Communicating

It's pretty hard to get salt (gleua) tablets when I ask for banana (kluay). My attempt to kid Mr. Thongkam, our landlord, about his knit hat one morning, as I returned sweaty from jogging, didn't make much sense when I said, "It's not morning," while fanning myself instead of, "It's not cold." They are probably used to us "ferengi," as Gary calls us, doing weird things like that though. We are probably almost as weird as those Star Trek creatures, but we don't bargain as well as they do and most of us have smaller ears. They actually call strangers "farangi" in Iran, but Thais use the word "farang."

Some communication efforts are getting better. One tuk tuk driver we pass everyday asked as, "You happy walking?" After I nodded and smiled he said, "I don't believe it!" The next day as we passed the group I said, "Rauw (we) me kwaam sook (have happiness)..." One repeated, "Me kwaam sook?" and I said, "deum (walking)" and gestured at the sidewalk going up the street. They laughed. At least it was better than just saying "no" again to their offers to take us places. Another day, at Lotus (the department store) I was able to understand that the free bowl the free sample girls were offering came with the purchase of some salad dressing. It's still discouraging, though, when I've thought I've used all the right words to explain where Gary is to Mrs. Janooan, and then she asks where he is.

The language class has also given us insight into the thinking of Thai people. In the Thai language the self, or the speaker is most important. That becomes the frame of reference for their sentence structure. The way to say "bring" changes depending on whether the object is going toward or away from the speaker. Also, when they say "on the left" or "on the right" they mean it from their left or right, not to the left or right of the object they are looking at. They keep saying it is a "picture" language. That means they throw in extra little words here and there to make the picture work, but if we try to translate each of them to English they become repetitive.

They are very respectful, though, and laugh easily about their own faults and those of others. Their word for "excuse me" is the same as "I'm sorry," so they apologize often and bow their head behind their pressed together palms (a wai). Thais we've met have brought up their

shortcomings regularly, laughing all the while. They laugh easily about most things that happen to them or that they or others are doing. We could learn something about being less serious from them, I think.

Their light attitude might come from their tonal language. When I read in my Thai language class I have to sing to get the tones in. It is very much like warming up in a choir class. If they are singing whenever they speak, maybe that lifts their spirits!

I guess I need to get back to my singing lessons.

:J