i sit in restaurant “noname” in the company of my fellow whities that this restaurant clearly caters to….finally humbling myself enough to realize that my thai vocabularly of about three shakily-pronounced words wasn’t enough to get by in the few authentic thai joints on my overwhelmingly touristy beach neighborhood. i realize that despite the thai girl staff, this is clearly an expat-owned bar –judging from the england football jersey hanging above the register. still, i seem to be the only english speaker. i receive equally blank stares when i say my sawadeekaahhhh as when i say eat? lunch? even the pervy old men sitting around me are speaking in a language i don’t recognize…
at least the place has a witty name –or lack of name-plus a steaming bowl of bomb curry that i've been gloriously living off of these past few days…
31.5.10
30.5.10
language stupidity...
…more and more inevitable moments of cultural stupidity as i forget how to articulate in english the meaning of the symbol of a dog with a red line across it. once i finally realize what the nice apartment owner lady was trying to ask me, i stupidly say “Do not enter, Dogs!” thank god my brain finally decided to kick itself into action, correcting myself “No dogs allowed.” i would have felt unforgivably braindead if the entrance door to their quaint little apartment complex was forever adorned with the warning to all english-speaking dogs: “hey you, do not enter!”
later is my first desperate search for coffee in my new country. i don’t allow myself to take the easy way out after barely being in thailand 24 hours by walking into one of the many expat-owned cafes beckoning to me with their all-english signs of “fresh coffee” and “english breakfast!” so instead I find a small café-ish looking hut with signs purely in thai script, aside from the one reassuring word in english: “coffee.” i attempt to convey my desire for iced black coffee, pointing to the espresso machine, miming “cold,” and pointing to the sugary powdered milk product on the counter and shaking my head vigorously. i speak directions slowly and quietly in my best articulated english, as if my low volume would somehow help the words more easily sneak into the sweet spot of comprehension in the barista’s brain. my feelings of reassurance when the understanding clicks between us overshadows the blatantly bemused looks I earn for my lack of desire for sugar. in this culture, i soon realize, sugar receives just as much appreciation in all aspects of cuisine as the famous thai chilies and spiciness. since i know the embarrassment of trying to explain my order will be the first of many similar instances to come, i try to ask how to name my order in thai, in hopes of lessening the ordeal for the next morning’s café visit. plus, opportunities for learning are everywhere in a new country. this may just be my first thai vocab word on my journey toward fluency…
it takes me several stupid moments of back and forth repetitions (attempting to perfect my adopted thai accent of course) to realize that all he is saying is “iced espresso”…surely wondering once again why this poor confused farang hadn’t just asked for it in the first place…
later is my first desperate search for coffee in my new country. i don’t allow myself to take the easy way out after barely being in thailand 24 hours by walking into one of the many expat-owned cafes beckoning to me with their all-english signs of “fresh coffee” and “english breakfast!” so instead I find a small café-ish looking hut with signs purely in thai script, aside from the one reassuring word in english: “coffee.” i attempt to convey my desire for iced black coffee, pointing to the espresso machine, miming “cold,” and pointing to the sugary powdered milk product on the counter and shaking my head vigorously. i speak directions slowly and quietly in my best articulated english, as if my low volume would somehow help the words more easily sneak into the sweet spot of comprehension in the barista’s brain. my feelings of reassurance when the understanding clicks between us overshadows the blatantly bemused looks I earn for my lack of desire for sugar. in this culture, i soon realize, sugar receives just as much appreciation in all aspects of cuisine as the famous thai chilies and spiciness. since i know the embarrassment of trying to explain my order will be the first of many similar instances to come, i try to ask how to name my order in thai, in hopes of lessening the ordeal for the next morning’s café visit. plus, opportunities for learning are everywhere in a new country. this may just be my first thai vocab word on my journey toward fluency…
it takes me several stupid moments of back and forth repetitions (attempting to perfect my adopted thai accent of course) to realize that all he is saying is “iced espresso”…surely wondering once again why this poor confused farang hadn’t just asked for it in the first place…
29.5.10
day one.
the airport: a traveler’s first live glimpse of a country’s culture. an ambiguous place of transport that reveals no secrets. tourists thrown together with locals, cultural pioneers side by side with in-transit passerbys. faces reveal curiosity and ambivalence, interest and apathy.
Bangkok International Airport, first impressions: extremely noticeable lack of bombs/fires/guns/riots. (glad i opted to leave the bullet-proof vest at home, despite every warning that the red shirt situation was reason enough to postpone my trip to bangkok, tell my employer that i simply couldn't make it, and sit at home in my sleepy small town waiting for the "action" to subside...). my new dutch airplane buddy and i depart our vessel greeted by nothing but clean, spacious interiors, welcoming smiles from all sides, and friendly giggles at my enthusiastic first attempts at the thai language. driving from the airport to pattaya with my ever-so-wee taxi driver is unmistakably reminiscent of the exotic costa rican tropics. palm trees everywhere. suffocating heat and humidity. light blue-grey clouds hinting at an imminent equatorial thunderstorm. the only big difference is the beautiful – and completely unreadable- thai script adorning the signs and billboards. i am surprised to discover right away that even i have been guilty of the typical american assumption that the whole world speaks at least some english, apparent in the obvious cloud of consuming yet smiling silence i was sharing with my driver. my collection of “talk thai now” tracks i downloaded in a hurry to my new indigo ipod instantly become my savior as i search for some other friendly phrase besides the “hello” and “thank you” that i've already overused. my few sporadic days of preparation squeezed between the college graduations, 20-hour cracked-out road trips, and celebratory Vegas missions all crammed into the month of May-hem left me with less time than usual to adequately research my destination.
even so, after memorizing the generic prolonged orientations specializing in culture-shock metaphors and “how to survive without skippy peanut butter” lectures that had preceded my previous international endeavors, being thrown into an exotic country and language with little to keep me afloat but my own bubbles of excitement feels unbelievably refreshing.
Bangkok International Airport, first impressions: extremely noticeable lack of bombs/fires/guns/riots. (glad i opted to leave the bullet-proof vest at home, despite every warning that the red shirt situation was reason enough to postpone my trip to bangkok, tell my employer that i simply couldn't make it, and sit at home in my sleepy small town waiting for the "action" to subside...). my new dutch airplane buddy and i depart our vessel greeted by nothing but clean, spacious interiors, welcoming smiles from all sides, and friendly giggles at my enthusiastic first attempts at the thai language. driving from the airport to pattaya with my ever-so-wee taxi driver is unmistakably reminiscent of the exotic costa rican tropics. palm trees everywhere. suffocating heat and humidity. light blue-grey clouds hinting at an imminent equatorial thunderstorm. the only big difference is the beautiful – and completely unreadable- thai script adorning the signs and billboards. i am surprised to discover right away that even i have been guilty of the typical american assumption that the whole world speaks at least some english, apparent in the obvious cloud of consuming yet smiling silence i was sharing with my driver. my collection of “talk thai now” tracks i downloaded in a hurry to my new indigo ipod instantly become my savior as i search for some other friendly phrase besides the “hello” and “thank you” that i've already overused. my few sporadic days of preparation squeezed between the college graduations, 20-hour cracked-out road trips, and celebratory Vegas missions all crammed into the month of May-hem left me with less time than usual to adequately research my destination.
even so, after memorizing the generic prolonged orientations specializing in culture-shock metaphors and “how to survive without skippy peanut butter” lectures that had preceded my previous international endeavors, being thrown into an exotic country and language with little to keep me afloat but my own bubbles of excitement feels unbelievably refreshing.
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