Christmas In Na Kae!!

The run up to Christmas here in Na Kae has been... strange, but great! For the past week or so we've had Christmas songs being played in the mornings at school, and lessons this past week have consisted of teaching the kids to sings "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and making origami Christmas trees (which I must add quickly evolve into origami swords...). The kids at NaKae Pitt. have also been preparing for their Christmas Celebration which was held on 23rd December. As well as performances from groups of students (mainly consisting of funny dances and comedy sketches) there were Christmas Card Making Competitions and Signboard competitions (big Merry Christmas signs) and a quiz which Caitlin and I did. We were meant to do two other activities as well, but they didn't go so well... we planned to do a sort of game where we hold up pictures and words to do with Christmas and get the kids to do an action or sound to go with it (Santa Claus - Ho Ho Ho! etc...), but the kids either didn't understand or didn't want to do it because they just refused to do anything! Eventually Kru Nid told us to just leave it and they went on to do their show, and we didn't do the other activity either (which was going to be the 12 Days Of Christmas). It was still lots of fun and the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves though!

On Christmas Day, after opening some presents from home, we cycled to Pippa's house. She was in That Phanom buying shiny things to decorate with, so we lazed about in her house until she came back. When she did, she came with a huge bag of tinsel (which we promptly attacked her with) and lots of Christmas lights - then we decorated. Except that really Caitlin and I didn't do a huge amount of decorating... this wasn't because we didn't want to or try, but because most of what we did was re-done by Pippa in a much fancier and prettier way! Turns out she is quite the perfectionist! I am proud to say that I wrapped tinsel round a pole, and it stayed the way I had done it :)


In the evening Caitlin and I both spoke to our families which was really nice. I was a bit worried that it would make me feel homesick, but thankfully it didn't at all. It was great to see them all, and really great to see that they haven't changed a bit - still crazy! Best lines of the evening have got to be:

Me: We gave Pippa a present to do with penguins
(holds up penguin slippers to camera)
Mum: Oh! Is that Shaun The Sheep?

and

Dad (coming quickly into the room, classically calm voice): Naomi love, I would stay and talk but things have gone very wrong in the kitchen. The turkey is cooking too fast and nothing else is, and now I have to find a way to mop oil off the floor without it going slippery...

Gotta love crazy families! While we were talking to our families we opened the rest of the presents with Pippa. I got a beautiful butterfly necklace and an awesomely colourful bracelet from Ailsa (my sister) and her boyfriend, along with a crochetted reindeer (made my Ailsa!), a book of duologues from Caitlin's mum, a book from my mum (one of two books, but the first was opened at the house in the morning) and a packet of mini-marshmallows from my mum too!!

After this we went outside and sat underneath the decorations drinking whiskey with people from the village. It was a really nice, quiet Christmas :) It was really nice and relaxing and totally different to what I'm used to at home. I'll definitely remember it forever!

The Unluckyness of Me

Well the last few days have been interesting to say the least!

Yesterday, after teaching at Na Kae Sa, me and Caitlin got a lift to Pippa's house (which is pretty much our house too now :P). She told us that in the morning before she had been to a temple 4 km away and been told by the Buddha that her future was going to be amazing - she would have happiness and wealth and love, and apparently he knew all about her German boyfriend. She went with three of her friends, and she was the only one who got a good prophecy. After telling us all about it, she asked if we wanted to go and with a little apprehension we agreed. We were both quite nervous because apparently there have been people who have been told that their family will have an accident or something really bad, and it has happened. However, we both tried to push these thoughts to the back of our mind and went for it.

When we got there we had to pay 29 baht, and got given leaves which a Thai woman rubbed on our hands. These were each put on a plate (one plate for me, one for Caitlin) along with a candle and the 29baht, and put in front of the Buddha monk. Caitlin was first, and the monk waved the candle over the leaf and spoke in Thai. Pippa and Mei were there as translators, and Caitlin got a really good prophecy - she got told that her famiy were all well, would do very well in love and that whatever work she did would be good. She was told that she would have a lot of happiness, marry a Thai, which quickly proceeded into "will marry Pippa's brother" and stay in Thailand forever. Pippa and Mei were both really excited because it was such a good prophecy.

Then it was my turn. Now, after the monk had started telling Caitlin's prophecy Pippa and Mei had started squealing saying it was really good. This did not happen with mine - instead they both said "...uuuuh...". I turned round and got told by Pippa that it wasn't good. My prophecy was as follows: I worry all the time, all my friends (Thai people and farang in Thailand and Scotland) hate me and are jealous of me, if I do anything bad everyone will gossip about me, my parents do not understand each other, many Thai men love me but only because they think I'm pretty and white, they don't actually care about me and it's not good (Pippa said basically they want me for sex, not to care for). However, I am to stay in Thailand forever, marry a Thai and will have a very good future.

To "give myself lucky" and have this good future there are things I must do. Today we went back to the temple, and I was given a bucket of holy water to shower in. I also had to drink from it three times - it tasted a bit like flowers. Afterwards I got given another blessing bracelet from the monk, and got given a Buddha. I also got all my old silk ribbons torn off :( But I got to keep them :)

Home with us came a second bucket of holy water and the instructions to shower in it at 4pm, so I did that at Pippa's. I have to do it again tomorrow, so Pippa's going to go to the temple and get me some more holy water. After that I should have all my unlucky removed!

Bangkok Road Trip!!!!

Lets go on a ROAD TRIP!!

^ This was what went through me and Caitlin's head simultaneously when we found out that a) this Monday was a school holiday and b) my mum's friend Ian was happy to let us stay with him whenever we were in Bangkok. All 18 of us Thailanders have been thinking about going to see Harry Potter as a group, but as me and Caitlin teach on Saturdays we cant go on a normal weekend because we can't miss our Saturday classes. Made sense to "plan" a road trip! Although it wasn't really planned because we decided last Thursday (2nd December) to leave on Saturday (4th December).

Coincidentally Pippa was going to Bangkok to so we all went together. The journey down was brilliant - Pippa is one of those people that knows everyone, so Caitlin, her and I sat in the drivers cabin at the front. It was so much fun, but a bit scary because Thai driving really is quite crazy! None of us got much sleep - Caitlin went to sleep in the main part of the bus at about midnight and I went at about 2am. Pippa didn't sleep at all.

When we arrived in Bangkok we were greeted by Ian who took Pippa to her brother's house and us to his house, where we slept until about 10am. We then headed to the cinema to see about going to see Harry Potter, and booked seats for the 3pm showing at Paragon. With about 3 hours to spare we went to the food court and ate some amazing Japanese food - everything was so good!! The film was brilliant - and the cinema was amazing!! We got huge armchairs and blankets and pillows and a drink before the film! Afterwards we met up with Pippa and her brother Non for a few drinks, and didn't actually get home until about 2am...

The next day we woke up at the early hour of about 2pm... and went to Marks and Spencers to buy Christmas biscuits!! Money well spend I say, we bought loads of lovely things including Ginger Snaps which I am probably too excited about! We then went to Tawang Deng German Farang bar/brewery where there were loads of performances like a cabaret - it was brilliant and the acts were all really good! Definitely like to go there again sometime!

The next day we went across the river on a boat to an Italian restaurant which was really nice, was nice to eat some Indian food! We then went to the bus station and met with Pippa around 5.30pm to get the bus back to Na Kae.

It was a brilliant trip!

I'd like to add that I have never seen so many fish on a bus before. Actually I've never seen any I don't think! You know how on long distance buses there are compartments for big luggage? Well, on our bus there were compartments for luggage, and a compartment dedicated solely to Pippa's fish. She buys and sells beautiful fish, and had loads of huge bags of them!

The coming week at school we have sports day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday which should be fun, and on Thursday there is a ceremony for sports day at the school and we've been told that we'll have to get up at about 4am to get all dressed up for it!