Sa bai dee mai ka?
Sa bai dee ka, kob kuhn ka.
Guess who's got parent's with three thumbs and is learning Thai? THIS GIRL! We've now had 2 Thai lessons and I am LOVING it. Our teacher came out on the first day and said, "Rule number one; Thai is easy! What's rule number one?" Well, apparently everyone has thus far been yanking my chain. Thai isn't some scary Asian language whose tones and alphabet make it impossible to conquer, oh no! Thai is easy.
Ok, so Thai isn't really THAT easy, but I can certainly see why learning English from Thai would be insane. Thai is similar to Kiswahili in that there are no conjugations. Neither is there differentiation between singulars and plurals. There isn't even a word that means "the." So all of those things really do contribute to making it straight forward in a lot of ways. I think the thing that makes it "easy" is that our teacher, Pear, is amazing (we literally laugh the whole time and the class flies by) and we are totally immersed in a Thai-speaking world. Basically, if we care to, we can pick this up pretty fast.
Besides the language, because that's just a given with me, here are some things I like so far about THAILAND.
1. It’s a matriarchal society. Or at least, this is what we have been told. On Tuesday we had an awesome “Culture and History” lesson with Mike, the founder and director of XploreAsia. He has been living in, working in, and experiencing Thailand in some way or another for the past 17 years. He has his PhD in Thai Politics (I think, but certainly in something “Thai”) and is married to Paang, the co-director/founder of the organization who is, herself, Thai. I guess, we kind of have seen already first hand the power of the matriarch a little in “Mom” who is the team’s collective mother, but really Paang’s mother. She is around at all times giving hugs and teaching cooking lessons and whenever she appears, we cheer like mad.
2. The royal family. Also at the lesson that day, we learned about something called “Lése-majesté” which is a law against saying anything bad about the current monarchy. Even without the pressure of social media and the publication of this blog I have to wonder aloud, who would WANT to say anything bad about the royal family? The king is super beloved here and it’s not hard to get on the bandwagon. Bhumibol Adulyadej is the oldest reigning monarch in the world (he'll be 90 next year) and I think that he is also the longest reigning one at that (70 years), having been sworn in as King when his older brother died. That’s cool enough. But what makes this guy stand out is his beautiful humanness while simultaneously being appreciated and honored at a god-like level. He is a jazz musician who is passionate about music and those who make it. He studied in the States before he was made King and he fell in love with the daughter of the Thai ambassador to France, whom he then married and has been with ever since. He is certainly a monarch to get behind, and while freedom of speech, I’m learning, is, interestingly, a mere privilege that we have in the states, it’s not allowed everywhere. That being said, you would never suspect any level of censorship in “the land of smiles.” Everyone is very easy-going, friendly, and happy.
3. The food. There. I said it. There is really nothing like Thai food. Sure, most of you have probably tried pad thai in your lives and it might even be your default order when you go to a Thai restaurant. Needless to say, I also love pad thai and I was prepared to eat nothing but for the next few months on the off chance that I didn’t like anything else. That, as it turns out, will not be necessary. Basically, even white rice is super flavorful here. I’ve learned the word for “vegetarian” so sometimes I will just walk up to a restaurant and say, “ao aa-haan jeh ped” which means, “I want spicy, vegetarian food” and I get something new and exciting that I’ve never even seen before overtime. The spicy levels are just about right too, and its a different kind of spice than Mexico whose salsa would go down ok but then leave me running to the bathroom all through the night. I equate the Thai peppers to wasabi somehow in that it burns your mouth and runs your nose while you eat it but then you get over it pretty quickly; it’s not a pain that lingers. Furthermore, some people find that when a food is spicy, you can’t taste anything else, but somehow the spice here just amplifies the flavor. Every bite here is such cause for celebration it makes me wonder why the "eat" part of "Eat, Pray, Love" was done in Italy.
4. Thai COOKING. This is a separate thing because I now have learned how to cook Thai food as well as eat it. It's interesting but we were told that most people in Thailand go out to eat for every meal since it's so cheap. It's rare, they say, to get an apartment with a kitchen. That's actually a little disappointing, especially since now I know how to cook pad thai and papaya salad like a boss, but maybe when I get to my placement I'll find a little place close to home and I'll prefer it this way.
5. Buddhism. We have now been to see several Buddhist Temples and every time we pop inside one I'm overcome with a nice sense of calm. Maybe it's taking your shoes at the door or the happy, orange-clad monks, but whatever it is, I love being on the "in" and in the "know." The other day we took a meditation class from a real live Buddhist monk, that made me want to meditate on the reg. While he was telling us all about his day-to-day life and how he came to the monkhood... his phone rang. I don't know what I expected, it's not like "Buddhism" isn't synonymous with "Amish" but somehow I really didn't think monks would be able to have phones, especially since they beg for food every morning for their one and only meal of the day because they aren't allowed to handle money.
6. The puppies. Anywhere I go, this is gonna be a big one. The other day we went to Rescue Paws, which is a blossoming organization dedicated to sterilizing and vaccinating the stray dog populations of Hua Hin. They also do adoptions out to Canada and the states, hoping to find better lives for the dogs that they care for and rehabilitate.
7. Muay Thai. This species of boxing is the national sport of Thailand and man is it tough! Fun as can be, but really difficult. We got a lesson the other day and I think it is certainly something that I want to look into when I get my placement. It might be fun to take some private lessons and get in boxing shape.
8. The elephants. It's no secret or joke that elephants all over the globe are disappearing like mad. Well, I say "disappearing" as if we don't know where they are going when in reality the problem is very clear. Once again, we are confronted by the obscene greed of the human race. The ivory trade is still a huge concern for the well-being of all elephants and we really should do everything possible to discourage it at every turn. Now with my short little PSA out of the way, I want to say that we went to Hutsadin Elephant Sanctuary to meet and feed their 8 beautiful elephants. The sanctuary will find Elephants who are mistreated or used for the tourist trade (brutally tortured until they are broken for rides) and buy them off their owners so they can be rehabilitated in the sanctuary. They don't have a lot of space for the elephants but at least they give them care, protection and all the pineapples they could want. My teammates and I got the unique and special chance to hand feed some of the elephants. I was even brave enough to put a piece of bread directly into an elephant's mouth.
Tomorrow we will get to check out an awesome cave temple! More to come.
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