Loy Kratong!

Hello!
We are in the midst of celebrating Loy Kratong here in Thailand! Loy Kratong is a festival that happens during the full moon in November. It started a long time ago in Sukhothai (where I am!) and is meant to honor the goddess of water. Wednesday is the main day of celebration, but today and tomorrow there are also dance performances, parades, and light shows. Many of my students are performing in these celebrations both in Sawankhalok (my town) and in Sukhothai (30 km away). They have been practicing for a while, and I'm excited to accompany them to Sukhothai on Wednesday to watch and partake in the festivities. Loy Kratong means "to float" a Kratong and a Kratong is a little raft made of banana leaves or something else about the size of your hand. You decorate the Kratong with flowers, candles, incense, etc. and then you put it in a river (or other water way) and let it float away.

Other than that, I am doing great! I had a wonderful weekend - On Friday, right after school, I played table tennis with some of my students. They are awesome players - think Forrest Gump style! Then I biked to a pool about 3km from my house and swam some laps. The pool is beautiful and outdoors so I love going on a particularly clear day because you can watch the sun set while you're swimming! On Saturday I went to town for the Saturday market. I bought some kanohms (sweet snacks!) and wandered around. I ran into two of my students from the M.3/2 (ninth grade) class and they invited me to join them for lunch! That made my day!

Saturday evening I met up with two other Americans who just arrived to teach at Sawanan Wittaya school. They are from New Orleans, LA. They cooked a delicious shrimp creole!

Sunday was full of cleaning and organizing my house - which was very necessary! And then in the evening I joined some students to play basketball!

On another note, I have some very random tidbits of information I have been meaning to share with you:

Rubber Bands: based on my experiences so far in Thailand, you never have to look far to find a rubber band. They are everywhere! Most food - especially if you're getting it to-go - comes in a plastic bag tied with a rubber band. It is great to know I won't have to go far to find a rubber band, particularly when I forget a hairband.

Straws: similar to the rubber bands, straws are all over! People pretty much use a straw when they drink anything - even beer! If you go to a 7 -11 and buy a bottle of water, they hand you a straw at the check out. The other day, a student gave me a beautiful star like thing that she had created from a straw. I guess they have many uses?!

Motorcycles: for every car you see in Sawankhalok, you see at least three motorcycles. Almost all of my students, especially the older ones, drive their motorcycles to school. I have to watch where I'm walking before and after school so I avoid getting hit! There doesn't seem to be a law about how old you have to be to drive - some of my seventh and eighth grade students definitely come by motorcycle too. Crazy!

I hope you enjoyed those random observations! I will try to load some pictures soon! Maybe I will get some nice ones from Loy Kratong!

Love,
Kate