Wai Khru Day

Today was Wai Khru day at my school. Basically, this is Teacher Appreciation Day, but like you've never seen before. It was a bit insane. Mathayom 1 and 2 (7th and 8th grade) had their ceremony at the same time. So me and three other English teachers went to the "auditorium" (an open air stage surrounded by thousands of folding chairs). We had to sit on the stage, front and center. It was 8am, about 100 degrees, and there were about 1000 students in front of us. IT WAS SO HOT. Barely a breeze and the first 30 minutes was a speech given in Thai. It was a bit grueling. Everytime I wiped sweat off my forehead, I knew that 1000 students were watching me. That's 2000 eyes. And I couldn't stop sweating.

After the speech, we all sang a hymn, except the hymnbooks are in Thai and so, us English teachers, had to hold the books open and just stand there. It was awkward. 2000 eyes. But now is the good (amazing/crazy/bizarre/disorienting) part. For the past week the students have been working on these elaborate "bouquets" of flowers to present the teachers. They are truly incredible. Really ornate flowers (in some cases, the petals folded down into intricate designs), candles, incense, etc. in a silver vase/dish. There were about 50 of these in total that were presented to us. But it's all about the presentation.

So 50 special students were chosen, and 25 at a time, they approached the side of the stage. They then proceeded to walk on their knees/crawl across the stage holding these bouquets until they were all in front of a teacher. There is nothing stranger/more amazing than seeing 25 students slowly crawling towards you with bouquets of flowers. They stopped, faced us (on their knees), and presented the flowers. Then, they prostrated themselves until they were laying face-down in front of us. The reason they crawl and stay on their knees is a sign of respect. After they prostrated themselves, we (the teachers) "wai"-ed them (hands in prayer position, then bow). As if this wasn't enough, then 25 more students did the same thing. Shuffling down the stage, on their knees, in their skirts or shorts (I actually noticed some of them had put Band-Aids on their knees -- no rugburn for them). As ridiculous as it was, it was amazing and humbling and beautiful. I really felt honored. After they all crawled offstage (they had to keep crawling until they reached the stairs again), each row of students in the auditorium came to the front and placed a bouquet of flowers at our feet. There were several hundred students and this took some time. But I think it's the closest I will ever come to feeling like a king. It was pretty amazing. Despite the heat and the length of time...I think I love Wai Khru Day.