Sports Day

It is not what you are thinking. No wheelbarrow or three-legged races where students when cheap 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place ribbons. Sports Day in Thailand is an elaborate event designed, developed and delivered by the students. Preceding the event, all I had heard was that it was "fun" and that I needed to wear my red teacher shirt. On Friday morning, I put on that red shirt and headed to Sattriwittaya 2 where students had started preparations for the day as early as 5 am.

The day began with a bang. Literally. They shot off one of those start guns used for track races. Teachers got a free breakfast which included hot Ovaltine (yes, you heard me right) and a corn cake wrapped in banana leaves. Not the worst breakfast I have ever had in Thailand. I settled into my seat to watch the students march onto the track.

Each class is placed onto a team- Blue, Orange, Pink, Green or Yellow- each team has their own shirt and their own theme. My homeroom was on the blue team, so I appropriately painted my nails blue. The students appreciated it.

After honoring the King, his mother and the Queen each team marched onto the track. High school students were wearing elaborate (and revealing) costumes and the middle school students were following behind them doing some sort of cheer/step/march. The students were perfectly in sync. I was quite impressed. Once all the teams had marched onto the field, the high schoolers took over. Students performed dances to unedited American Hip Hop songs. (Think of high school girls wearing show girl costumes and a couple boys in drag dancing to "Shots" by LMFAO featuring Lil Jon)

Once the ceremony was over, it was time for the sports. Normally, the students would have been played in various games all semester and the final matches would have been played on Sports Day. However with the delay of school because of the flooding, Sports Day was diminished to just track and swimming. All the other students had to earn points by cheering for their respective colors.

So I am thinking Manual pep rally, whoever screams "Give me a red red red!" the loudest wins . No. These students have practiced complex, highly structured cheers equipped with props and intricate hand movements. It was incredible. I sat there thinking about how American students would never ever ever (newa ewa ewa) practice cheers after school just to sit in the heat all day watching a few of their classmates run around a track.

The games lasted all day but the farang teachers were able to sneak away at 3 pm. Not a bad way to end 2011.

Photos: The orange students marching during the opening ceremony. Student dressed in a traditional Thai costume.