What the Heck Do I Know?

I didn't really know all that much about Thailand before I applied to this program. I knew it's a predominantly Buddhist country, I'd heard it is pretty inexpensive to live compared to the states, and I'd seen pictures of elephants and amazing beaches. We've done some research since then and also started learning the language.

You might have heard that Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles. This means you cannot assume that because someone is smiling and nodding, they are agreeing with you or able to do what you are requesting. They smile in any situation, good or bad. Thais also highly value tolerance, patience, and sensitivity. You will lose their respect if you become angry or emotional and do not maintain your composure. These beliefs are something Jack and I already share with the people of Thailand. ☺

A common expression in Thai is "mai pen rai" (sounds like /my pin rye/) which means something like "nevermind," "don't worry about it," or "it doesn't matter," but is used much more frequently than we use those phrases in the US. I've read that this sums up the basic attitude of Thais in daily life: don't overreact if something goes wrong, just smile and go with the flow. If you've ever worked in retail or customer service, you might agree that this sounds like advice more Americans should follow.

Thais also place a great deal of importance on the head, hands, and feet. It is disrespectful to touch someone's head as it is regarded literally and figuratively as the highest part of the body; it is polite to bow your head to elders and those of a higher status, position, or rank than you. The lower the bow, the more respect you are showing. (Add in your hands with palms together, fingers pointed toward your chin, and you are offering the common Thai greeting called a "wai," sounds like /why/.) Conversely, the feet are considered the lowest and dirtiest body parts, and it's highly offensive to point your feet or soles at someone. Actually, it's believed to be aggressive and rude to point at someone with your fingers too; you should use an open-handed gesture.

Here are some more quick tidbits we've picked up:
• Cell phones don't have voicemail.
• Hot water is not a common commodity. (I don't think I'll mind, but Jack is not looking forward to that.)
• When I walk into my classroom each day, the children will not sit down until I tell them too!
• The students often have English nicknames that seem like they come right out of the dictionary. So instead of "Jeff" or "Dan," they choose "Coin" or "Name."
• The monks obviously have no income, so they walk down the street at set times accepting food donations.
• Thais often eat things for breakfast that Americans would not really think of as breakfast foods: think fried rice, chicken, or fish.
• Curious about what is considered American food in Thailand? Anything with a hot dog in it.

Obviously, these are all vast generalizations about their culture, and I still do not presume to know anything about Thais. These are just the customs we've come across in readings, and we're just scratching the surface here.

The language has been a fantastic challenge to learn because Thai is tonal with 5 distinct tones!

The five levels: high tone, rising tone, normal tone, falling tone, low tone. Empty circle: live syllable, full circle: dead syllable. Narrow ellipse: short vowel, wide ellipse: long vowel. Blue: low, green: middle, red: high initial consonant. You can research live vs. dead syllables on your own; it's waaaay too complex to get into here.

Take a look at this alphabet:

Don't ask me anything about this yet.

I've been using the Mango Languages program to learn Thai. It's free for Madison Public Library members here! Only the basic course is available for Thai but that's enough to get me started and build conversation skills. I would highly recommend it for those learning a language from scratch.

We'll let you know what else we learn along the way, and pretty soon we'll have first-hand knowledge to share!