hoof and mouth disease?

So the other day I came into my classroom and one of the Thai teachers was checking the fingernails of all of the children and then saying something to them in Thai. I had no idea what was going on, but that is usual, so I just figured that this was another weird Thai thing. Then I noticed yesterday that the entire Kindergarten building smelt like cleaner, and noticed that the Thai teacher in my class was washing all of the tables and toys with Dettol. This was also strange but, again, strange things happen here on a daily basis. I asked someone why all of the toys were being washed and it took awhile for her to figure out how to say it in English, but she said that a child in the school had been diagnosed as having "hoof and mouth disease". So apparently there was a case of foot and mouth disease in our school, which is why they were disinfecting everything and talking to all of the kids about the cleanliness of their fingernails (because this is apparently how it is spread).

There was also a rumour going around that a kid in our school had the bird flu, but our boss swears that it is untrue. There was a case in Bangkok, but it was not at our school. Either way, the cafeteria is no longer serving chicken, which I guess is good, but that just means that there is a whole lot more fish, which I am not a fan of because I am pretty sure that is what gave me food poisoning. The fish here is also not served how we are used to it. Most of it is in the form of fish balls, which are in EVERYTHING and absolutely disgust me. You can also get entire fish, that I think are salted and roasted or smoked somehow, complete with tails, heads, and eyes. Gross.

This weekend, we are going to Pattaya, which is usually described as the Red Light District of Thailand. It is prostitute city, but there is also a really beautiful beach right nearby, so that is why we are going. Other people from school have gone and have really liked it, so hopefully it'll be a good weekend.

Krista comes in one week and I am really excited to see someone from home! Hope all of you teachers and students out there enjoyed your first few days of school, I've enjoyed all of the first year, first day teaching stories, keep them coming!