Ready For Christmas

It's the night before the last day of school this term. All the exams have been taken and graded. Students' spirits are high and they are ready for tomorrow's special events day. I'll be there with antlers on! As excited as the kids are, it's nothing compared to the joy in the hearts of the teachers. No tests - no lesson plans - no faculty meetings. At least not for a little while. In fact, if it weren't for the warm temperatures and the palm trees around the campus, I would think I was still in Tennessee teaching. When in fact I left my hometown of Nashville, TN three months ago. So here I am in Thailand as an English teacher at a trilingual school near Bangkok. And while I thought I'd be writing a lot about how different things are here, I'm finding there are just as many similarities. This last week before the holiday more than proves that. Students are all caught up in the festivities and preparations along with the teachers. All week long decorations have been going up in classrooms and in the courtyard. Today booths and tables were set up for tomorrow's games and activities. Groups were on the stage rehearsing songs and dances. And just like in America, some were seriously working and some were seriously working at just having fun (and if a few things got accomplished along the way, well, that's OK too). So I'm looking forward to tomorrow and promise to take lots of notes (and pictures if I can)and report back here over the weekend.