Hello, สวัสดี (Sa wa dii), Hola

So, I find out on Monday afternoon that I don’t have school at PhonTan on Wednesday, so I make some plans to visit Michelle’s classroom and think of all the things I could do with a day off … obviously. But then on Tuesday I get invited by PhonTan to go to an academic competition at an elementary school (Aunuban Nakhon Phanom) in the city of Nakhon Phanom on Wednesday since I don’t have to teach. When deciding between sitting at home trying to find things to do or go on an adventure with my students … what do I choose? The adventure of course! I get picked up by Earm and Ajan Sumet at 6:50 and head to school to meet some other students and teachers … Earm and Ajan Sumet were going to a different school in Nakhon Phanom so I went with some other teachers who speak less English to the school where the English “Spelling Bee” was held. The students all piled into the back of the pick-up, teachers in front and we headed on our way! I obviously understood little of what was being said but from what I can gather a lot of schools in the area compete in many subjects and skills. It goes on for two days. There is English spelling, math, science, Thai dance, aerobics, cooking, drawing, story telling, karaoke, and I’m sure many others. We arrive at the school and head to the schedule to figure out where everyone in our car goes. I go with the “English” teacher and the student competing in the category. As we are in the “parking lot” I hear “kru Kerry” (which is just teacher Kerry) and I look over to see all these students waving at me … which I didn’t even recognize as my own until they got closer and I realized they were in fact my students and were dressed in aerobics attire with heavy dance recital make-up and all … even the boys. No joke. So clearly I need a picture of this! We then make our way to the classroom where the “Spelling Bee” is to take place to realize it is basically just a spelling test so then I was shuffled by to see the cooking and eventually to aerobics. THANK THE LORD AND ALL THINGS GOOD I WAS ABLE TO WITNESS THIS! The aerobics competition is where all schools get a team of students together, teach an aerobics routine (sometimes including hula hoops), dress in aerobics attire (sometimes including sweatbands, headbands, skirts, and leggings), and performing a choreographed aerobics routine (sometimes to Thai music, sometimes American). It was everything in entertainment I could have asked for an more. And to make it even better there is no differentiation between the sexes … the boys wear makeup and leggings with skirts over them … its amazing. I was thoroughly entertained with this for a long time … then was escorted over to the “science fair” where we just met a bunch of people, they asked to take their picture with me, and we moved on to cooking. By this time the dishes were complete and the display was up. I was then asked if I wanted to take the food … pad thai and some pumpkin dish … but of course I do! So we went to taste the food, which then turned into a HUGE lunch … Kerry being told again that after one year in NongHee she is going to be fat … the usual. Hahahaha By this time the competition is wrapping up for our school and it is announced that our car is going to Tesco Lotus! Heaaaaallll yes!!!! I needed to go there! We all pile in, go to Tesco, do a little shopping, where I got the most amazing Thai treat. It’s called a Choki Choki and is basically a plastic tube the size of a straw filled with nutella. Seriously. You just suck the melted chocolate right out of the plastic. Someone’s be reading my diaryyyy. AND its only 10baht for a pack of 5. What whattt?!

After Tesco, we head back to NongHee and I get dropped off at home. I take a little nap since the ride nearly put me to sleep and decide to go for my run. I’m crusin along the main road when I see two of my students (Khem P.5 and Min P.3) on the other side of the road. I wave as usual and continue on my way. I turn off the main road back towards my house, see the girls continue down the main road… am deciding I can probably do another loop when I realize there are bicycles behind me … so I turn and its Khem and Min … ok they turned down this road too … So I take off my headphones and ask where they are going (in Thai) … they point at me … okay so you’re coming with me … I motion them to follow and I keep going! A little ways down the road I realize this is gonna be really rough on me if I try to run/walk another lap with them on their bikes and we’re kinda close to my house so I ask if they want me to get my back (though a lot of motioning) which gets me excited smiles and nods … so we head back to my house, I get my bike, and immediately feel like a Thai version of Now and Then. YES. We ride the loop a couple times and then I head home.

One major “up” this week is that my students are becoming a lot less shy and a lot more fun to hang out with! Woo!!!