(Reposted for Ram (: )
Norea wondered how the scene in front of her looked to the tour group. A woman framed her mock-surprised face with her hands as she backed away from a set of high-heeled feet dangling lifelessly. In a circle around the computer screen, 8 orange-striped ten-year-olds in pleather rolly chairs listlessly watched the drama. Only their Thai teacher seemed enrapt. In the corner, the teaching assistant scrolled through pictures of cookies shaped like Lady Gaga. From the window outside, the five professors on Norea’s tour tittered like overexcited hamsters.
“Very… unusual school,” one of them said to her. Norea nodded.
Norea turned around so that her silvery eyes met the horizon. On the eighth floor, she had an uninterrupted view of the city. In the distance, the most recognizable bridges in Bangkok batted golden eyes as they coyly skirted behind the smog. They dropped gray-brown veils onto the vibrating city below as they shimmied in the heat. The distant downtown towers looked as if they had donned their best khakis and sidled up next to the stage to enjoy the show. The scene was suspended, a sepia photo with blurred edges and a highlighted blue sky. All the smiles were frozen.
The wet, climbing ivy that was the Chao Phraya River evaporated inexorably up the sides of skyscrapers, covered the cars parked on bridges, and hid the street vendors, encircling the city in its grasp.
“The children learn by creating,” she told the group, still looking at the hazy sparkle in the distance. “In this class, they are learning Thai culture and language by studying curses. In the coming weeks, they will make their own drama about curses.”
The group nodded in unison and Norea guided them downstairs.
“And does it work?” a professor with too-red lipstick and an unmoving-shell of hair asked.
“The sixth floor has science labs and the facilitator’s offices,” Norea said.
Creative Commons love to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebehnken/ for the picture!