I am deathly allergic to horses, so I was a little nervous to discover that not only were we staying at a Horse Club Resort, but also the jumping ring was directly across from our accommodation. There weren't any horses out and about, so it turned out to be just fine. In fact, we were about the only ones at the Resort.
We went paddle boating in the man-made lake (Bee's first time), walked around taking delicately posed photographs (as the Thais do), and laughed our pants off while trying to ride bicycles with two people. It's common in Thailand to have up to three people on a bicycle (and up to five, as I've seen, on motorbikes!). So, Jacqueline, Rachel and I were greatly amused by our sad, and sometimes successful, attempts at cycling with a passenger in the back. Note: I never actually tried the front seat, only the back. Rachel and I couldn't handle it. And then there was the scene of me trying to get on the back of Pi-Aews' bicycle. I fumbled along Pi-Aew's bike, trying to jump on the back seat (meant for baggage). We all broke down in laughter, when Pi-Aew took off and told me to hop on, so after a very awkward running start, I managed to jump on.
At dinner, we heard a lot of drumming and chants in the distance. Every few moments or so, the teachers would chant back in unison. Rachel, Jacqueline and I just looked at each other and muttered, "Oh, well, clearly they know what's going on; it must be some calling that Thais just know how to respond to." We discussed how there must've been some show in the distance. The sounds got closer. And all of the sudden, a parade of Thai dancers and drummers appeared just across the bridge from our dinner pavilion. The department had organized this surprise for us - a traditional northeastern Thai performance coming our way. We danced with them, and probably looked absolutely ridiculous.
They also arranged for a fire dancer to perform on a raft floating in the middle of the man-made lake, which we viewed from our dinner pavilion.
We exchanged slideshows. They put together a slidshow of pictures and 'goodbye/ thank you' notes from the department's teachers. We managed to pull together a slideshow full of pictures from the year, appropriately set with music that made them laugh out loud, sing along and cry. We shared gifts, hugs and tears. It's been a most awesome year with these women - and I will never forget them.
Below: The dinner pavilion
Cycling with two
Dinner Extravaganza
The traditional Thai performers and dept.
With the drummers
One of our gifts: Sri Racha School gym shirts
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