Wai Kru Day

Today was Wai Kru Day- Teacher's Day. In Thai, a wai is the respectful bow you give to someone older than you or in a place of authority. Kru means "teacher". Wai Kru is celebrated throughout the country on a Thursday near the start of the school year, and is a special day when the students honor and pay respect to their teachers.

Prathom celebrated Wai Kru last week, but we at Mathayom got our day today. Ryan, Rachel, and I were told to wear our suits. Geoffrey, James, and all the Thai teachers wore school blazers. 

All morning classes were cancelled today because of the ceremony, and I don't have any afternoon classes on Thursdays. That made for a pretty fun and relaxing day at work. Besides that, I got to experience some Thai culture. As Geoffrey said this morning, Thai culture can't help but bring a smile to your face. This is the Land of a Thousand Smiles after all.

The van got us to the school in record time today. I think the driver took a different route than he normally does. The Wai Kru ceremony was in place of morning assembly today, so James, Ryan, Rachel, and I went downstairs at the bell and joined Geoffrey onstage. There were five rows of chairs on the stage. The first was reserved for the head teachers and Geoffrey. We were put on the third row so that we could see better. In all, about fifty teachers sat on the stage, the rest stood throughout the assembly hall.

On a normal morning, the assembly hall is open to the elements, with fans going to try to fight the oppressive heat and humidity. Today however, the doors and windows were all closed, and the air conditioning was running full blast! Every student was carrying garlands and bouquets of tropical flowers, giving the whole hall a floral aroma.

When everyone was seated, the head teacher kneeled at the alter and lead the students in their morning prayers. Then she said a few words before the ceremony really kicked off.

While musicians along the side of the hall played festive Thai music on drums and some sort of wooden xylophone, rows of students approached the stage and bowed, placing piles of flowers in front of us. It's amazing how much the students here respect their teachers. Although I have a very friendly and casual relationship with my students, many of them still wai when they see me in the hall, and every one of them will bow whenever accepting anything I hand them (such as a worksheet, book, or graded homework).

After the students had presented their flowers, many former students approached the stage and added their flowers to the pile. Once everyone had placed their flowers on the stage, all the students stood and sang the Wai Kru song. I could only pick up a few words, but I recognized "kawp kun", thank you, and "kru", teacher.

Then we went back to our office. Even though I've only had a few classes with my students yet, the level of respect they showed to all the teachers was really moving.

The assembly went on until about 10. The festivities didn't stop there though! During lunch they served a tiered tray filled with various small traditional Thai sweets from the students. I don't know what any of them were, but my favorite was this small light spongy ball that tasted a little like honey. At least I could figure out how to eat the dessert today; it's often a challenge. Lately I've been relying on my new Chinese friends to help explain dessert to me.

I didn't have any classes to teach today, but I had some grading to get done. We were working quietly at our desks when there was a knock at the office door. A group of students had come by to give flowers to each one of the English teachers. A little while later, another group came by with more flowers. Throughout the afternoon former students came by to visit their old teachers and give them even more flowers.

Week three has been going really well. I gave my first test on Monday to my M4 Reading class. I am starting to feel like a real teacher!

In other news, our reimbursements came in for our flights and visas! As soon as we got the good news, we made plans to take a vacation. This weekend we are going to the beach! I love Bangkok so far, but it will feel really good to get out of the city for a day or two. Ever since our hasty travel plans were made over text message at work on Monday, I've been really looking forward to the weekend. I just hope it stops raining long enough to enjoy the sun; monsoon season is definitely upon us.

Happy Wai Kru to my mom and all the other teachers out there! Now I really understand how hard you all work. Kawp kun khrap!

Edit: No photos. Sorry! I didn't want to take any pictures during the ceremony.