Okay so there is a lot that has happened and is going on.
Starting where I left of I went to live with Paa duk and had a very nice time. She made dinner every evening (mostly very simple Thai dishes) which were delicious. And a lot of Thai fruits. I also went out to eat with her, her friend and her friends daughter (the one in the picture) and it was very fun.
Now I already moved in with my new host family. It consists of someone in my grade (not class) and her aunt. To be honest I will really need to get used to everything first.
Even at school there were so many events. So first of all the German TA (teaching assistant) arrived and we get along greatly. It is really nice to have another German here. And she is only 18 so there isn't too big of an age gap.
Us after learning Thai dance
There were also multiple events in the last 2 or 3 weeks but I don't know if have mentioned some already. First of all there was Science day. During the morning ceremony we had a fashion show for dresses out of recycled materials. All of those kinds of contests work the same way. Our school is represented by 5 colors and each of those colors chooses their representatives. My color is green and actually my class made the dress for our color. We ended up receiving the 2nd place.
Then in the afternoon there was the science fair. You could participate in games or learn things or both combined. Either way there was one of those don't touch the wire thingies and I actually got the main price (you had 1 extra life) so now I'm the owner of a cute little teddy bear.
The next event that there was was something that was super fun but I also don't really know what the event was for. Each class opened their own little shop in the dome where the morning ceremony is held and they all sell different things. Some sell drinks some snack and some sweets. It was fun to go around and try some. There was also a talent show. It started of by small groups performing dances they had studied beforehand. They were all either Thai or Korean. Then there was a random play dance (very fun to watch) before having a small band playing there.
Now for the things that I'm 100% sure occurred during the last week:
We had the volleyball championship which our school hosted. It is extremely popular and when you had time between classes you would often go there and watch. Our school only has a male volleyball team though (Iris and I are trying to join them once a week). Apparently they made it to the finals but I don't actually know who won.
Then there was also the Mr/Mrs/trans universe. It followed the same color system as the fashionshow only that this time every color was represented by 3 people, one for each category. The started of by dancing and having a small catwalk before ending with a speech. It was very entertaining.
Then there was also some kind of language event which Iris, the German TA (aka Paula) and I had to join. Somehow we were told we should sing a Song infront of those people there. Tbh I'm not a Fan of that kind of situation which you can definitely see in the pictures our coordinator sent us.
Oh and we will get another exchange student next week from America. I believe his name is Owell. And he is actually going to be in my class because our coordinator thought that 6th grade isn't actually the best place for an exchange student. But I guess we will have to wait because it might still change. I also found out that I have to do a speech infront of the whole school that I was actually supposed to do when I arrived (and I thought I had escaped😭😭). That speech will be infront of the over 3000 students and the teachers of our school so wish me good luck.
As he is in my class he shares the same schedule as me so I will drag him around the whole school for at least the first 2 weeks.
But all of the weren't the weirdest things that happened this week. The weirdest thing is that I actually made it on the Thai news. Apparently a super popular Thai news website published something about our school's toilets and then some reporters showed up for interviews and pictures/videos. Me and Paula also had to participate because in Thailand schools love to show of and showing that you have a foreigner at your school is apparently a very big thing. In the end the both of us felt very over represented.
If I don't forget it here is the link to the news video:
Now there was also something else that happened that I definitely see as a Culture shock. One morning during the morning ceremony we were told to make sure to not make mistakes or things that are looked down upon while wearing the school uniform. Apparently there were 2 young students seen going on a date while wearing the school uniform. Someone took a picture of them and published it and then it was shown in the news.
In Thailand elementary/middle school/high school students are not really supposed to date, at least on the opinion of many older people.
As to what that has to do with the school uniform. The school is afraid of people having a bad impression of it and wants to keep its face which is super important in Thai culture.
Now today is Sunday. Yesterday my new host family and I traveled to a place near Pattaya. We went swimming and I actually had a lot of fun. We went to the resort with friends of my host aunt.
About the swimming it was super fun. My host sister and I saw 2 guys playing some kind of game with a football so we went to ask them if we could join. In the end we played multiple games in the water and it was really fun.
Next week I have some events as well so see you!
Oh and maybe I will also write about the culture shocks I experienced
Oh right and I don't remember if I already said it but I actually met an exchange student who originally comes from Japan. She was in Thailand 4 years ago and returned for the first time. She is now an AFS teamer. She is really really friendly!
And I still really don't like taking photos of myself
Also I kept my promise of an update a week. It's still sunday
Comments