Buddhist Candle Ceremony

On Friday, I (and two other foreign teachers) was invited to participate in the Buddhist Lent Candle Ceremony, attended by the P6 and M1 classes as well as some student representatives from all the other grades. I wasn't really sure what my role was or what I was supposed to do, but I was glad I went. The kids loved it and had a chance to show respect to the Temple and their skills as Thai dancers and musicians, and I was able to take part in a traditional event.







The inside of the temple- or Wat- is quite impressive in many ways. There is some incredibly intricate glasswork on the walls of the buildings and the buildings are so different from anything I've ever seen back home. It was also strange, though- there were vendors of ice cream and coffee inside, and there seemed to be families living inside, and there was a sort of sewage moat running through the back. I'm not entirely sure how a wat is designed, but it seemed to be a funny juxtaposition of beautiful and common.











The students looked amazing in their outfits- it was nice to see them in something other than the Lertlah standard issue uniforms. I had a Saturday class last week so I had seen some of them in "normal" clothing, but I hadn't seen any children in traditional dress yet. The costumes are impressive and bright. I don't know when the students practiced for this event, but the girls were dancing in perfect unison and the boys had obviously learned a piece to play for the procession.
One of my M1 students, Cathy, was dressed like a queen- another from my P1 homework class, was a little princess.

Until next time,
Heather