Merry Kissma!

It was a lovely Christmas in Hua Hin. It was hot, and I had to teach three classes, and then perform for the Christmas assembly. It was pretty odd, but I feel like they do Christmas right here. It's all about games and songs and fun. There's no rush to buy a million presents and spend money and worry about calling them holiday trees. I think it works because adults don't care about the holiday, so the national understanding of it is based on children's perspective (read: Santa Claus and presents and snowmen whatever those might be).

I had a great time singing Jingle Bells with the kids, because they scream "Jingle Bells Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!" and then mumble "Oh what mmm it is mm mmm m mm m m m mm m m m " then scream "Hey!". I realized quickly that it was useless to explain a "One horse open sleigh" as most American kids don't really know what that is.

The highlight might have been when I told the nativity story in the simplest English I could muster, and then gave a little quiz with prizes. First question: Who was born on Christmas 2000 years ago? The first kid sprints up, I give him the microphone and he proudly says "Santa Claus". See? Kids aren't any different here than they are in America.