Christmas at Wat Trai School
Last Friday I was invited to attend a Christmas celebration at the Thai school where I volunteer a few hours each week. This was the first time they've had a big Christmas program and it was an interesting cultural experience. They read an explanation of Christmas that they'd found online, but later equated it with the Western New Year. (These two holidays are often lumped together here.)
Earlier the students had participated in handwriting and card-making contests and the winners were given prizes. But the main event of the day was a "Santa and Santy" competition. Several pairs of boys and girls from each classroom dressed up in all manner of Santa and Santy (Mrs. Santa Claus?) costumes, danced, and practiced their laughs. There were also several musical performances that had nothing to do with Christmas. They asked me to lead a couple of easy English games and I also helped hand out the prizes. It was bizarre seeing so many Thai kids dressed up in these costumes - but they seemed to be having a good time and I was glad for the chance to continue my relationship with the school.
One of the more unorthodox Santa costumes.
Several of the students from my 9th grade English class.
We had a great time celebrating Christmas over the weekend with our team and family (more blogs to come). But today it's back to business as usual and both girls went to school. We're all looking forward to the 4 day New Years weekend coming up.
-Tom