Monday, 12 November 2012

Futsal, Wedding and a Festival


Well this week has been full of surprises; first off here in Korat they are hosting the 2012 FIFA Futsal and through my Rotary club here the other exchange student in my club had the opportunity to go see a double header as it is only the start of the tournament.  I went with my second host dad and brother.  We saw Brazil versus Portugal and Costa Rica versus Ukraine.  They were great games and it was really neat to see so many people out supporting a game that in Canada is not popular, but here and around the world is.  Driving to the event there was a “you know you are in Thailand when” moment, and that was when I realised that the person who was driving had attached the passenger seatbelt into his belt buckle so the car wouldn’t make the ding ding noise that occurs when the driver’s seatbelt isn’t plugged in and you start the car.  They really don’t like wearing seatbelts here!

Well that was Wednesday, then Thursday after school, my host mom asked me if I would like to go to a wedding, and who was I to say no.  That evening is was off to a Thai wedding, with a nine course Chinese menu. Here in Thailand weddings are very important events almost everyone that the parents of the couple and the couple know are invited. The bigger the event the more prestige they get from their friends and family. This wedding was huge, it was held in the largest hall at the University in Korat and, there were camera men filming every move the bride and groom were taking and there was a live feed projected onto two big screens in the main room.  As well as having a film crew there were also a camera crew running around taking pictures of everything.  To add to the dynamic of the room, there was a live band playing all night, and when the bridal party walked into the room they were preceded by a solo saxophonist to serenade then down the aisle onto the stage, where a smoke machine and bubble machine were helping set the mood.  During this entire time all the tables in the room were being served our nine course Chinese style meal, including shark fin soup, which isn't actually that bad, just the ethical idea of it.  Well the meal was going on the couple walked in there were speeches, we toasted, and then the bride and groom pour a champagne bottle over a pyramid of wine glasses which was neat to see.  Then the couple walked around to a few of the tables as there were at least 200 tables in the room.  As well they had life size portraits of the couple as you first walked in, as well as a thank you gift for each person who came.  All in all is was great to go to a Thai wedding and see the difference from a wedding in Canada and it was a lot of fun and interesting to try the nine difference Chinese dishes.  

The next thing that occurred was Saturday night, about an hour away there is a festival going on at Phimai, it was a festival celebrating the building of Phimai.  They had a huge night bazaar going on and I had the opportunity to see a production that depicted the history and building of the palace at Phimai.  It was a show that consisted of Thai dancers, fountains, lights and fireworks set in front of the actual ruins of Phimai.  
This week has been full of interesting adventures each one unique in its own way, and with my understanding of Thai getting better I can communicate better with the people who have taken me on these outings. 

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