Sport's Day

Since my beginning days at Sa-nguan Ying, I had been told about Sport's Day. Back in December I experienced mini- Sport's Day and that blew my mind... and that was just a weak preview for the ultimate Sport's Day. But I've been in Thailand for a while now and I'm not as phased by the somewhat ridiculous and over-stimulating things anymore. Sport's Day #2 probably wouldn't be as shocking to me. Also, for Sport's Day #2, the students have been preparing for months- from Day 1 of this semester. Preparation included cheering, dancing, and drum-banging for 12 weeks straight. That's right, every ninth period, for 12 weeks, we were left to listen to the cacophony of multiple drum beats, shrills and chants from the 2800 students and a whole lot of clapping. So, one would think, after all of this preparation, that I would be immune to Thai ridiculousness. 


Welp....Sport's Day came. And guess what? Still shocking. 


I rocked up to school in my pink shirt (the students were divided into color teams and I got to look pretty in pink), and was immediately thrust into a sea of pink, yellow, green, blue, red and purple students. Flags lined the pathways and elaborate sets were placed on the field. What in the world was going to happen? 


It all started with a parade through town. Usually, when there is a big parade, the streets will be closed off to cars, and the paraders can happily and safely march through town. USUALLY that happens. But when you're in Thailand, motorbikes, trucks and tuk-tuks weave their way in and around the children, who (by the way) are dripping sweat and limping because they are wearing extravagant costumes and silly shoes in 100 degree heat, while also cheering and doing their colors proud. 

Reppin' the Pink Team with some of my old students :)

Sunflower Queen for the Yellow Team

Poor boys parading through town carrying that! And look at those shoes!

Loooved the Red's costume

Once the students arrived at the school, the fun began. And obviously, no Thai event would be complete without an over-the-top opening ceremony. A student was elevated on a platform with a lit torch, which she then placed on a wire that set off a spark that shot across the field into a building, which then opened up a poster and set off another torch with colored smoke. This happened five more times for each color. Once the sky was filled with smoke of each color, mini fireworks went off and THEN confetti exploded all over the field. Yea. I love Thailand. 

Opening ceremony rainbow

The following two days were filled with dance competitions (with beautiful performances by girls from each team that wore gorgeous and sometimes super funky Thai costumes), football (soccer), basketball and volleyball games. Students lined the fields, snacked on junk food and cheered for their respective teams, while also trying their best to avoid the intense sun. For the most part, the students seemed so happy. They cheered loudly, sang and danced, and supported their teammates. There were moments where I looked around in disbelief, but I felt so happy and thankful to witness such an event. It was really nice to see the students out of their uniforms and in a fun and athletic environment. It is events like this that make me really happy that I decided to experience a different culture. 

Students avoiding the sun

The winners of the dance competition. They were awesome