Thailand is a Buddhist country, but Thai people love Christmas. At the beginning of December, businesses in Central Bangkok started stringing up lights and decorating tinsel trees around their offices. At school, the students hung tinsel and put up a small tree in the English Program office. Every morning Christmas music blares from the school speaks before classes begin. Despite the Thais effort it definitely doesn’t feel like Christmas. At first I thought it was because it was so hot outside. But being away from home as taught me that Christmas is synonymous with family. I can’t help but think about all the sappy Christmas movies where the moral is about the importance of family and blah, blah, blah. Well folks, it is all true. Christmas isn’t Christmas without your family! So who better than to spend the day with than my Thai family?
My Christmas festivities started on the 23rd with a Christmas party at the school. The English Program had a full Thai lunch for us to celebrate the holidays. No Thai celebratory meal would be complete without some tom yom (spicy seafood soup), fried rice, chicken wings and some chicken thing. In Thailand I am always wary of any food that is red. Red usually means spicy. This particular chicken thing had visible chilies. I steered clear of that. And for dessert? Green noodles with a very sugary syrup covered with ice. I tried my hardest to get out of the party before dessert came around. I have not been very impressed with the Thai sweets. Fortunately, I had an out. Class at 11:30. At 11:25, I started to make my exit when the other teachers stopped me. “Teacher! Where you going?” “Class for 5th period.” “It’s ok! You can be late. Have some Thai dessert.” I choked down those sweet, green noodles and rolled into class 15 minutes late. The students didn’t mind.
Ajan P.E. (I actually know her name. It is Sujet. But she epitomizes the classic PE teacher. Short hair, sweat pants, polo and really tanned skin. The students love her. And so do I) gave me a little present for Christmas. She has been my mentor thus far since I am the health teacher for the entire English Program. She gave me the perfect gift- coconut water and chocolate cake. How did she know? I have been raving about coconut water since I got to Thailand. Anyone who knows me knows about my feelings for chocolate.
On Christmas Eve, I treated myself to Korean barbeque. Basically you order several different types of meat and you cook it yourself on a portable grill. You can order pork, beef, chicken, shrimp, bacon, squid, mushrooms, fish, everything. The meat is marinated and served with a SPICY and GARLICY sauce. I love it. Unfortunately, what I can order is limited to what I can say in Thai. Muu, gai and bla it is! (Pork, chicken and fish). Later in the evening I went out to a bar with some of the teachers from Satriwittaya 2. It was a fun, relaxing evening.
At 12:00 am, (according to June, not what she meant) I was picked by my Thai family on Christmas Day. We went to the tallest building in Bangkok. I think there was like 1 million floors. Or 84. The plan was to eat Christmas lunch at the international buffet. But many people had the same idea. The restaurant was filled to the brim so my host Dad made the executive decision to move the family down a floor. To the Chinese buffet. In true “A Christmas Story” fashion I dined on Chinese duck on the 79th floor of a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. Turned out to be just like the movies after all!
Picture: Sign at the front of my school
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