OldChinaHam
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Posts posted by OldChinaHam
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Well then, of course I am willing to defer to your more learned views on this subject because, as I mentioned at the outset, I am a very beginner in speaking or studying the Thai Language, and I know even less about the more unique qualities of Thai culture. I am here to learn.
However, I have asked a few native Thai speakers their thoughts about how much secrecy is normal in a relationship, and they have shared similar views. Marriage, for example, is a different relationship in Japan than is marriage in Thailand or the United States. Secrecy in itself is most definitely an unacceptable quality in a typical female-male relationship in the United States, where individuals are expected to be open and honest with their partners, and US society demands this openness and utter honesty.
My question is how much honesty and openness in a marriage is expected by Thai society and Thailand culture, compared to other Asian cultures, and compared to western culture. And are these expectations reflected in Thai expressions? I say the native speakers I interviewed believe quite a lot of secrecy is acceptable, and they usethese expressions to refer to this reality.
I wonder how much these unique expressions in Thai reflect differing attitudes amoung married young people today.
The Japanese marriage relationship, for example, usually has a high tolerance for each individual to lead separate lives of their own, even within the existing marriage relationship.
What about the degree of candidness and openness and honest typical and considered normal in the Thai marriage? And, how much secrecy is considered normal and acceptable?
I had wanted to know more about this subject and I hope you will not cast it aside without giving it the consideration which I believe it deserves.
And, thanks to Ajaan for the best reply so far.
Maybe someone could take it further with some sociological or culturally unique examples?
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Hi, I am using the English-Thai Dictionary compiled by Paiboon Publishers.
This is the best I have found, for a learners dictionary.
I would be very satisfied, but for the fact that I am constantly coming across huge holes in the glossary of words chosen to appear in the dictionary.
I am very displeased, after paying my money for this revised version,that a word as important and often used as the word "empathy", does not show. Neither does esoteric.
I would be just as happy using an online dictionary, but which one should I use to replace Paiboon, which offers all that Paiboon does, but without the dearth of entries.
Thanks, I have searched quite a bit, but still come up with zilch, another word not included in Paiboon.
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Nice Job!!!
I have recently had opportunity to see students in a classroom from day 1 studying Thai.
You are doing better by quite a large margin.
You must have listened to the tapes a heck of a lot.
Nice job.
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Also, you should listen to Pimsleur Thai audio recordings, 30 lessons.
These are the best you will find for very beginner Thai.
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Thai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker is an excellent starter book.
It teaches you to read from the very start which is so important.
Some of the language might seem a bit strange at first but it's teaching you the structures.
It's available in most bookshops and you should get the box including CDs.
Yes, you are right. Also the Intermediate book by the same authors.
These books are the best for self instruction/study, and the audio recordings are excellent.
There is also what is being called a "language pack" floating around on the internet some place with about 9 GB of material. I won't provide a link because a friend of mine just told me about it, and I have not yet had time to look.
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I am not going to write tons about this utterance, this time.
Instead, I am just going to say this expression may reflect some interesting cultural implications.
I would be appreciative for your efforts if all who care to do so would share your thinking regarding the different meanings and usage of this expression, as well as the Thai cultural and sociological reality that makes this phrase a very acceptable feature of interpersonal relationships.
I suppose this one phrase could provide the fodder for a thousand learned comments relating to the phrase, and what it might show us about Thai culture, and human nature.
I am just a very beginner when it comes to the Thai language.
So, please, if I have gotten the spelling or construction wrong, just correct me with as little castigation as you can.
TKS!
(This phrase is bound to come up when anyone studies Thai, and it is good to know what it means.)
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group of small BANANAS ?
Group or Bunch
Of bananas.
Anyway you can have your banana,
And I my Jasmine rice.
More important than a banana, long or short, in bunches.
I take my rice by the bowl, or plate,
I don' eat a sack of rice in one sitting,
But must have it every meal.
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I retired at 64 and moved to Chiang Mai. I've been back for three short visits, and each time felt the gulf widen between self and family & friends, Two old sayings are true:
- You can't go home again.
- Out of sight, out of mind.
This is home now, and anyone back there who cares can come see me here.
Just don't look homeward, Angel.
I never do.
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Interesting reading about everyone's experiences. I'm still debating about retirement there in the future. I'm 50 now, maybe in 8 years or so. I'll see how the LOS handles itself over the next few years before making a final decision
Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app
Just don't debate too long.
Thailand will continue to handle itself as well as it always has during the past few hundreds of years.
Don't worry about that,
Just worry about the fact that we have a finite number of hear beats in this life,
And yours are tick-tocking away as we speak.
Drop everything and hop on Thai Air tomorrow is the only sensible course of action for you,
IMHO.
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Everytime I see that word, I just think Superbowl, And USA football,
Or Hyper-bowl.
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Mine is filled with peanuts and canned Thailand tuna.
Both good cold, and no spills to clean up.
And, like Monroe in the 7 Year Itch,
I keep my underwear in the vegetable crisper.
Good in the hot season.
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I see the humor
In Rob seeing the humor
In it.
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"The Swiss are the lovers"
That would still be heaven for the Swiss,
Especially in Thailand.
Probably make love like clockwork.
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Well,
What about if they said:
I want a discount.
I pay less and you get short time.
Not on internet or virtually,
Then see if you can walk to bank,
Or at least maybe you walk crooked and still give me discount fir cash?
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Have you tried Gallows Humor?
Are you cognizant of its roots?
If not the gallows for you.......Then,
The only cure is
There was a white horse
It fell in the mud
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Here is a bit of something you might think nothing but hyperbole: "I amm smarter than anyone and everyone on TVF!!"
What kind of person am I?
Well.........
Here is something I have been thinking about when the subject turns to words, all important words:
By age sixty, we are at the peak, not the nadir of our word powers,
Usually.
But not I, I am learning new worrds as we speak.
Here is a word for you: Opprobrium, and you can feel free to greet my comment with it here.
No, I didn't just learn it, its part of my working English vocabulary.
But now I'm thinkin',
Would it not be nice to add another 2000 words to my English vocabulary this year? And 1000 to my Chinese vocabulary, And then 3000 to my Thai vocabulary?
This isn't just talk here!
I am going to seriously start using Anki Flash card system with plenty more vigor.
I will soon be twice as smart as you in the word department, when I finish with my Anki flash card sessions next year.
Hyperbo wat?
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"Why do Thai people always think a farang wants a Thai girlfriend?"
Because, they know what I am thinking. Truthfully, I would love to have a Thai girlfriend, but the right one escapes me at the moment. Maybe someday when I'm old and gray.
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They said: "If you can manage to board the plane in the first place, then it will be no more difficult getting off, and rolling around on the floor, when you arrive in Chiang Mai."
They were right, and I made the wisest move of my life when I landed here in CM.
This place cannot be beat by any other place I have been so far.
Reason? I would have to say it is the people, followed by the weather, the food, the sunshine, the clean and cheap places to live, and just about everything. I have never had a bad day here which was in any way caused by where I am, no, just the opposite. This place is a boost to anyone's spirits and outlook on life.
I cannot say enough positive, and the people I told had already heard from many others that CM is special.
I just wish the libraries were bigger, and also that they were easier to use, with all books easily borrowable.
Now whenever I talk to anyone I left behind, I just don't tell them how good it is, because I don't want them to feel too sorry for themselves that they did not come with me.
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I found Monsoon to have pretty decent tea. I especially liked the Shangri La Oolong and the HIll Tribe Green Tea Blend.
I have tried it, and I do like it.
I also do not want to say anything negative about this, but my opinion is that these teas are just a little overpriced compared to what I am used to in Taiwan.
But why should this be, I do not know, since some Thailand grown tea is actually exported to Taiwan.
My thinking is that there is far too high a markup on this tea.
I would love to buy it if the tea were about 50 percent cheaper.
Do Monsoon sell good tea? Yes I think they do.
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So, anyway, as I was saying,
I guess it really is more difficult to find/buy decent tea in Thailand.
Remember when I said the tea I tried tasted dead?
That was true then for that batch, but not for this next one I just tried: It was not dead,
It was much more like too alive for me.
In fact it smelled sort of like I was mowing the lawn, Or baling hay.
However, when you put it in a tall glass, And submerge it under boiling water, then it starts to behave a bit better. Actually, I think it is drinkable, but too expensive for what you get.
I would pay just 10Baht per 50 grams, And I would have listed this price in 100 gram amounts, Except I don't think you will want more than 50,
Ever.
I won't buy it again, but I did drink up the whole packet of 100 grams which I got at TOPS Super store. They have some Chinese tea there which is better, though also not good, And they are still filling the canister with plenty of twigs which should never be in good tea,
Or maybe they think I am too poor to buy a stove for my tea,
And the twigs are to start a fire to heat the water.
So, anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that now I do agree with you, and, yes, you were right. There is no good tea in Thailand,
That I have found so far.
This tea that I just had came sealed in a foil envelope stating it was premium tea from Thailand. It has such weak flavor I thought I was drinking unflavored hot water at first.
So I put in a whole mound of it in a very tall glass, Almost more tea than the glass would hold,
Still it tasted mostly like hay from the barnyard.
I purposely am not mentioning ANY brand names here, Because what is the point? I do know that you can get some very decent tea up around Chiang Rai,
But that is mostly for export, Or at least they put it in bags and label it as tea grown in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese think they are drinking their own tea when,
In actuality, the Taiwanese are drinking Thai Tea.
Yes, fellow Tea Drinkers, "Its A Mixed Up, Muddled up, Shook Up, World".
So, As they say in Hong Kong...... "Bottoms Up".
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When it rains local lines/circuits in Thailand can be impaired since many of the junction boxes and the wiring are not always protected from the environment in the best way (especially DSL/phone lines). In Thailand, we all see the attention to detail given to the spaghetti of electrical and communications lines/junction boxes hanging on poles, buildings, trees, ground, etc. And we don't even see the portion underground....and we now how the ground is always wet after you dig down a little bit. Plus, when it rains I expect more people just stay at home and surf the internet which eats up available bandwidth.
As mentioned by another poster, the speed you obtain can be greatly influenced by local circuits. For me here in western Bangkok on a True DOCSIS (cable) 15Mb plan rain seems to have very little effect since the lines are well protected/high quality TV cable lines with no junction boxes on the ground which can get flooded/easily accessed/messed with. If you ever looked in one of those phone/DSL ground-based junction boxes some look more like a corroded rats nest inside...I've seen inside several in my Bangkok moobaan and my mother-in-laws' provincial area.
DOCSIS and fiber lines are just a completely different technology from DSL lines not to imply DOCSIS/fiber lines don't have some problems also...maybe the OP is one DOCSIS or fiber. I also usually experience some internet slow-down to "international" website when it been raining for hours/all day/etc., since more people are staying at home and just surfing the internet/eating up the bandwidth. But in terms of in-Thailand/domestic bandwidth, Signal to Noise Ratio, etc., these line metrics seem to stay rock solid for me during rain or shine. Heck, my DOCSIS never went down during the late 2011 flood when I had over a meter of water in my moobaan for almost a month; most of the folks in my moobaan who were on DSL lost their internet service during the first few days of the flooding and didn't get it back (nor phone service) for almost a month.
This is probably the best reply to any question I have seen posted on TV during the past seven months I have been reading.
I had been thinking: Why do people here say the net slows down when it rains. It did not seem logical because I had been thinking that water is no barrier to the flow of electrons through copper wire, or fibre for that matter.
But I neglected to consider the increased usage during rainy days. I did not think about the degraded connections.
I only thought about the fact that radio waves pass through wet air about the same as dry air.
Now I know the answer to my question.
I found someone smarter than you know who.
How refreshing to be shown up like this in such a clear and logical way.
I think there cannot be a better answer to the question.
My faith in humanity has been raised a whole level.
How unfortunate that all replies and explanations on TV cannot be only half as good, or better than half this good.
Let me get this straight, though.
If I have the chance to select my service in the future,
Then I should go with DOCSIS, over DSL?
Well, that may be, until my neighbors begin downloading HD movies all at the same time (would that not water down the individual download speeds?)
But what I am really waiting for are Google balloons to begin floating overhead here in Chiang Mai,
Balloons like Google is testing over South Africa,
Which provide screaming fast wireless service from above the clouds.
This cannot last forever, the crapppy unstable speeds,
Even if the local companies need to use another provider's services,
The near future will require far faster and more stable service than anything the local companies can offer at the moment.
Anyway, thanks for the explanation,
It is nice to know why local people complain about the internet,
When it rains.
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If you want to learn from a native-english speaker (I am from the USA), who has lived here over 7 years, mostly in rural Thailand, speaking Thai daily with so few foreign friends, that I have to stop and think at times to find the right English word, the I can help you!I am fluent in written and spoken Thai. I can speak a fair amount of Issan/Lao as well as some Southern Thai too.I can explain the eccentricities of Thai to a western student more clearly than most Thai teachers (being that I am a westerner) but my 'accent' is correct, so locals won't cock their head in confusion when you talk to them.Drop me a PM.Cheers,Mike
When you say, "Cock Their Head",
Exactly how would you communicate this in Thai?
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I hit my head on the old bung.
Now,
I am seeing stars.
I agree, I never would drink at the bung hole,
I would prefer the water hole.
And I would never drink at Starbung,
When I could have cake and eat it at Starbucks.
I think they should have ignored it, because now I will always be calling Starbucks Starbungs.
And laughing about it.
I may open a StarBuckRogers, and see if I get sued by both companies at the same time?
Yes, I think I will try to do so.
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"The U.S. coffee chain also wants the men find THB300,000 plus interest."
No!
Let me Find THB300,000 plus interest,
Instead.
Video of Me Speaking All the Thai I Learned With Pimsleur Thai in 10 Days
in Thai Language
Posted
You mention TIME, and I really did believe I would ever learn it, but I did.
It is very important to have patience, otherwise you will give up and fail completely.