English Camp...out

In May, when we started work, we were informed that we would be responsible for planning "English Camp", which is a day of activities meant to inspire the P5 students to become more English Proficient.

I can safely say that we were all horrified and disgusted at the prospect of planning and implementing such an event.  

The plot thickened when we discovered that we were also expected to include all 120 students in a two-hour long talent show, and that we would also be performing a little number to welcome the students in the morning.

True to the Thai way, we were given virtually no explicit instructions on how to perform this daring feat.  The planning process included several utterly befuddling meetings with the Thai teachers.  

Finally, we came up with a  firm idea of what we would do and how we would get there.  

In the months leading up to English Camp, we brought procrastination to a whole new level.   

We lacked inspiration.

Almost daily,  Simone would look up from her work and say, "you guys, have I mentioned that I hate English Camp?"

But we trudged on, pulled it together, and somehow arrived on Saturday morning, fully prepared to face disaster.

We had decided on performing a rap for our introduction.  I use the term "we" loosely, as I was talking on the phone when this decision was made, and my objections were not taken into consideration.

The rap went surprisingly well, I'll bet you didn't know that I can flow.

Our theme was "An American Campout", and the six stations we set up were all pretty damn awesome.  My station was a campfire singalong, complete with a very lifelike faux campfire constructed by yours truly.  

The other stations: Making Dirt n' worms(the snack), Scavenger Hunt, First Aide, Tent Building, and Fishing.  

A "sidenote" about Dirt n' Worms:  Jello Instant pudding is not sold in Thailand.  So Lauren, with some help from us, had to make 120 servings of chocolate pudding from scratch, in tropical heat.  It was hard work, but it was DELICIOUS.

I spent the day doing what I do best, singing and acting the fool.  The kids' favorite song ended up being Tooty Ta, which, if you are not familiar, is a delightfully entertaining number.  Remind me to teach you.

The morning passed without any major glitches.  I even had fun.   

But, our biggest challenge was yet to come.  Giving all 120 kids speaking parts in the performance had proven to be a logistical nightmare.  We were terrified that the afternoon would be catastrophic.

 We planned to have groups of ten kids perform alternating skits and songs.  The three winning groups would compete in "Camping Jeopardy".  

Here is how I imagined "Camping Jeopardy" would play out:

"Name two parts of a fish"

silence

"How about one part of a fish?"

silence

"How about just say, fish?"

silence

Luckily, I was wrong.  The kids did a great job with the skits and songs, and they were able to answer most of the questions correctly.  

Sunday was spent recuperating.  I woke up sore, its amazing what wildly jumping about singing "The Banana Chant" all day long will do to your body.

All day today at school, students came up to me, commenting on how much fun they had at English Camp and singing different songs I had taught them.  

One student said, "Teecha, I want English camp to be every week!"

I am sure that all of the color drained out of my face.