Favourite language mistakes #1&2

So, I thought it might be amusing to document my favourite language blunders on here! I made two today (a good sign as it means I am using language!)

#1: My teacher asked me (in Thai), how long it takes to go from England to France on the train. I replied confidently (in Thai) ‘1 year’! She looked very surprised and assumed I had misunderstood the question, I on the other hand was oblivious to my mistake…so we went through it bit by bit, and I was assuring her that it really was that fast (I thought I had said ‘1 hour!) Eventually we went through it in English: ‘by train-it takes-1-hour….’ As soon as I said ‘hour’ I realised that I had said ‘pii’ (year) instead if ‘chuamoong’ (hour!)

#2: After dinner we went to get rotee (dessert). The lady who made it was very good at it, we were amazed by the way she did things with her hands and flicked the knife back into the butter, so I leaned over and said (what I thought was) ‘you are skilled’…but what I actually said was something more like ‘you are cold’!

Hmmm…I have to laugh, don’t think there is any other way of getting through this!!!

Thai Adventures...all in my own home!!

Language study has been busy, busy, busy the last week, but I have still had time for some adventures!

Last weekend we had a visit from a giant poisonous centipede (about 30 cm!) Julia (roommate) and I attempted to dispose of it (well…if I’m completely honest my role was more of the ‘assisting’ variety) but, despite our bravery, our attempts were in vain. The creature was fast and very hardy! But, upon hearing our screams (screams of bravery of course…) our housemate Sheila came down and, using a mop handle, got rid of the beast. A great girl to have around!

The next day I dropped the (full water) container that we get our drinking water delivered in. It must be at least 10 litres. It promptly broke and within seconds had spread right across the whole of the downstairs of our house! Another use for our mop!

Pictures:

1). 2 warriors preparing to face the giant centipede

2). Sheila, the hero of the story, killing the beast

3). Our 'flooded' house'

Helpful Labels

I'm glad they clearly label their explosives here in Thailand! Otherwise this could have easily been mistaken for a humble gas lighter!!!

Monologue of my thoughts during a typical journey home from language school:

[Leaving the building…] Oh good, my bike’s still there!....oh, there’s a dog…don’t look directly at it…just get on the bike and go past…oops, that’s not the way to get on a bike wearing a skirt, hope no-one saw!...ok, I’m off… road is not too busy that’s good….go AROUND the ditch…that’s right, ok….head for the main road…..past all these cafes, past the shop…onto the main road…..ok, I’m going the wrong way down the road, against the traffic, but that’s ok, that’s normal…but I can’t do this for too long, I do need to get across to the right side at some point… ok…there’s a gap…slow down…look behind, look all around…ok, ready? U TURN! U TURN!!!!...phew…can relax for a bit…BEEEEP!...what was that? Why did they beep? Is something wrong?....oh no, it’s normal, it’s just cos I’m farang (foreign)!.....DOG! DOG!...don’t look directly at it!!...is it moving towards me?...no, it’s sat down again…phew!...keep going!...BEEP!..what’s that? Am I doing something wrong?...no! I forgot, I’m farang…it’s normal…right, slow down, traffic lights…stop….but not too near that dog…it looks ill…did it just look at me?? Look straight ahead, ignore the dog, don’t look directly at it! Ok…all the motorbikes are ignoring the red light…hmmm…I won’t risk that, I’m not fast enough…BEEP! Laughter!...hmmm, yes I am farang, get over it. Green light, ride, ride ride!!! Over the bridge…DOGS!...about 10 of them! But they’re asleep, that’s good…try not to make the bike rattle too much…go slowly…make sure they don’t wake up…don’t look directly at them!!!...phew…nearly home now, past the men pumping water out of the school into the river…only a few more dogs to go now….turn the corner, down the hill, into my road…go AROUND the ditches, past the scabby dog…don’t make eye contact….ooo, some friendly people…nod the head, smile, ‘sa wat dii kha!’…pull up to the house…open the gate…park the bike…leap off…oops, must remember how to get off wearing a skirt…in the door…safe til next time!

Week 1 in Lopburi, Pictures

Top to bottom: a fruit seller in the market; me and roomate Julia in a song thaew (transport); my bike (yes...I'm aware that it's not cool!); Our street; My room (note the gold curtains!! Have you ever seen such a sight?); my NEW guitar!!!)

So, today's most exciting news is that I purchased a guitar! I love it! Can't think of a suitable name for it yet though, any suggestions?

I am wondering why the evenings seem so long here in Thailand. I think it may be because it gets dark so early (6pm) and probably also because I know that when it is evening here it is still only afternoon back home. I'm sure they won't seem so long once I have lots of language study to be getting on with!

Lots of new sights and smells and sounds and information to take in today. The most wonderful discovery yet is that God is the same here as in the UK! Woop woop!!

P.S. If you are reading this as an imported note into facebook you will have to go to the original post on my blog to see the pictures!

Thailand

So, I am here in Thailand. I thought I would give you a little update on how things are going so far:

Day 1 - arrived in Bangkok, met by OMFers Off and Peung at the airport (even though my flight was 3 hours late - we found each other in the end!)

Day 2 - Travelled to Lopburi where I will be for the next 6 weeks doing language study.
Most notable feature of the day: throwing up after everything I ate or drank for the whole day!
First purchase: Thai mobile phone in TESCO!
Second purchase: A fleece throw for my bed, also in Tesco (air con is so cold!)

Day 3 -
Most notable event: Locking myself out of my room, a couple of the guys from language school had to come over with a ladder and break into my room from the outside!! Oh dear!
Positive: No throwing up!

Day 4 -
Positive: managed pluck up the courage to actually use the rickety granny bike i am borrowing and rode all of 5 mins down the road, home from the place where I had my orientation this morning!
Negative: DOGS! Horrible dogs everywhere!

Will post pictures soon!!