Special Days, Special Reunions, and a Special Announcement

As I'm sure you're fully aware of by now, Thailand and my school in particular likes it parties; any excuse to throw a celebration that uses more money than sense, Assumption will jump to the chance (no offense). The last week of January saw my week cut short once more, due to a weekend-long event called ACN night(s) and cancelled lessons in the week for preparation. This event, which was essentially a glorified parents evening, was a dinner party that showcased traditional Thai dances from every class in Assumption and boy, did Assumption put on a show. With each seat being sold at 400 baht (£8), I estimated that the school must have made close to 3 million baht (£60,000) from both nights.

Pop Duo Four-Mod.

Bie The Star!

The stage was extravagant, the costumes even more so. The school really spared no expense (haven't I mentioned that already?!) into putting on this show. As fun as it was to see, it did mean our weekend was cut short as we had to 'work' both nights; i.e. stand there looking pretty so the parents could see the Foreign Teachers. But, it was made worthwhile as we got to see our students perform and show off how talented they all are. In addition to the kids performing, we were treated to some special performances from some famous Thai singers. I didn't quite realise how famous they actually were until everyone just went CRAZY for them. The first night was pop-duo Four-Mod, who according to Wikipedia, had a string of number 1 hits back in the mid to late-2000s. Their style of music was very bubblegum Pop-esque(?), but it was fun to see how excited everyone around us were to see them. Mr. Jon especially took a liking to one of the girls, Mod (trying to get a seflie with them didn't quite go to plan).

That night, I was told that if I "thought they were big stars, wait until tomorrow", when Bie (the Star) performed. Bie came 2nd in the third season of Thailand's version of the X-Factor known as "The Star" (that's where the name comes from) back in 2006. And, as is true for our talent shows too, the runner up usually fares better than the winner, which is exactly the case here. As well as starring on Thai stage and screen, he has also been named as one of the most influential people in Thailand. I also found out that he went to Assumption's sister school in Chiang Mai where he was raised which was pretty cool. His debut single "I Need Somebody" drew the biggest cheers that night, and was my favourite song of his (due to it being the only one with English lyrics...). Overall, it was a fantastic experience and something I felt blessed to be a part of...when will that ever happen again?

Some of my students performing at ACN Night.

Normality resumed after that night (which at Assumption means I only missed maybe one or two classes that week), until I found out that one of my old camp friends, Kayley (aka Nimbus) would be in Bangkok that upcoming weekend! I had not seen her since the summer of 2011 but we worked together at summer camp way back in 2010. So that Friday, I took the normal bus down to Bangkok (where they played Final (bloody) Destination as the on-board movie...um NO.) and stayed with Grit for the night before reuniting on the Saturday. It was such a surreal feeling seeing her again and it almost felt like we had never been away from camp. We spent all afternoon reminiscing on good times from Sealth and what we had been getting up to since then over some delicious food at this amazing Vegetarian and Mediterranean restaurant called Seven Spoons (check it out on TripAdvisor!).  I had a balsamic honey and pulled pork sandwich (okay, neither Vegetarian OR Mediterranean) but it was some of the best food I've had in Thailand and only 240B (just under £5). Our reunion took us once again to Chatuchak Weekend Market but had to unfortunately be cut short so I could make my way back to Korat for a friends birthday. It was great to see you, Nimbus! All the best on your future travels and endeavours.

Camp Sealth Reunion in Bangkok!

When I got back, I had realised that this week would bring yet even more cancelled classes due to special events being held by Secondary 2 and 3. On Monday, Secondary 3 had some sort of integrated learning day...which to me just looked like a chance to make a bunch of Papaya Salad and play games. I joined them in the afternoon section where they put on a mini-concert. Willing students would come up and perform acoustic Thai songs. This then lead to some of the Thai teachers performing. It was so cool to see but kind of hard to get in to as I didn't understand anything that was being said. However, after one teacher began speaking a bunch of Thai, pointed at me, followed by the whole of the Secondary 3 cheering, I realised that I might have just got roped into something...which turned out to be me singing an English song in front of EVERYONE. After repeatedly telling them that I cannot sing, that excuse wasn't quite good enough and I was asked to sing Ronan Keating's "When You Say Nothing At All" in front of around 250-300 fifteen year olds...dear god. (Thank goodness there is no video evidence...yet)

Assumption has some of their own superstars!

Finally, as I'm writing this, we are approaching the final official week of teaching for this semester. CRAZY RIGHT?! To think, that its been almost 4 months since I first stepped foot in Thailand and now if I wasn't staying, this would be the last time teaching my kids....where has the time gone?
On that note, I would like to announce that I have officially decided to renew my contract and will be continuing to teach at Assumption College Nakhonratchasima for another academic year! (Until end of March 2016). It was a tough decision but I realised that I would regret going home after such a short period of time that way by so incredibly fast. Plus, I am really enjoying my time here in Thailand, have met some of the most amazing people, and I've barely got chance to explore this beautiful country I am in. Finally, this time has been a chance to find myself again, and have a fresh start after what has been a whirlwind of a year. So yeah...get ready for another year of blog posts!