Let's go fly a kite!

Hey hey hey people. So the first week of March was quite exciting! Satun was a hive of activity and things to do, and after MONTHS of being dormant, it was refreshing to see the city come alive, if only for a short while.

March has turned out the be the "Market Month" with all sorts of interesting events going on!

Let's start with the Red Cross Market. So this market took up half of the main road (I might be slightly exaggerating, but still it was huge!). It took up like four blocks with vendors of all sorts! There were clothes, toys, towels, food, games, and tons of entertainment! It was a carnival complete with a ferris wheel and carousel. And no shortage of Thai carnies. Heckling you to come "play this game", "win a prize", "give it a shot"... but of course it was all in Thai so I don't really know what they were saying. I played a balloon dart game and failed miserably. I can't aim too well and threw the dart too hard and it ended up going over the booth and getting lost. What can I say?! I'm a winner.  Despite this embarrassing event, I had a good time! I went a total of three times and gorged myself on chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry smoothies, ice cream, and other goodies we found! I also invested in a selfie stick and a unicorn shirt. So I think I did alright!

Next, our school hosted the Gong Kong Academic Fair to celebrate the school's birthday. There was nothing academic about it but it was still pretty cool! Some of the kids were in charge of booths and were selling items or had their parents come in to sell stuff. There was also an antique vendors which the boys flocked too because there were knives and tools and stuff. There was no shortage of food, and idk if it was because I'm a teacher or just that everyone was super nice, but I got tons of free food! Everyone has smiles on their faces and I got out of teaching classes on Friday so no complaints here!

(Gong Kong Academic Fair at Puripornchai Suksa School)

Finally, Satun has the unique opportunity of hosting the annual International Kite Festival and this year was the 36th celebration! And because March is super windy in Satun and there is a massive open field, why not have this event in a super random part of Thailand?!  There were hundreds of kites. Some were the size of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons and most had the be weighed down with giant sandbags or were tied to tractors! It was really cool to see all of the interesting kites and to see where people had come from for this event! There were people from the states even who had come to fly some kites! So seeing some westerners again was  kinda nice!

The competition part was also very neat! I wasn't able to get any video but it was very interesting to witness people making streamlined kites dance around the sky in time with music and with bigger groups, to see the choreography. A typical "team" consisted of 4 people who used both hands to control their kites. They made the kites dip and sway, turn in circles, and do loop-de-loops. Some were small, some were big, and some had tails that went on forever, but all of them were fascinating!
I didn't really know what to expect from a kite festival, but it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had yet! I even bought a small butterfly kite to keep as a momento!

(You're never too old for a kite!)

Overall, it was a great week to be in Satun! This week will be a bit quieter and as the city returns to its normal sleepy self, I will be busy getting my room packed up becasue I'm dropping off my suitcase with my parent when they come to visit and I meet up with them in Phuket in less than a week! I can't wait to see them and after such a long time, I am thrilled to have some family around! So stay tuned for the next post detailing all the shenanigans the Black's will get into in the coming weeks!