Chan pud Thai mai dai

First, our internet connection is awful here.  I’m keeping track of blog entries, but can’t always make them post right after I write them… so I may end up posting 2 or 3 entries at a time even though they were written days apart.  Oh well.

Second, our placement may not be what we thought.  A month ago we were told the province of Trang would be our home while in Thailand.   Today we were told that that information is incorrect, and we really could end up anywhere.  All 95 of us here with the program will be hired by schools in different parts of the country in the next 3 weeks.  That should probably worry me a little, but they’ve done this before.  This organization has connected 2,000+ schools with teachers in Thailand.  We’ll let you know where we end up.

Now, as you can tell from the blog title, we are almost fluent in Thai.  We can say about 4 complete sentences, and we can count to 10.  It’s a super easy language.  For example, the word ka said with a normal tone means to obstruct or get stuck in.  Ka, when said with a low tone, means galangal, which is an ingredient in some Thai dish.  Ka, when said with a falling tone, means servant or slave.  Ka, when said with a high tone, means to make a deal/trade.  Ka, when said with a rising tone, means leg. Got it?  …Me neither.   Here’s a picture of a dog to make us all feel better:
 

Her name is Fresh Milk.

Kevin killed a guy yesterday. (That’s not true.)  We went to a Mui Thai gym and had some Thai guys teach us how to fight properly.  So don’t worry, Mom.  Now that I know how to uppercut and push-kick, I’m not even afraid to walk around alone at night or hang out in dark alleys.   

We also learned how to make pad thai and roll spring rolls.  Aroy maak – It was delicious!

 

Our new friend, Lexi.