Speech Competition

Leah and I found out yesterday that we were needed for a competition today.  The timing worked out perfectly because we teach for most of the afternoon, and the competition was in the morning.  We rose early in the morning and began walking to the school at 8:15.  The school was only a ten minute walk from our house.

When we got there, we didn't know what to do.  I didn't know how many kids would be there or if I had to say something in front of a bunch of people... I wasn't ready for anything! I felt like I was in a movie as I walked through the school.  The school was huge!  Massive buildings overwhelmed me, I craned my neck to see the top and there was loud school music playing over the megaphones.

It was an environment I was not used to.  

Things finally got situated and I settled in a room with lots of kids.  

There were 17 different schools competing.  I felt so honored to be a part of something so big!  It was amazing.  I sat at a long table with three other older ladies.  We laughed, talked, sipped coffee and nibbled 

on some cake all while we were judging.  It was so fun!  The kids were adorable.  Most of them could not speak English well.  They had a thick Thai accent.  

There were also some very funny speeches.  Some kids danced, some stuttered, and some even ran to and from the stage from sheer 

embarrassment!  It was quite entertaining.  But, I do have to say that they did very well.  There were two parts to the competition.  First, the competitor gave a three minute speech about themselves.  And second, they gave an impromptu speech about a random topic given to them.  I was really impressed with these children!  

The most humorous man was the host.  He talked in half Thai and half English.  He mentioned how he learned to speak English.  It was funny, he mentioned how the words SALARY and CELERY sound similar, hmmm.... I had never thought about it before.  They really do sound similar.  Anyways:

One child did so amazing.  He was so adorable with huge ears and big eyes.  He was very cute. His english was impeccable.  If I had closed my eyes I wouldn't have known a Thai was talking. His words weren't choppy, he was very fluent in his speech. I really enjoyed being a judge, I hope that I will have the opportunity to do something like that again.