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!