Welcome to "Sunday Summary" in which I try to summarize the week that came before. This is the 97th installment, covering the week ending today, the 30th of June 2024.
Each week, we link up with The Sunday Salon, hosted at ReaderBuzz, and Sunday Post at Caffeinated Reviewer. Check out their posts and the links to see what other book bloggers have been up to in the last week.
It was a VERY ACTIVE week indeed, starting with a lengthy Sunday afternoon walk that began under blue skies but by the time I approached the beach the dark clouds had rolled in. The rain started as I was buying my dinner inside of 7-Eleven so I ate my microwaved slice of seafood cocktail pizza while standing under an awning outside. This was an unusually fast-moving storm and had blown away by the time I finished the slice. Thankfully, it did not rain at all during my morning commutes so I arrived at school on time each day.
Due to Sunthorn Phu Day occurring on Wednesday and Thursday's Wai Khru ceremonies, I knew there would be little time spent in the classroom so I made full use of the eight periods of English spread across Monday and Tuesday, covering four of the five units on this week's curriculum as well as one Brown Wings interactive lesson. The only section out of the "Eat Well, Live Well" topic that I did not get to was the "Excretion Habits" unit but, thankfully, Kru May gave the students a wonderful coloring sheet on Friday.
Tuesday was the first of the K1 level's outdoor flag ceremonies. We were missing our assistant that morning so it was up to just Kru May and I to herd our kids down to the parade ground, totally unfamiliar territory to these children; definitely a three-person job. They made us proud by standing (more or less) at attention during the national anthem and the Buddhist prayer, sitting when required for the "Flowers Bloom" song and standing again for the school's fight song.
An added distraction was the Ovaltine truck setting up at the edge of the parking lot while the ceremony was underway. Once dismissed, we lined up the kids and each received a box of the popular chocolate drink. What a way to begin the Healthy Food & Habits week!
Wednesday was largely taken up by a school assembly presenting various works by Sunthorn Phu (1786-1855) who was a royal poet and scribe during the Rattanakosin period of Siam. Many of the Thai teachers dressed up as characters from his most famous work, the epic Phra Abhai Mani. Thai academics equate this with such classics as The Iliad, The Odyssey, and One Thousand and One Nights. All I really know about the work is that the title character travels the countryside playing a magic flute which either puts people to sleep or kills them. There's a mermaid and an old hermit with a white beard. Our teaching assistant portrayed the sea ogress Nang Phisuea Samudra who can turn herself into a beautiful woman. It is by far the single longest poem in the Thai language and is the world's second longest epic poem written by a single poet' After many years of searching, I have finally found an English translation of Phra Abhai Mani which I intend to read before next year's celebration. I may even don a costume if they let me.
The K1 students left the assembly after a couple of hours so they could have their lunch. Our class then returned to the classroom for an early naptime. I thought we were to watch a Hula Hoop performance in the afternoon but we remained in the classroom for the usual milk service and recitations while waiting for the parents to arrive. I had helped to lug the props for the show from the meeting room the day before so they could be painted in the workshop so was disappointed not to see the show.
Thursday was taken up largely by the annual Wai Khru ceremony (พิธีไหว้ครู), a Thai ritual in which students pay respects to teachers in order to express their gratitude and formalize the student–teacher relationship. It is regularly held near the beginning of the school year in most schools in Thailand on a Thursday as this is traditionally the day of Brihaspati, Vedic god of wisdom and teachers.
The morning was taken up by the ceremony for K3 and K1 students in the large meeting room with three kids chosen to represent each classroom in the formal rituals. It began with our school director lighting the candles at the shrine dedicated to His Majesty the King and then respecting a couple of elders with deep prostration at their seats on the stage. The Thai teachers then performed the ritual before the first of the children ascended the steps to present the ceremonial orbs (I call them the royal eggs). Student presentations followed consisting of offerings of flowers, candles and joss sticks arranged on phan (traditional Thai pedestalled trays). I was in the last group of teachers to receive a bouquet from my lovely student, Gun.
After the main ceremony, we returned to our classroom where each of our students presented the flowers they had brought to school. The traditional offerings for Wai Khru represent a symbolism of student qualities, namely:
- Eggplant flowers, which bow low when nearing fruiting, symbolizing respect and humility.
- Ixora (khem, เข็ม) flowers, which while closed form pointed buds, symbolizing sharp wit.
- Cynodon dactylon (ya phraek, หญ้าแพรก or Bermuda grass), the rapid growth and resilience of which symbolize perseverance and the ability to learn.
- Popped rice (khao tok, ข้าวตอก), which symbolizes discipline.
- Eggplant flowers, which bow low when nearing fruiting, symbolizing respect and humility.
Friday is always "Thai day" in our classroom as there are no English lessons scheduled. The usual routine is flag ceremony, breakfast, COVID-19 lesson, Scouts activity, and playground before lunch. After lunch, we are supposed to visit the school library but it is currently being remodeled.
My laptop was enlisted to be the sound system for Friday's Hula Hoop rehearsal.
At the end of this week, we finally got to see Kru May's Hula Hoop troupe in action in one of their final rehearsals before the big competition in Trang next month. Amazingly enough, the school will be closed for one or two days as all of the Thai teachers will journey south to cheer on our kids. Two extra days off in a month full of them (three days of holiday for Wan Asanhabucha and Wan Khao Phansa which is the start of the Buddhist Lent; as well as three days off for Wan Chaloem Phra Chonmaphansa Phrabat Somdet Phra Vajira Klao Chao Yu Hua which is easier said as the King's birthday).
Friday's school lunch was especially delicious.
I spent most of Saturday redesigning my stamp collecting website, Philatelic Pursuits. I had intended to do just a quick change of themes (from a heavily customized version of Quadrat to Bitácora which is what I use on my personal site) but something broke and required many hours of fixing. Thus, I got somewhat behind on my usual Saturday tasks such as creating materials for the upcoming school week, making my class summary and flashcard videos, and prep-work on Sunday Summary. Thankfully, I had managed to finish most of my bullet journal trackers for July in stolen moments over the last week or so.
Today, I awoke extremely early (2:30!) and began work on all that I couldn't complete yesterday, including the upcoming weekly and daily layouts. All that remains are to design and print worksheets (the upcoming topic is "Safety") and make my flashcards video after I finish writing this blog entry. If I have time later, I want to write my July TBR article so I can use tomorrow evening to put together Spell the Month in Books.
Ideally, I would like to find a small house for rent near my school.
As it is now the last day of the month, I feel pretty confident in saying that a month from now I will be sitting elsewhere in Phuket doing all my tasks. I am planning to take the opportunity of the long weekends to find a new home nearer my school and move into it. I am tired of the lengthy and overcrowded commute to and from work each day. Although I will miss my close proximity to the beach, there are many other advantages to living in Town. I am looking forward to those and the changes they will bring.
My girlfriend thinks I should look into renting a condo but I am sure.
It was a good reading week, although I struggled to stay awake most evenings. I finished all but one of the books on my July TBR; the last one will be saved to finish in July -- it's really well written and I am enjoying it immensely.
Recently Finished
Currently Reading
As far as this blog is concerned, I only wrote my usual weekly memes but the upcoming week will have the July TBR and Spell the Month in Books articles.
Most of my recent blogging has been on Philatelic Pursuits, updating schedules of stamps released this year by different nations around the world along with images of those stamps. I have managed seven of these posts since resuming work on the blog and spent most of yesterday changing the theme and doing some other design work on it.
I finished the last of the Week 27 dailies in my main BuJo early this morning. The only pages that I need to complete in the next couple of days are the stats on my June Reflections page and the To Kill A Mockingbird quote page for July. I am torn between two or three quotes but will make a decision as soon as I have a moment to really think about it. Then, it is just a matter of sketching the lettering and going over it with a Sakura Fineliner.
I have been keeping up with notes in my separate Teachers' Bullet Journal since the start of Term One but have yet to finish the student profile pages and other "back matter".
Week 26 & June Reflection Pages
July Cover Page & Trackers
Doodles practice for the July cover page and Thursday's Independence Day spread.
Pleased with this cover page. I may put a couple of patriotic doodles into the space at the end of the calendar. Blank page is for the TKAM quote.
As July will probably be my last month regularly riding the local bus known as a songthaew due to my planned moving back to Phuket Town, I decided to include a trip log of sorts. I ride this to and from work Monday through Friday.
July's Brain Dumps (and the daily Brain Farts) introduces a new brainy doodle.
Week 27 Preview
The daily spreads feature a slight redesign with no text other than the date headers (and, of course, items in the task lists, reading logs and brain farts). I think my brain doodle guy needs a name. Any suggestions?
I quite enjoy making the digital flashcards each week. With the on-screen time of each card reduced to two or three seconds, it makes it easy to pause to explain the vocabulary or routine to the students and then to resume without any real delay. Our teaching assistant took some photos and video with the flashcard on the big screen and one of the posters I made on an easel with me right between them demonstrating how to brush teeth. The only thing missing are a set of plastic teeth in a hinged jaw and myself using the toothbrush on those!
I did not take very many photos or shoot much video this week. For the big events of Wednesday and Thursday, I relied greatly on the skill of the many others capturing all that was happening. Many of those feature in this week's class video as a photo slideshow with a few scattered about in this Sunday Summary. The only lengthy piece of video that I filmed all week was the entirety of Friday's Hula Hoop performance, 10 minutes which I heavily edited for the YouTube version. . .
Random Shots
Buddhas at an abandoned resort.
Just two minutes before, the sky was completely black and heavy rain was pouring out of it.
Catholic church near the school.
Large open-air restaurant across from the church. This Korean BBQ buffet style is probably my least favorite kind of eatery in Thailand.
Katii
Not exactly traditional Thai flower arrangements
Lost in our thoughts?
See you next week. . . .
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