Saturday, August 19, 2006
HIii! I was not going to go the island that everyone is going to tonight because I was feeling a bit off and didn't want to spend 2 hours on a bus at 5pm tonight. But, because almost all the exchange students are going, I think I should go. Yes, "I should go to the tropical island that costs $6 to get there and back and drink cheap booze and lounge on the beach all the day." God, the obligations of this country are so oppressive. Heh. Anyways, I realized I have no pants to really wear here, which is so much fun... hehe. Whatever. At least I have my little white shorts. Those are always good times.
We went to the tourist street tonight. Finally tonnes of clothes are look like they are for the average north american. Even if the teeny tiny north americans struggle here, because we are all taller with different builds. On this street, though, they had lots of options for us. I got a pink skirt for $6, but I should have bought pants. I can get my hair braided there, for nice and cheap and takes about 10 seconds. Heh, okay, not 10 seconds, but you know. Everyone seems to speak English there, for all the foreigners. Anand and I and Michelle took a tuk tuk and it was so fun listening to him speak Thai, and fun watching Michelle barter. Heh. I was exhausted and am fighting a cold, so I was irritable and a litle bit cranky last night. I had to explain the word cranky the other day to Julia, who is German, and she was laughing because I was making rawring sounds and doing clawing gestures. Heh. She just googled it. My acting is not good enough, I guess the closest they have in German is "moody." And the Thai's, Anand says, just don't have a comparable word. Cranky Canadians. Heh. Life was a little challenging yesterday, and I wanted to not talk to anyone and punch a punching bag, but my recent 10 hours of sleep last night helped quite a bit. There is no punching bags here, just focus pads, so I need someone to hold them for me. Rob boxes, so we trained together once, which was fun. Hopefully we will again.
Got hopelessly lost yesterday, very easy to get turned around in this town of 10 million, thankful that a lot of people speak English, or can understand are bad Thai. We found it, and took the 12bht bus ride home, which is like, mmm, $0.44 or something CDN. Got all of my adminstration things done for school, procrastinator I am.
I did yoga again today, out by the pool. It is super hot yoga, as it is super hot. Heh. Humid, more like it. I am always really soaked after it, so fun. The only place to really do it is out by the pool, because the activity room is closed a lot. And my balcony is too wee, and my apartment has total of 4 pretty girls running around. So, I know that I get watched sometimes when I go it, but I try to ignore it, as I listen to my ipod. Yoga is for myself and no one else anyways. I am sure people just look because it is something different. Learning to block them out, even when the exchange students lurk on their balcony. I maybe will teach a community class here. That would be fun, to teach everyone sometimes. I like teaching. This sounds like a grade 3 travel journal. "Today we saw dogs. I like dogs. I ate ice cream. Then we went to the hotel. My sister is mean." That sort of thing. Heh.
Another topic: Learning Thai)
There is no plural and singular. Everything is just singular, but it could mean plural. It is really intriguing. Aka, you can say, "I go with friends" is the same as "I go with my friend." It makes life more exciting. There are different tones to say things in, and if you say it off, it can mean different things. Aka "Khow" means rice or white or stench of dead fish, depending on how you say it. I find this all very interesting. And have eaten a lot of dead fish. Hhe. As a joke. I like bartering, and I am sure I will be a wiz at it in the future. It is nice ot have the option to go and pay way more in America (none bartering stores.) I feel like I am speaking as though English is my second language, as I am using smaller words and talking slower. Hehe. Good times all around. Michelle and I have been laughing that as we gain Thai we lose ENglish. Heh. And I am talking more with my hands, the Thai's do that quite a bit. I have a lot more respect for all the ESL kids at SFU, life can be challenging sometimes. And it is all really nice to have people who are friendly. The Thais at school sometimes interview us for their English class or wahtever, and I got to answer one about my favorite food. And Michelle answered one about her favorite movie. And then we got to practice our Thai on them. So fun. If you say "raccoon nun nun" that means "love you long time." Heh. There is some Thai fotr you, written so that you can understand and say it in Canadian-speak. Other favorite saying is "my pen rye" Which should be hte saying of the nation- means "life is okay, nevermind, all is okay." Hhe. Eveyrone here is so laidback. And the locals love it when we say it. You throw a "ka" on the end if you are a girl and want to be polite. It is "karp" if you are a boy. I learned how to do the proper wei, (Pronouced "why") which is a low bow that you do for anyone senior to you. Anand has been very important in teaching me all about Thai, so grateful for him. He is oging to take me to the country club, which is across the street from our univeristy and is very very very tres posh. And they have horses! We can watch horse racing, and I can bet under his name. Perfect. Heh. SO fun! I also asked if he could take me to the less posh area, aka the slums, so that I can see it as well. I think it is best to see not only the plastic fantastic Bangkok, but also the real life Bangkok. It is a nice place. I also learned all about the King, and the royal family. They are very big time here, and you will be instantly arrested if you say anything poor about them. THe King seems like the best person ever, he has been on the throne 60 years and Anand says ALL of the Thais would give their life for him, because he is so wonderful.
I feel like I have been typing all this stuff before, oh well, I will appreciate it in the future as I reread my first impressions of Bangkok. ¶ 1:22 PM
We went to the tourist street tonight. Finally tonnes of clothes are look like they are for the average north american. Even if the teeny tiny north americans struggle here, because we are all taller with different builds. On this street, though, they had lots of options for us. I got a pink skirt for $6, but I should have bought pants. I can get my hair braided there, for nice and cheap and takes about 10 seconds. Heh, okay, not 10 seconds, but you know. Everyone seems to speak English there, for all the foreigners. Anand and I and Michelle took a tuk tuk and it was so fun listening to him speak Thai, and fun watching Michelle barter. Heh. I was exhausted and am fighting a cold, so I was irritable and a litle bit cranky last night. I had to explain the word cranky the other day to Julia, who is German, and she was laughing because I was making rawring sounds and doing clawing gestures. Heh. She just googled it. My acting is not good enough, I guess the closest they have in German is "moody." And the Thai's, Anand says, just don't have a comparable word. Cranky Canadians. Heh. Life was a little challenging yesterday, and I wanted to not talk to anyone and punch a punching bag, but my recent 10 hours of sleep last night helped quite a bit. There is no punching bags here, just focus pads, so I need someone to hold them for me. Rob boxes, so we trained together once, which was fun. Hopefully we will again.
Got hopelessly lost yesterday, very easy to get turned around in this town of 10 million, thankful that a lot of people speak English, or can understand are bad Thai. We found it, and took the 12bht bus ride home, which is like, mmm, $0.44 or something CDN. Got all of my adminstration things done for school, procrastinator I am.
I did yoga again today, out by the pool. It is super hot yoga, as it is super hot. Heh. Humid, more like it. I am always really soaked after it, so fun. The only place to really do it is out by the pool, because the activity room is closed a lot. And my balcony is too wee, and my apartment has total of 4 pretty girls running around. So, I know that I get watched sometimes when I go it, but I try to ignore it, as I listen to my ipod. Yoga is for myself and no one else anyways. I am sure people just look because it is something different. Learning to block them out, even when the exchange students lurk on their balcony. I maybe will teach a community class here. That would be fun, to teach everyone sometimes. I like teaching. This sounds like a grade 3 travel journal. "Today we saw dogs. I like dogs. I ate ice cream. Then we went to the hotel. My sister is mean." That sort of thing. Heh.
Another topic: Learning Thai)
There is no plural and singular. Everything is just singular, but it could mean plural. It is really intriguing. Aka, you can say, "I go with friends" is the same as "I go with my friend." It makes life more exciting. There are different tones to say things in, and if you say it off, it can mean different things. Aka "Khow" means rice or white or stench of dead fish, depending on how you say it. I find this all very interesting. And have eaten a lot of dead fish. Hhe. As a joke. I like bartering, and I am sure I will be a wiz at it in the future. It is nice ot have the option to go and pay way more in America (none bartering stores.) I feel like I am speaking as though English is my second language, as I am using smaller words and talking slower. Hehe. Good times all around. Michelle and I have been laughing that as we gain Thai we lose ENglish. Heh. And I am talking more with my hands, the Thai's do that quite a bit. I have a lot more respect for all the ESL kids at SFU, life can be challenging sometimes. And it is all really nice to have people who are friendly. The Thais at school sometimes interview us for their English class or wahtever, and I got to answer one about my favorite food. And Michelle answered one about her favorite movie. And then we got to practice our Thai on them. So fun. If you say "raccoon nun nun" that means "love you long time." Heh. There is some Thai fotr you, written so that you can understand and say it in Canadian-speak. Other favorite saying is "my pen rye" Which should be hte saying of the nation- means "life is okay, nevermind, all is okay." Hhe. Eveyrone here is so laidback. And the locals love it when we say it. You throw a "ka" on the end if you are a girl and want to be polite. It is "karp" if you are a boy. I learned how to do the proper wei, (Pronouced "why") which is a low bow that you do for anyone senior to you. Anand has been very important in teaching me all about Thai, so grateful for him. He is oging to take me to the country club, which is across the street from our univeristy and is very very very tres posh. And they have horses! We can watch horse racing, and I can bet under his name. Perfect. Heh. SO fun! I also asked if he could take me to the less posh area, aka the slums, so that I can see it as well. I think it is best to see not only the plastic fantastic Bangkok, but also the real life Bangkok. It is a nice place. I also learned all about the King, and the royal family. They are very big time here, and you will be instantly arrested if you say anything poor about them. THe King seems like the best person ever, he has been on the throne 60 years and Anand says ALL of the Thais would give their life for him, because he is so wonderful.
I feel like I have been typing all this stuff before, oh well, I will appreciate it in the future as I reread my first impressions of Bangkok. ¶ 1:22 PM
