better than regular

I've noticed that some of the activities here recently could potentially be pretty ordinary, though fun, things to experience back home. But in Southeast Asia, these things get warped and sped up and colored a different way. it's pretty damn cool.

there's the trip we took to Laos on a long weekend. we went to a spot where you tube down a river and drink at bars along the way. Okay, pretty good sounding fun, anywhere in the world. But in Laos, you also have large limestone mountains as your river backdrop, plus ziplines and mud and whiskey mixed in buckets. 

and you have beerlaos to facilitate the beer pong, of course.

And back in Thailand, at school, there's a 2-day Sports Day event where the kids play against each other in various different sports and do bracket-like things to figure out a winner for each one. Sports are fun, but not shockingly extraordinary. You know what is? The fact that the kids get divided into teams by colors, then create a theme for their color for each day, create chants, make their own elaborate costumes, do a huge parade, create choreography, and perform it during opening ceremonies on both days. 

oh, and there were fireworks too. 

Then, at the closing ceremony of Sports Day, monsoon season arrived with a vengeance, and some of the kids took this opportunity to turn the sports field into a mud slide. Our students are the greatest.

even a storm in Thailand is so much better than your average rain. 

Also, check the Sports Day choreo, it's pretty impressive. and how Lady Gaga-esque are these girls?