The Basics of Learning Thai

We just finished working with a rice co-op here teaching English... though they are way to busy to learn English so we ended up teaching ourselves Thai... I know Hello! Though I often get flustered when I have to use it and say Thanks! instead... I aim to please. It is quite a difficult language to learn. They speak with tones so a word that is spelt the same but said with a higher tone is a completely different word than one said with a lower tone. It would seem that it wouldn't really make that much of a difference if you said a rising tone word in a high tone voice but really it means that NO ONE will understand you. For instance 'glai' said in a falling tone (that's right f-a-l-l-i-n-g) means near, however if you say it in a flat tone (how I would prefer to always talk) it means far... I don't think I am going to get anywhere (I mean this in quite a literal sense of the word) with a language like this.

Anyways we teach no English but we eat A LOT of Thai food. They have these great outdoor markets that offer all the food you can eat at about $0.50 a dish... it's beautiful. My favorite though is their sweets... they do them right. I have found this wonderful banana bread (if you didn't know this is my personal absolute favorite) that is like my moms but better (though that's not what I tell her). Ummmm! So I am putting on the weight that I lost on my "India" diet.

We decided to leave our co-op gig a bit early since we are clearly not teaching, nor learning, any languages and head to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Fun Fun! Okay I am going to go eat... they have this great popcorn that is covered in something I can't translate but wish I could recreate when I can home...