No photos for this post; you'll need to use your imagination.
Imagine me strolling home from school this afternoon. Ahead is the skyline of Wat Sala Daeng's red roof, green palm trees, fluffy white clouds and brilliant blue sky. To my left is the now-familiar canal, Khlong Phatom. To my right is a lush wilderness of palms, banana trees, vines, flowers. Behind me are my four student gift-carriers, helping me to haul the myriad presents from students, teachers, and departments.
My head and heart are full to bursting with well-wishes and images of the events of the day.
The courtyard backdrop was yellow, with a huge white "Sue Richardson" (written in English) flanked by an elephant holding the Thai flag on the left and the Statue of Liberty on the right. Our normal assembly was followed by the chance for me to say a few words (in English and in Thai), and then a drama and a dance performance in my honor.
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From there we went upstairs to the auditorium, where M 4-5-6 (10th, 11th, 12th grades) gave their special presentations. There was a fascinating rendition of Cinderella, written and acted by the students of 4/1. The stepmother and stepsisters were elegantly dressed in Japanese kimonos, the guards bowed low on their knees to king and queen before delivering the invitations to the ball, and again before taking the shoe around for its fitting. The dancers at the ball wore shimmery mini-skirts and high heels, danced to rock music. The guards were called "guardians" and our fairy godmother was an "angel". Great fun to watch--
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Then came another dance performance; this time I was invited to participate, had a very handsome young dance partner. Songs: Hungry Man's blues (written by His Majesty King Bhumibol of Thailand), Shanana, Pretty Boy. And then I sang two duets--the Thai national anthem and our March Dipangkorn. The whole student body joined us.
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All day long I was invited to be in photos, given good wishes for my travels around Thailand and back to the US, and generally adored. After lunch we AFSers were invited to the home-ec department where we learned to make palm-tree fishes and coconut cream on sweet purple gelatin dessert--delicious. Walking across the school courtyard at the end of the day, I was greeted by a group of students with a request: Ajahn Wichai said we could get extra points if we speak English to you. They all had the same basic message: my name is__; my friends call me__; my birthday is___; I like football (science, Manchester United, etc.); I am __ years old. One was teased by his friends because his English spiel was too short. He stammered, at a loss for words, then finally beamed: "I love you, Teacher Sue!" Okay, that will get you some extra points.
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Tomorrow I head for Ayuttaya, where I'll take a ten-day Thai massage course. The semester is over; I still have another month in Thailand, so stay tuned...-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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