Long Time Coming + Loy Krathong

I recently received a letter from my grandpa that mentioned that he hadn't heard from me on the blog in awhile, from which he assumed I was insanely busy and unable to write.  That is incredibly true.  I have been wildly busy at work, often coming home late and resorting to stupid television because my brain was so worn out.  However, since I love getting mail (I think I get more mail abroad than at home) and love my grandpa, I wanted to put out a blog or two about what has been happening.

Let's see.... where to begin.

Well, I have taken over a grade 8 humanities classroom, teaching population geography, human rights, and migration, something that is right up my alley.  It has taken me a bit of time to get it all together, with the IB framework and the like.  However, I love it.  I love teaching the content and really enjoy seeing firsthand what a teacher is required to do in this type of classroom.  I'm getting to know the kids in grade 8 (more on that later) and getting a feel for what these kids can do.  It is incredibly valuable experience, and the opportunity arose when a coworker decided to leave school to take care of some personal business.  Right now I'm teaching population, and will love going into the next unit, about migration.  I knew that one day my sociology degree would come in handy.

That's the busy part; there was one week where I was looking for things every night until late.  I'm still searching for interesting takes on migration, on aid, on human rights, through TED talks and the like, but I enjoy the topic so much that none of it is a challenge.  I'm thrilled to be working on this.

Amidst this teaching, I'm still trying to stay on top of the librarian thing.  It is so much more my passion, and what I'm always trying to incorporate into the school.  To that end, just a week or two ago (I've lost all track of the time), I ran a research based meeting for all the teachers.  I was anxious the whole time, because it has always been difficult for me to speak in front of my peers, but the meeting went off without a hitch.  Honestly, I was proud of the work that I did and the learning that took place under my guidance.  I'm working on an application to be a workshop leader for the IB as well, and this was a trial run.  I'm quite excited.  What a way to learn about my craft with other librarians from other schools.   More details to follow as available.

How about culture, life, etc etc etc?

My Krathong, which I bought from the lovely woman who
sells ice cream from a shop near my house.

There was a festival not long ago called Loy Krathong.  From what I could tell, it is incredibly similar to Cambodia's Water Festival, one of my favorite holidays.  There were lanterns lit and small boats of banana leaves with candles and incense and a coin for luck set out into the lake or the river.

I really enjoyed myself.  I started out with some Japanese food at one of my favorite restaurants, Kyoto.  I actually ran into one of my coworkers there, Rich, and his wife Sapai, and their son Isaac.  Isaac is hilarious; he only smiles at strangers once in awhile, and he's finally warming up to me.

At the lake in my village, getting ready to set it afloat.

I went down to the lake to enjoy the atmosphere a bit, had an ice cream from the truck, and then lit my incense and set my boat afloat.  It's such a spiritual ceremony.  I saw a lot of families praying and setting their little Krathong afloat.  It's lovely, really, seeing all the boats and their candles and the glow of the incense on the lake.  Plus, unlike Cambodia, most of the Krathong are made with banana leaves as a base, meaning that the majority of the materials would be safe to leave in the water.  Our village cleaned up the lake afterward, but if that wasn't possible, it was generally no problem.

Kim releasing a lantern to help a guy struggling in the street.

I ran into Kim and his family, so we went to have a beer together at a local restaurant and sat and enjoyed the lake side view.  We saw lots of lanterns, lots of people enjoying the evening with their families, and generally just had a good time.  Kim even helped a struggling guy release his lantern.

Apparently, the lanterns were banned this year though.  Obviously that is completely enforced.  I wanted to try my hand with a lantern, so I bought one from a local vendor and tried to set it afire near to the lake (in much the same place as the picture).

Look at that beautiful lantern!

However, being the tall white woman that I am, I was stopped mid fire from my lantern releasing activities by a Thai policeman.  It is shockingly difficult to handle these lanterns.  They are made from a really delicate paper and have the fire source attached at the bottom with thin wire.  It was really hard to handle on my own, so the guy that sold it came across the street to help me.  When the cop stopped my fun time, the guy said something to the effect of, "Aw, come on, she's a foreigner."  I still don't speak Thai, but that's the jist that I got from him.  The cop smiled at me, patted out my fire, and I left uneventfully.  I did notice the plethora of English speakers, telling me that it was against the law and the cop was just doing his job.  I'm still unsure what to make of that, but that's the story.

I bought some sparklers and decided to give them to the
Buddha that I keep in my garden, watching over all the plants.

So, I went home (with my big paper lantern hanging off my bicycle), and lit my lantern with Rizza.  She didn't participate much, or hold the lantern while I lit it like I asked, but she was there, and I celebrated all my worries and cares floating into the air.

Then, I lit some sparklers and gave them to Buddha.

It was a pretty eventful Thursday.