Brigid's most embarassing story

Teachers in Thailand have it made (I have already suggested to my sister that she move here and teach and that goes for Julie and Pam too. Although Jules may not have the same kind of entertaining stories that she has now, I know she could get used to how Thai teachers are treated). At any point a teacher can ask a student to do pretty much anything. If a group of students are playing a game a teacher simply has to walk up to them and then the youngest student in the group will leave so the teacher can play. If a teacher would like a chair or some water, they simply ask a student to go get it for them. The teachers are served lunch by the students who sit and watch them eat, ready to refill water or any food at any time. A teacher can even see a student at the market, outside of school grounds, and have said student carry their groceries for them regardless of what the student is doing. It is amazing and Brian and I have been lucky enough to experience this kind of treatment.
However, as wonderful as all of this is, it is nothing compared to how we are treated when we are with the director of our school. He treats us like a combination of his children and his trophies which he shows off to his other director friends.
The other weekend, Brian and I went to Sisaket to watch the students play footsong (indoor soccer with 5 people on each team and boundaries, very entertaining) and badmitton (not so entertaining as you can imagine). We were there with the teachers only and sat in the stands and really enjoyed cheering our students on. We even went out to a Thai disco with the teachers and drank whiskey and water which is apparently the drink of choice. The disco was pretty interesting and was more like a concert with the same band, but about 7 revolving singers and back up dancers who changed costumes everytime they were on stage. And Thai modesty definitely went out the window with these costumes of mini skirts and basically bra tops. Why I love Brian is because it wasn't the costumes that got his attention as much as it was that the women lacked any rhythm. It really bothered him to the point he said that he couldn't watch any more and that he was ready to immediately start teaching dancing at our school in order to stop this kind of tragedy from happening again. (Side note: we have since taught our students American dances including, but not limited to the water sprinkler, the shopping cart and in honor of Mike Ferrante, the Young Jocs "It's going down" motorcycle move from the video. We have pictures don't worry!)
But I digress, The Sisaket sports fesitival was a week long thing where the students slept on the floor of the gym and then got up in the morning to participate (again, this was something that bothered Brian terribly because he thought "this is no way to get ready for a game"). We spent the weekend with the teachers and then later in the week the director wanted to take us to see Thai boxing. When we arrived we went to sit with our students in the stands, but the director shook his head and pointed to these leather couches in the centerof the stadium. We sat there and were fed and provided water throughout the whole event. We were very comfortable with a fan blowing on us although it remained 99 F in the stadium. The director had the announcer tell the whole crowd that we were there which received big cheers from our students. As we watched I adjusted in my seat and realized I was sweating more than I had realized, but thought that it couldn't be too bad. I kind of whispered to Brian that I thought that the back of my legs were sweating where I was sitting on leather (who thought LEATHER was a good idea! And these couches are at ALL big events). I stood up slightly and I will never forget Brian's face when I turned around. It was a combination of laughing and sheer panic. I was not sweating a little, I had legitimate sweat marks from my bum to the middle of my hamstring. I did not know what to do so I adjusted myself so just the very edge of my butt was on the couch (you can imagine how awkward this looked). The I slid myslef awkwardly to the concrete seats next to the couches claiming they were "more comfortable." Then I thought I would make a run for the bathroom while the director went to go talk to a friend. So I slid off the couch made a run for the wall and shimmied along it (all the while Brian is watching and laughing). I turn the corner and there is the director and he wants to introduce me to his friends. I am not sure if anyone noticed, but I do know that directly after that interaction it was the director's idea to leave the Thai boxing stadium. I was so grateful when we finally got into the car and then he stopped and said "time for volleyball." Brian and I somehow managed a way for me to cover the sweat with my bag and a hankerchief (I am still not sure how we managed this, but thank you Greg Bruce and Talia for suggesting bringing the hankerchiefs). And of course , to add insult to injury, I get in there and they offer me hot coffee. The only thing that made me forget about the sweating was the fact that this was not just volleyball, but it was gay volleyball. I am not sure how to describe these young boys to you, but there was a lot of very stereotypical gay men movements, high pitched screaming and running around literally flapping their arms like fairies after every point. It was like nothing we have ever seen and certainly not at a sporting event featuring 16-18 year old boys. Anyhow, by the end of the match the sweat had dried and we returned home.
On the way back, the director randomly stopped and bought us icecream. I took it as a sign that he had noticed my over heating. Brian isn't so sure, but we will never know because it isn't the Thai way to embarrass a guest like that.