The evening of February 4th I boarded a mini-bus bound for Bangkok with a few students and fellow teachers. The purpose of our trip was to attend a science fair and support the students who had gone down ahead of us with their science projects. We arrived at the out skirts of Bangkok around 4:45am on the 5th and stopped at a rest stop to get dressed for the day's activities (students in school uniforms and teachers in pink Wangasae shirts.) We ate a quick breakfast and then headed to the science fair, housed in a colossal convention center in the industrial district of Bangkok. We wondered the science fair for hours, waiting for it to finish so we could pack up our school's projects and head to the Amphawa floating markets. My roommates, Yout and Pom, kept telling me to "Put more make-up on so you look beautiful". Apparently I looked too tired and this was somehow unacceptable. My excuse of waking up at 4:45 and not having any coffee were not accepted and I kept being led to the "hong nam" (bathroom) to reapply concealer to my dark circles, though eventually I just started pouting and refused to do what they asked saying "in America I only put makeup on once a day!".
Finally we packed up and headed to Amphawa, home to a beautiful floating night market and numerous fireflies. We stayed in a "home stay" and had a total of four rooms for 33 people…needless to say the sleeping arrangements were a little cramped. We wandered the night market and ate dinner on the steps to the canals, food served to us from small canoe-like boats floating in the gentle water. As dark fell we boarded several wooden, motorized boats to take a ride through the canals and search for fireflies. We followed the shoreline closely and were rewarded with the sight of trees filled with fireflies, they flickered to some unheard rhythm and many of my students pointed and yelled, "Teacher, Christmas tree!!" I had never seen so many fireflies congregated in one spot before, it was beautiful. Unfortunately I was unable to take get any pictures of the sight as my flash disrupted the bugs and without it all you could see was darkness.
I had been under the impression that we would be staying in the Bangkok area for two days but unsurprisingly plans changed (a common occurrence here in Thailand where the idea of a hard schedule or consistent plan seems not to exist) and no one bothered to fill me in. The next morning, we boarded the mini-bus again at 9am and returned home around 1am! Though we did stop along the drive home to view beautiful temples, including one surrounded by fields of sunflowers, it was an incredibly long ride and my large, American behind was rather sore from all that sitting.
On Tuesday the 9th of February I embarked on yet another adventure with my some of my students, a Buddhist retreat. The retreat was to help students learn to be "Good teenagers and Students" and about 150 students participated. The group was made up of the "worst" students (failing grades, poor attendance and those caught drinking and smoking) and the "best" students (members of VSTAR, a student leader group with high grades and stellar records). The badly behaved students made up the majority of the group and I was, needless to say, a little apprehensive and unsure what to expect. We drove for about an hour to a Buddhist temple located on the top of a mountain, it was a small mountain but the views were beautiful nonetheless.
Upon arrival we all changed into all white outfits, a mandatory requirement when you "go to Buddha". We remained at the temple for four days and it was one of the most amazing, exhausting, frustrating and beautiful experiences of my life. Each day consisted of sitting on the floor in a room for periods of 4-5 hours at time. Since there was a figure or Buddha in the front of the room and most lectures were given by monks, we had to keep our feet hidden. This means sitting with your knees bent, feet curled behind you in the "polite position". It may sound like no big deal but I have to tell you I have never had such sore knees in my life! Everything was done in Thai and nothing was explained to me at all, teachers would turn to me and ask "Do you understand?" and I would reply, "No". To which they would just nod and go back to listening. The students, and majority of teachers, woke at 4am everyday for prayers and ate only two meals a day. Each day was strictly structured and the students did not have a single moment of free time until they were released for sleep at 11pm. I found the juxtaposition between Thai and American teens to be shocking, not once did a student complain, talk back, or try to break any of the rules during the four days. I tried to tell them that in America students would never be able to do what they are doing, but they seemed surprised at this and not to understand why.
Some students taking a break to take in the view
The first night we walked in a silent line with candles and incense around the pagodas on the grounds around the temple. It was beautiful and powerful to see everything lit by candle light and hear nothing but the wind and the calls of birds and insects. We ended with prayers and meditation led by the monks and though I didn't speak the language I feel that I still understood.
On our third day at the temple we went for a hike around the mountain. We hiked for 7 kilometers in flip flops over rugged terrain and steep inclines but it was worth it. We stopped for lunch in a cave cut right into the side of the mountain that overlooked the lush surrounding jungle. We continued on after eating and were rewarded by many beautiful vistas. The Monks eventually led us off the path to the foot of a large rock formation where the students were allowed to gather nuts and crack them open with giant rocks for a snack. One of the monks had a great sense of humor and told me this was the "Flintstones" part of the trip, and asked if I had thought I would see cavemen in Thailand. After eating their fill of nuts we climbed the rock formation and were led by the monks in both a walking and sitting meditation.
I enjoyed my time with the Monks immensely. Previously I found the monks I had encountered in Thailand to be very intimidating and unapproachable, a shocking contradiction to my experiences in India. Yet at this temple they were intrigued by me and referred to me as "Kru Farang" (foreign teacher) and sought me out for conversation. I was invited to return to the Temple at any time to be taught the way of Buddha and to teach English to the novice Monks, it was very flattering offer and perhaps one day I will find my way back there. For now I will continue to teach and learn from the students I have come to love at Wangasae and look forward to sharing my next adventure with you all.
