Wai Kru 2557

Today was the third Thursday of the school year- Wai Kru at Mathayom! They've been practicing the ceremony for over a week, and the students have been working hard with their homeroom classes to create elaborate flower arrangements to present to the headmistress at the morning ceremony. Yesterday I stayed late at my office for my extra tutoring job. As I was leaving, I ran into my friend and coworker, James (who has been here for four years now and is definitely seen as more of a Thai teacher than an "ajarn farang"). He had been asked to help judge the students' flower arrangements, and I tagged along to check them out in the administration office.

each homeroom presented a flower arrangement

This type of flower arrangement is a very symbolic Thai art form and very closely tied with the culture. Each of the flowers represents different qualities that the students hope to attain. The pink flowers symbolize learning, the purple flowers represent respect and devotion to teachers, and the orange ones symbolize knowledge. I'm sure the other flowers are rich in symbolism too, but that's all that James and I were able to gather from the written presentations of the arrangements.

some of my favorite arrangements

Although the ceremony was the same, things were different this year. I'm no longer a temporary visiting teacher- this year I'm a full teacher. Now Ryan and I have school blazers too, just like James and Geoffrey (only teachers who stay for more than a year are allowed to wear the school crest). 

This year they sat the foreign teachers on the second row, directly behind the headmistress, the principal of Mathayom, and the other important ladies. I felt very honored this year.

English Department

This morning at the start of the ceremony Ajarnyai (our headmistress) approached the stage while all the teachers stood to wai her. She said a quiet prayer and lit candles at the school's alter. Then the music began and the class leaders, a boy and a girl from each of the eighteen homerooms, came forward to present the flower arrangements. Next, alumni approached the stage in waves to wai to their former teachers and set down flower garlands and bouquets down on the stage at our feet. Next, each of the homerooms came forward to do the same. Every student at least had a garland to present. By the end of the ceremony, the stage was covered in piles of sweet-smelling flowers.

garlands at the English office

The students brought garlands to our office as well to give to us. The flowers made the office smell really nice, and it definitely makes us feel appreciated, especially when the students specifically seek us out to give them to us. As I was walking back to my office after visiting the school store to buy a notebook, some of my students called my name, "Michael!" They ran towards me to give me some garlands. The song, music, and ceremony are all really beautiful, really representative of Thai culture. It's days like this that make me stop to really consider whether or not I'll be convinced to stay on for a third year here...

*Note: Thailand follows the solar Buddhist calendar which marks the date in years since Siddharta Gautama Buddha's death, making it the year 2557 BE (Buddhist Era). I've had to get used to writing this date.