I didn’t think it would be possible to have any more students’ stare at us “farang” teachers aka foreign…until today, the day after I helped represent Bang Plama in the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd Year of the Suphanburi Games.
I am writing this blog post, Wednesday, November 10, 2010, the day after Katie and I were dressed like Royalty, in the Thai traditional costume. At school today every student and teacher smiled as they made sure they told us how beautiful we looked in our costumes the night before. I felt very honored and special.
Monday afternoon we went to Suphanburi stadium to practice for the big show on Tuesday. We were able to watch some of the opening acts, including many of the girl students at our school dancing in one of the main performances. We also heard the Suphanburi Band, which was unbelievable considering their age group, ranging from 12 to 18 year olds. They reminded me a little bit of the Badger band. After of an hour or two of just watching, Katie and I were finally introduced to what we would be doing the day of the event. We would be part of the “parade” of Suphanburi’s districts’ athletes and sponsors, holding up a sign representing Bang Plama. We practiced walking on the track across the stands, around the first corner, and on to the grass one time and that was it....it took maybe ten minutes. Needless to say, as I left the stadium, I was still unsure as to what I could expect for tomorrow’s opening ceremony.
Tuesday, the day of the ceremony, was a pretty relaxed day considering I did not have to teach any of my classes but an exciting day too! Katie and I went to the beauty shop around noon, where her, I, and 18 other students would be getting ready. The three lady boys were hard at work all day. They began at 9:00 a.m. finished the 18 students by 2:30. I attentively watched as one lady boy put foundation, blush, eye shadow, fake eyelashes, and lip stick on a student and as another lady boy teased a student’s hair, and as another helped complete the look with putting the costume together with jewelry and accessories. The girls looked beautiful when they were finished. Then it came to be our turn….the “farangs”. Katie’s hair was first, while I had my make-up done. I quick glance over and see Katie’s teased hair. Wow! And she thought her hair wasn’t going to tease….I thought the exact same thing, but little did I know I was also in for a surprise. The finished product for both our hair and face I thought was pretty good. I definitely have never had so much make-up on in my life. I loved the fake eyelashes. The lipstick was a little out there, but I guess I’m just not used to wearing any. The fake hairpiece, crown, and flowers added a lot to the look of my hair-do. The lady boys were quite excited about our final look, or I should say “their” finished product. We made sure to thank them and told them we would take many pictures for them to use as future advertising. 
Getting in the van was a little difficult considering my hair piece, crown, and heels, but I managed. We arrived at the stadium just in time around 4:00 p.m. I don’t mean to sound conceited, but the second we stepped out of the van I could feel all the “stares”. We walked in an air conditioned room reserved for people who were part of the opening ceremony. The stadium was quite full already, but nothing was going on yet. Katie was brave enough to attempt to use the restroom in our costumes. As I was waiting outside with Toon, a group of younger girls who were also in the opening ceremonies came up to me and asked to take my picture. The flashes kept coming, until all of a sudden all the girls rush over to the stairs and start screaming like they’ve just seen Justin Beiber. Little did I know, Gun, a popular teen idol in Thailand would be performing at the ceremonies and he was entering the building hence all the screaming. We then went outside where other performers were waiting, and saw some of the students from our school along with Bang Plama’s representatives. The student’s also went crazy with pictures of Katie and I. I was getting very warm standing outside, so Toon decided to take us back to the air conditioned room. As we made our way back into the building, there was more Beiber screaming….Gun was making his way in to the room we were headed for. I think because of our “royalty” look we were easily granted access in to the police guarded room. Coincidently, our lady boy friends happened to be right there. They grabbed Katie and I’s signs to help us make our way through the crowd in order to get in to the room. They most likely just did that to be able to see Gun since he was in the room taking pictures with a few of the other performers. That’s ok though…I would have too if it was someone that I could relate to. The Thai girls who saw us go in to the room were probably thinking, “Ungrateful Americans. You are in the room with Gun and all you care about is your water and air conditioning…” He performed a few minutes after we were in the room. We were able to see his performance pretty close up. He was actually pretty good!
It finally became time to line up outside, stand and wait until it was our turn to parade into the stadium. While we waited, I met the Mayor of Bang Plama along with some of the other Bang Plama sponsors. As I stood holding Bang Plama’s motto sign, a lot of people came to take pictures. I felt like Santa Claus having children line up to sit on his lap except in my case it was just to take a picture.
We were the last district to walk in the parade so it was a lot of waiting. But it finally became time. Katie was in the front, holding the Bang Plama district sign followed by a man in the military holding the Bang Plama flag. I followed the group of sponsors and behind me were students holding each Bang Plama motto and Bang Plama’s athletes. We started to walk. As we were approaching the track with all the lights, I could tell I wasn’t walking fast enough. The problem was my outfit. The skirt didn’t allow for my legs to make very long strides. Right before I stepped on the track, Toon was there saying, “faster, faster”. I quickly picked up my pace. My focus was on smiling, holding the sign high and straight, and walking on that fourth line; until it came time to find where the stairs began I turned the sign so it faced the crowd but more specifically the ex-President. We were told to look at him and smile until we saw the next set of stairs, then we turn the sign forward. The entire time I am walking across the track, I keep thinking to myself ….”What am I doing? This is crazy. Just keeping smiling.” I make it to the grass and feel a sigh of relief. I made it! I didn’t trip! As I stand on the field in the middle of the stadium, I look around me and see thousands of people in the stands along with hundreds standing next to me on the field. Behind us are people in the stands holding signs that form different pictures; one in particular being a picture of the King. The Thai National Anthem is sung and the fireworks begin. In between fireworks, a man and a woman on a tight-rope “fly” across the field to grab the torch that was lite by the ex-President. They begin to “fly” back to the opposite side to light the torch that sits on the top of the stands. As they reach the middle of the field, fireworks shoot off and fly into the torch, making it look like it came from the torch they were holding. More fireworks blow up near the torch as a burst of flames ignite it. The choreography of the fireworks was incredible. I have never seen anything like it! It was amazing! After the grand finale of the fireworks, and the ceremony as well, people in the stands began to clear out and the pictures began. We probably stood on the field for almost an hour taking picture after picture with the other students dressed up along with our school’s director, vice-director, mayor of Bang Plama, and many others. After a while, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to wipe the smile off my face. It began to hurt. We finally headed back to school, traffic was bad and the school was even busier it seemed with all the students and their parents. We got back in to our teaching clothes and ate dinner at the school. Toon told us the Mayor was very pleased with the job we did and with our appearance and “beauty” that he would like us to attend the closing ceremony as well. She said everyone was talking about how beautiful we looked and that Bang Plama was the “talk” of the night. I feel so honored and special to not only be asked again, but to have been asked in the beginning and have a part in such an incredible event. I had no idea the Suphanburi Games were going to put on such an extraordinary ceremony. I felt like I was part of the Olympics. I am so grateful to be able to be a part of such an unforgettable experience!
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