School Football

Very little school work actually gets done during the second semester, particularly in the fourth quarter. The end of January was quickly upon us, and that meant... school Football! 

Chitralada (royal yellow and blue) and Satitchula School (pink) teams

When Satitchula School (our rival) won last year, the students were disappointed, but not too upset. Chitralda, being a much smaller school, loses almost every year. This year the game was on home turf at the Vocational Campus (in front of the Throne Hall on the corner of Chitralda Palace grounds and the main campus, and just past the Marble Temple). The students had to walk down the block to get there, but we teachers got to take school vans. 

Satitchula School presented a Chinese lion dance in the opening ceremonies last year, and this year, since our school was hosting, our students put on a show too. Although it was Tuesday (pink day) we were absolutely forbidden from wearing pink; that's the other team's color! Instead we were told to wear blue to support our team.

Chitralada school colors, yellow and blue, at the opening ceremony

Surprisingly, Chitralada was ahead 1-0 at the end of the first half. Oak, the boy who kicked what would end up being the winning goal, was carried off the field with an injured back, but Karn, the goalie from my M5 class didn't let any balls in, and our school ended up taking home the trophy!

Being on home turf actually give us a decent advantage; Satitchula Field is made of astroturf, which makes the ball move much faster. Our field is real grass, and our players are more used to playing on a field where they have more traction and control.

team huddle with the Throne Hall in the background

Oak has become quite the school hero. The day after the big win, the head of Mathayom gave a big speech at morning assembly congratulating the team. Then Prim, the head girl, gave another speech before the team captain and Karn took the stage. Poor Oak was dragged up as well, back brace and all.

For the next week, Oak had to be pushed around in a wheelchair. His homeroom classroom is on the fourth floor of one of the academic buildings (which incidentally has no elevator), and it's up and down stairs every day for all of us. To accommodate him, he and his class stayed in the student canteen, and all his teachers had to come to him. I think he quite enjoyed the attention.