do not have answers. But it was beyond awesome seeing how a group of people who have never been there represented America. The faculty members working the America booth all wore flannel shirts, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. My fellow teachers were shocked when I told them I didn't own any flannel or cowboy boots so unfortunately I wouldn't be able to match them. Our face-in-a-hole cut out was a nice Native American couple. The booth made American food: chocolate brownies, caramel popcorn, and deep friend mashed potatoes. The brownies were phenomenal, but the fried mashed potatoes was weird. Just weird. Best part of the day was what I like to call "put the Americans on display show". Because there are four American English teachers, myself included, at Srisawat we were told we must sing for ASEAN Day! And "I don't sing" wasn't a viable get out of jail free card. We were given three songs to sing by the social studies teacher. In his mind these songs best represent America- "Country Roads" by John Denver, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by CCR, and "Why Do I love You So?" by someone I don't know. I have very mixed emotions on the idea that these three songs represent America to a decent amount of northern Thailand. We got to pick one of our own songs to sing so of course we went with my girl T. Swift "Love Story". Taylor Swift is really popular among our students so it was a safe bet. So, we sat like good little American's and sang the songs of our homeland while our students and co-workers watched. Overall, the day was great. Whether they were right or wrong, it was interesting to see the tables flipped, and see how people of another land view my home.
Now that I've undoubtedly skewed your opinion on my students, my school, and the Thai education system, I want to share with you my ASEAN Day experience. ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Day is a full day long event where the Social Studies department at our school coordinates a school fair of sorts. Each of the 10 ASEAN nations had a both that was manned by participating high schools from around the Nan region. Some of the other large nations of the world were included as well: China showed up, India showed it's face, and I think Canada made it to the party too. Naturally, my school's booth was the United States of America. Who knows why. There are some questions that just simply do not have answers. But it was beyond awesome seeing how a group of people who have never been there represented America. The faculty members working the America booth all wore flannel shirts, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. My fellow teachers were shocked when I told them I didn't own any flannel or cowboy boots so unfortunately I wouldn't be able to match them. Our face-in-a-hole cut out was a nice Native American couple. The booth made American food: chocolate brownies, caramel popcorn, and deep friend mashed potatoes. The brownies were phenomenal, but the fried mashed potatoes was weird. Just weird. Best part of the day was what I like to call "put the Americans on display show". Because there are four American English teachers, myself included, at Srisawat we were told we must sing for ASEAN Day! And "I don't sing" wasn't a viable get out of jail free card. We were given three songs to sing by the social studies teacher. In his mind these songs best represent America- "Country Roads" by John Denver, "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" by CCR, and "Why Do I love You So?" by someone I don't know. I have very mixed emotions on the idea that these three songs represent America to a decent amount of northern Thailand. We got to pick one of our own songs to sing so of course we went with my girl T. Swift "Love Story". Taylor Swift is really popular among our students so it was a safe bet. So, we sat like good little American's and sang the songs of our homeland while our students and co-workers watched. Overall, the day was great. Whether they were right or wrong, it was interesting to see the tables flipped, and see how people of another land view my home.
I'm gonna end this blogpost with one little totally random piece of advice to everyone: Travel. Just do it. Travel anywhere, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you will be accumulating experiences. You'll gain knowledge you couldn't while staying at home. You'll witness indescribable moments. You'll have interactions that will deepen your faith in humanity. I can't tell you how many beautiful things I have seen since coming here, but the biggest thing I've learned so far is that people are good. Everywhere. "Life is short, God is big." - Louie Giglio. Until next time let the good vibes roll...
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