Capetonian in the Land of Smiles: August 2012

Making my eyes POP!

In Thailand the "Big Eye" contact lenses are a very popular fashion accessory. It gives your eyes that big Anime-esque kind of look. When I first arrived I found it hard not to stare when encountering girls wearing them and initially found it rather creepy. This month I decided to try them out for myself, when my already paid for contact lens order at the optometrist could not be filled, as you can also get prescription Big Eye lenses.

The brand is Duna Paradise Colours and comes in a variety of colours, including black. I wanted to get a green pair, but the optometrist in question only had black and brown so I decided on black. So as not to obscure your vision, the lenses have a large clear section in the middle to accommodate pupil dilation, which of course meant that my natural eye colour was still partly exposed. The lenses can be a bit difficult to insert as they are a bit bigger than normal and are quite soft, but after a short struggle I got them in without too much trouble. Here are the results:

Happy Birthday Queen Sirikit!

Today is the queen's birthday, which is also Mothers Day in Thailand. We had some fireworks in our area, in honour of the queen, which I could watch from the balcony of our bedroom.

Thai dancing: Group 2

This group consisted of some of the younger group. Lower-Primary by my guess. Here are some photos and a video of their performance:

Thai dancing: Group 1

This group consisted of a mixture of upper-Primary and Matayom students. Here are some photos and a video of their performance.

Mothers Day Celebrations

On Friday the students had a Mothers Day celebration at the school and many mothers spent the entire day at the school being honoured. A big gazebo was set up with benches where parents could sit. The ceremony included some Thai dancing done by 2 groups of students. The ceremony was held in the cafeteria, which also doubles as an auditorium for formal events. Some of my high school students on the student council were manning a stall where cold cups of water were being handed out.

A blast from the past

Whilst shopping at the Tesco recently, I came across this little gem. Feeling nostalgic, I couldn't help but buy one and it tasted just as good as I remember.

Thai markets are the best!

I decided to start rebuilding my earring collection and made a good start of it in Khao San where they were selling 5 pairs for only 100THB!

Smokers corner

This spot outside the school is where the foreign teachers go to "get some fresh air". It is out of sight of the students and other teachers and has a lovely view of the neighbouring rice paddy. We also frequently get visits from some of the local fauna in the form of a variety of birds, lizards and butterflies. The maintenance staff who live in shacks on the premises were kind enough to put a bench and makeshift ashtray there once they noticed that the spot was being frequented by stressed out teachers on break.

My classroom

This is my classroom. My desk is in the corner on the left. I share the room with 3 of our 4 Thai teaching assistants. Our "office" is separated from the classroom by a row of shelves. The students sit on the floor during their lessons so as to make moving around for activities easier.