With only four weeks to go before the English program at Bangkhonthiinai School comes to an end, Ajarn Yai decided that this week Kobfa and I should join the teachers at an annual educational fair in Chonburi province.  Chonburi is located on the way to Pattaya, about an hour’s drive southeast of Khrungthep.

The educational fair brings together all of the provincial educational offices from central Thailand so they can show off the programs and projects they have undertaken. 

This year the fair was held outdoors at the Chonburi provincial offices and it was hot!  So much so that after about thirty minutes of walking around (even with umbrellas), Kobfa and I retired to a adjacent park and sat in some plastic chairs in the shade of a tree.  With the breeze, it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Right: The Chonburi provincial headquarters building, which is a very odd mix of styles.

Most of the displays were of vocational programs that are in place at the schools.  There were also various competitions in things like spelling and public speaking, as well as tables set up where students made sculptures and other crafts.

Above: Putting down my umbrella for a brief moment, I’m posing in front of the main stage which is decked out to celebrate His Majesty the King’s 80th birthday, which we’ll celebrate on December 5th.

Below: The crowds of educators and students in the sweltering sun, going from tent to tent, listening to information about the different educational programs.

One of the most interesting things was a school district that was promoting its AIDS and STD education program.  This is very timely as there was an article about AIDS education in schools in Wednesday’s Bangkok Post. 

Left: Students get more information about AIDS education.

Asking Ajarn Yai about this, she explained that the education is done in the secondary school (equivalent to US grades 7-12) but that the content of the program and whether or not it is delivered is up to the individual schools.

The educational booth included some very direct banners that can be displayed to educate students.  They are much more explicit than I would have expected and am very glad to see that this type of education is being made available to at least some of the students.

Left: General explanation that AIDS, TB, and other diseases can affect all of us.  Center: The symptoms of different STDs, listing in red the different types of symptoms and what diseases might cause them.  Right: A rather explicit explanation of how to use a condom.  Most interest at the bottom: a little cartoon tube of KY Jelly is slathering some lubricant on top of the little cartoon penis!  The caption is explaining that before putting the condom on, adding some lubricant will enhance the enjoyment of intercourse.

Some of the crafts activities, below.  Left: I’m not sure why this boy is making a huge carrot, but he was rather intently making little scallops along the outside of it.  Right: This being Thailand, it is no surprise that a favorite sculpture subject is elephants.

After about 90 minutes there, an hour of which was spent enjoying the breezy shade as Ajarn Yai and the teachers continued to wander about, we packed back into the van and continued to a nearby gulf-front restaurant for an early lunch of seafood.  On the top of each page of the menu was written “No Pork, No Beef, No Chicken” and they had more different types of fish than I have ever seen on a menu.

The restaurant was located on a small cove filled with many mussel farms.  The tide was out so the mussels were sitting out in the bright sun while fishing boats were left resting on the mud as their crews did repairs and worked on the underside of the boat.

After lunch we stopped at a Chinese temple of Quan Yin, the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Compassion.  It was a very colourful, gaudy temple with lots of monkeys running around and eating the fruit offerings left out at the altars.

Finally, about 2:30 we headed back home to Khrungthep.  It was a tiring day and while the lunch was good, I didn’t get much from the educational fair.  I’m looking forward to getting back to teaching next week for the final of three weeks of English.

Another interesting photo I snapped this weekend: a man sitting on the back of a motorbike was holding some aluminum beams vertically while riding along.  Tough to see in the picture, so I’ve circled and added an arrow.  Talk about dangerous: beware low overpasses!