Graduation Day

Graduation day has been and gone, and now I am officially on school holiday. If the school needs me now, too bad. So long, see ya in May. I'm off to Krabi and I'm totally in vacation mode! I've put in a lot of time and hard work this past month, and now I'm ready to relax.

*********************************************************************************

Just like last year, graduation was an all-day affair. The morning was spent hanging out in the office. I tidied up my desk and packed all my books away in the cabinet underneath. After lunch we were rounded up and herded down into the assembly hall. Kate and Kaylon, our teacher from the Vocational campus, were taken away to sit with the other new teachers, while James, Geoffrey, Ryan, and I were seated with the old teachers. Our seats were actually very good- row six!

Looking around the room, I was once again impressed with how elegant and well-dressed all the hi-society Thais are. The assembly hall was a sea of purple silk, and it seemed that all the elegant ladies were competing to see who could get the most volume out of their hair.

"Miss Courtesy's hair is looking especially big today", Ryan whispered to me. She's the one who trains the students on royal etiquette and protocol. That's not her real name, but that's Geoffrey's nickname for her, and that's how I've learned who she is.

It's true though. All the young ladies had their hair in tight braids on their heads, but the older women were actually defying gravity with their hairstyles, teachers and parents alike. I have no idea how much hairspray is used at a function like this, but I have to imagine that it certainly isn't helping the ozone hole any. I think that in Thailand, the volume of a lady's hair is an indicator of her social position, and Ryan swears they some of them put pads in their hair to make it look bigger.

As for us, Ryan, James, Geoffrey, and I wore our school blazers. This year we wore purple ties, and I was happy to get the chance to wear the lapel pin which the school had presented to me earlier in the year.

The ceremony began. There is a lot of ceremony that goes on at a function like this, and I didn't understand most of it. I was proud to be able to understand quite a lot of the awards though, and it was nice to see which of my students had won prizes and who had made the top GPA's of the year.

Afterwards, the important VIPs all dined together on the lawn. We teachers got boxed lunches and drinks served by M4 and M5 students. There was some Thai music as entertainment, and we wandered around a bit talking to students before retiring up to our office.

By around 7:30 it was all over. After everything was finished, my friends went to say goodbye to our department head and the head of academic affairs (the former department head). Then, with one last look around the office, we left. For my friends Ryan and Kate, it was the final goodbye. 

I love my job. I'm so happy to be staying on for a third year. But now it's vacation time.