Continual Shocks

As I said in the last entry, things have started to become almost normal. Even so, I have little tiny experiences that remind me that I'm really in a different world. Last night I took off my shirt to take a shower, looked down and saw a pool of sweat in my bellybutton. That's when you know how ridiculously hot this place is, and it isn't even in the hot season here.
Emma and I went swimming at my school's swimming pool and you're not allowed in if you are wearing a bikini. Luckily, my swimingsuit isn't, but Emma had to wear a shirt over her swimming suit. The standards set for men and women differ in so many ways. Boys wear speedos and walk around in their boxers while women (unless they are swimming) can't show their shoulders.
On another note, the band instructor wants to examine my violin. He wants to know what "key" it's in. I tried to explain to my host father that violins don't have a set key, that violinists don't play in military bands and that we can play in any key. He didn't understand it. I have to bring my violin to school tomorrow so some musical butcher can mess with it. Por said, "can't you change the key?" he motioned tuning with the pegs. I started to grow indignant, but I kept a smile on my face and said, 'No, the notes of the violin strings stay the same. we don't change them."
Speaking to someone who doens't understand music about my instrument in a foreign language is painful. It's hard to describe what exactly I do with my violin when the closest this anyone in this town has come to western music has been a high schoolband. I said I didn't want to play in the military band and my host father said, " No, no not military band, string combo, with saxophone, string combo."
I don't play jazz. I play classical. I play in quartets, chmaber orchestras and symphonies. I don't play with saxophones. I had this sense of forboding that I was going to be experimented on. Violins are rare things around here, and people don't know much about them. In fact, they don't know anything about them. Just what they sound like.
The Military band of my high school is well, Imagine level one band from middle school playing the thai national anthem. They also play it in a key that nobody can sing in every morning during roll call.
Yes, we have roll call. Every student in the school marches outside. We face the flag. We listen to the teachers. Today we had policemen as guest speakers. We melt in the heat. We stand and "sing" the national anthem as the thai flag is raised. We turn to our right and face a gold buddha statue. We all chant. The military band plays. And then we go to our classes. The entire rigamaroll takes a little over half an hour.
After school today, Emma and I are going swimming. Emma goes to the other high school in the town. Today was her first day. I wonder what it was like. They don't have an english program so all of her classes are in thai. None of her classes count here though. I am trying to take credits back from this year. Khun Por Dang (Dang is his nickname, it means red) says I can get a transcript. Anyway, I'm curious to see how her day went. The dress code is really strict and her peircings are not necessarily conventional in the thai sense. She has a bar across her ear on the left side. Not big, but I got in trouble for wearing rainbow studs.
The other school apparently has violin classes. I'm jealous. Even if nobody can play well, I'd like to be with other people who can play even a little bit. I'll ask Por if I can take a class at the other school. I'd rather do that that join the "string combo."
Signing off for now,
Sai