Lately it seems as if the weeks have been flying by, and I
cannot believe that it is already almost mid December! Since it is half-way through November, I figured it was only appropriate to write about November...whoops. We have been very busy
here at Yaowawit with school, Loy Krathong, Thaisgiving, Patong beach, etc.
I know I still have a few months left, but I am already slightly panicking that
the days are slipping away too quickly.
November 17th was the Loy Krathong festival. This is a time when people build these elaborate little floats made from banana leaves, flowers, and a piece of tree trunk. In the middle is three incenses and a candle. At night, we all went to the river to set our Krathongs free as a symbol of letting go of the negativity in your life. It was truly a beautiful experience, and so fun to see the kids truly in their element.
This year a new holiday was born, Thaisgiving! Riley and I being the only Americans here, felt it was necessary to introduce Thanksgiving with our own spin on it. It turned out we had a nice family style bbq, and then the celebration began. We dressed in our most American clothing and it ended up being be more like the 4th of July than Thanksgiving, but no complaints here!
The last weekend in November the students went home, this meant a free weekend for the volunteers! We decided to venture to Patong beach, which is in Phuket and about two hours from Kapong. It was a wild weekend full of dancing, food, and beach time. Patong is one of those places you don't need to go often, but when you do it is a guarantee for a great (exhausting) time. Also we FINALLY saw Catching Fire! It was so good, I could sing its praise for literally an hour or two. I was so impressed by how they literally brought the book to life, and after seeing it I wanted to immediately watch it again.
Needless to say November was a complete success. It is hard to believe that I have already been back for over a month, time is FLYING!
