Suzi, Lauren, Nesrine and I headed to the local temple where all the Saimai residents were out and about, krathongs in hand! Food stands selling everything from dumplings to good ol' meat on a stick lined the streets, loudspeakers had someone jabbering away in Thai (I have no idea what was said there!) and stands selling krathongs made from flowers, bread or anything biodegradable (the Thais are very conscious of global warming) makes this one of the happiest holidays in here.
I had to get myself my own krathong, which cost me nothing (only 20 baht = 60 cents) so I could apologize to the water gods myself, seeing as I am going to be a resident of here for another 4 months! A proper krathong has 4 parts - the boat, incense sticks, at least one candle and a coin (usually 1 or 5 baht - the water gods can clearly be bought with money). Here is me floating my krathong along the canal!
However, the best part about Loy Krathong is not the boats or the meat on a stick or even the fried bananas (which are delish - you must try!). The best part about Loy Krathong is the week's festivities leading up to the holiday, which at Sarasas Witaed Saimai School includes kindergarten beauty pageants, dance competitions (including a teacher skit featuring moi) and an all-school beauty pageant. Oh yes, let the good times roll!The week started off like any other although Loy Krathong fever was in the air. Walking around school, I caught peeks of On (a Thai teacher who is fabulously gay) teaching kindergarteners how to walk in high heels about 10 sizes too big for them, young girls practicing their singing for another upcoming competition and girls trying on their beautiful Thai silk outfits for the pageant. (***Note: These Thai silk dresses and skirts are absolutely gorgeous!) I just knew I was going to like Loy Krathong.
Finally, Friday hit - the big day. Unfortunately, the school also decided Friday would a good day to ship me off to the Ministry of Labour (to pick up my work permit) then shuffle me over to Immigration, where I had to update my visa status. So, needless to say, I was a bit crushed because I missed most of the Loy Krathong activities. However, I arrived back at school just after lunchtime to catch the results of the all-school beauty pageant for grades 1-3! Yes! Dolled in their Thai silk, ornate headdresses and slathered with make-up, these girls looked like little dolls up onstage. Take a look for yourself!
Pimmada (the little girl who I hang out with on Wednesday nights) won 3rd runner-up, then Pichada (the girl who's mom picks us up to bring us to school every morning) won the entire thing, so my girls did me proud! They were so cute!On Friday night, I also performed in a small teacher skit at a local university which was holding a dance competition for Loy Krathong. So, right smack dab in the middle of beautiful Thai dancing as well as more modern dancing (just like out of a U.S. dance recital), I performed a small skit about Loy Krathong in front of hundreds of people! The funny part is it was more of a advertisement for the school more than anything else, but I think I definitely got my big break. The scouts are calling me non-stop now - Hollywood here I come!
Okay, maybe not, but the good news is that even though I won't be starring in any major movies anytime soon, I get paid on Friday, and I got my 12 mile run out of the way this morning. So, things are looking up regardless. My life is going get a lot more interesting on the blog once I get paid, promise! Alright, well time to head out but I hope all is well back home and take care everyone. Happy Loy Krathong!
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