On My Honor

Earlier this week I attended Scout Camp, a mandatory 3-day, 2-night camp in the mountains for Kanchana students. Before I delve into the details of camp, I must first explain the significance of “Scouts” in Thailand.

I actually don’t really understand the Scout Program. Every Wednesday, students and teachers are required to wear their Scout uniforms in school. These uniforms are similar to those of the Girl and Boy Scouts of America, minus the vests. For one hour every Wednesday morning, the students attend “Scout activities” but I have yet to fully understand what these activities entail. Sometimes I see groups of students marching outside or practicing their instruments, but I’m not sure what the other few hundred are doing. Unlike the Scouts of America, I think the Thailand Scout Program is mandatory for every student across Thailand. Maybe it’s government-mandated? Don’t quote me on that. I’ve tried asking questions about the Scouts, but due to the language barrier and just the general nature of Thai culture, I haven't received any firm responses. I don’t know if students at other Thai schools attend an annual camp like my school requires, but I think for the most part the Scout program is fairly similar across the board throughout the country.

So, now that you know just as much as I do about the Scouts, I will recount my experiences at Scout Camp 2009. I arrived shortly before 7:00 p.m. on the second evening, as I was only required to attend night 2 of camp, to the sounds of music, screams, laughter, shouting, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary when several hundred pre-teens and teens are given free range of the mountains. In previous posts I’ve mentioned a few of the drastic and not so drastic differences between the U.S. and Thailand. This camp was just another reminder of those differences. I kept thinking, there’s no way this would ever fly in the U.S. Students were generally unsupervised and free to roam the dark campgrounds as they pleased. When I walked towards the center of camp, I was welcomed by a giant mass of students dancing with an abundance of enthusiasm around the 4-foot high, soon-to-be-lit campfire. It reminded me a giant hippie love fest minus the mind-altering substances. Kids all over the place, dancing, singing, jumping, smiling, holding hands. Believe it or not, the utter pandemonium did come to a halt around 7:30 p.m. when the official bonfire lighting ceremony began.

Neither words nor pictures can do the opening ceremony justice. The 1.5 hour show consisted of a live band, singing, African/Thai tribal songs, body paint, black lights, students running around with giant fire torches, dancing, mini fireworks, skits, a master of ceremonies with a red cape, and so much more. Unfortunately I could not capture most or any of this on camera because it was dark so you can’t really see anything in my photos. I took several videos, which again don’t even begin to convey the wonder of this spectacle, but maybe I can figure out how to post a few right on this very blog so you can, at the very least, get a general idea of the night’s events.

Once the ceremony was over, most students went to bed because despite the free-for-all they had in the evening, they were required to rise at 5:00 a.m. for an early morning workout. I hung out with a few teachers for a while where we sat around a smaller campfire and made s’mores. Yes, I introduced them to one of just a few purely American traditions (at least I think it’s 100% American). I was in Bangkok a few days ago where I was able to hunt down exactly one bag of marshmallows after visiting five supermarkets with imported goods. I searched high and low for graham crackers but had to settle with German digestive crackers – the closest I could find to Honey Maids. And the chocolate wasn’t a problem. Thailand isn’t known for its cocoa, but it’s not like s’mores require high-grade, quality chocolate so I wasn’t concerned. All in all, the s’mores were quite a hit and generated lots of enthusiastic “aroi”s (“delicious” in Thai).

The remainder of the evening was spent in the far corner of the campgrounds where eight or so other teachers and I spent the evening playing cards and singing karaoke into the early hours of the morning. I did my best to sing along to the Thai songs. In addition to the Thai lyrics, the videos have English spellings of Thai words so I can sort of sound things out. I was much more in my element, however, when they chose a few American favorites like Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way,” Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida Loca.”

All in all, Scout Camp was a bundle of fun. Next month students are attending a 3-day long Buddha Camp. I doubt this is its official name, but a teacher referred to it as Buddha Camp when he translated the school schedule for me and I rather like it. If Buddha Camp is anything like Scout Camp, I hope I can go everyday!