Overnight Camp and Flight Attempts

This weekend, we had something very cool called overnight camp. Just like it sounds, the students in grades 1-4 stayed at school on Friday and left on Saturday morning. We decided on a pirate theme, which was very fun. The students seemed to enjoy all of our costumes!

The afternoon started off with splitting the grades into four house teams and rotating them through various activities. I was able to stay with one group, and thus was able to experience tent making attempts, rope tying, pirate scarves and eye patches, and dramatizations. We broke halfway through for dinner, which was fried chicken and really, really yummy! Of course, I ate it like a pirate. Arrgh!

After the activities, we grouped all of the kids in front of a big bonfire. I have to tell you, bonfires are not nearly as much fun when it is hot and humid. We gave the flames a pretty wide berth. The students were then treated to a performance by a visiting high school group from Virginia, complete with singing, dramatization, and testimonies. It felt a little weird that I wasn’t in Mexico while I was watching it, to be honest.

The bonfire was then split into four smaller fires over which the students cooked hotdogs and marshmallows. It was very sticky. Once we had them all hyped up on sugar, we had a dance party. Around fires. In the heat and humidity. Needless to say, we all got pretty sweaty, but it was so much fun that I don’t think anyone really cared.

When we figured the kids were as exhausted as we could get them, we herded them off to bed. I stayed with the first and second grade girls. We put on a movie that turned out to be Cinderella and then the Wizard of Oz, which was dubbed over into Thai, of course. I also learned that the Thai name for the Wizard of Oz is a word that means “wish.” Interesting.

After getting about 4 hours of broken sleep, we herded the kids into the cafeteria for breakfast, which was rice and chicken soup. It actually wasn’t too bad. At least the apples were delicious! We played a few more games, this time I led an activity with hula hoops, and then sent the kids home. The only disappointing thing was that there was supposed to be ice cream, but there was a miscommunication, so we didn’t have any. Fortunately, I had some stashed in my apartment. Yes!

Unsurprisingly, I slept for the rest of the day.

Sunday, I got ready to go to church in Bangkok. My roomie, Eunice, and I were planning to stay downtown as it was her birthday. We were just getting ready to leave when I slipped and fell down the stairs. Fortunately, I was close to the bottom, so I wasn’t too hurt, but I did need a few minutes to recover before I got up. I may have let out a few colorful words as well. We called it my flying attempt, though it was more reminiscent of the Wright Brother’s early years than their later ones. Hey, with a little practice, I just might make it one day.

After church, Eunice, Liz, and I went to get lunch and a massage. I got my first Thai massage, and it was amazing. I was pushed, pulled, contorted, walked on, and slapped. I kept wavering between confessing my love for the woman and crying out why she was torturing me. Usually, the two urges were within moments of each other. Although it was a bit painful at times, the end result was utter relaxation. Of course, now I’m a bit sore, but rest and water will clear that up. I’m just really glad she tried to avoid where I had hurt my leg during my flight attempt. The best thing about the massage, though, was that it cost the equivalent of about $10 for an hour. I love Thailand.

After lunch, we decided to go exploring. We really wanted ice cream, so we took a taxi to the Siam Paragon, which is a huge mall. There is even a bottom level aquarium that we’ll have to explore a different day. While we were driving, we passed by a red shirt demonstration. Police were everywhere and traffic was stalled. Not being able to speak Thai or have much time to browse the news has left me severely out of the loop. I had been under the impression that it was dying down, but it looks like it may still be going on. Passing the crowd shortly after seeing one of the buildings that had been bombed really brought home the reality of the situation. I guess I’ll have to keep red and yellow colored clothing tucked away for a bit longer.

The Siam center was amazing. I would never shop there, as it is really expensive, but it was fun to walk around. There was a watch expo going on, so we heard live music and saw lots of corner entertainers, like mimes and jugglers. It was pretty cool.

When we went downstairs to check out the aquarium and see how much it cost to go in, two Thai students snagged us, saying they needed to interview a farang (foreigner). They interviewed Liz, and I filmed them using their Blackberry. It was pretty fun!

By this point, we were exhausted, so we went home. After queuing up, there was a guy with a microphone who announced our destination to the line of taxis as they pulled up. It was interesting. We also learned that coming home from Bangkok is way faster and cheaper than other times when we’ve returned right after church. We may need to repeat the adventure. I know I’m definitely going back for another massage!