Lost in Translation

Last night I was successfully able to direct a cab driver all the way from Bangkok to my house, using a combination of gestures and Thai. I was so proud!

Temple entrance at the Grand Palace in Bangkok:

A lot of Thai people know some English, or at least key words. But a lot of times it's still hard to communicate because they say the words with emphasis on the wrong syllables. We've learned that the key is to say the word or phrase again, but stressing the final syllable of each word. So, for example, Victory Monument becomes Victo-REE Monu-MENT. Financial accounting becomes finan-SHUL accoun-TING. And suddenly we have successful cross-cultual communication! Unfortunately, there is not a similar instant-fix in the other direction... when we mispronounce Thai words, we tend to recieve a chuckle and a blank stare.

It's very easy to pick up key words or phrases in a new language... things like "hello," "not spicy," or "turn left." It's an entirely different thing to try to hold a conversation. The problem is that when I react to things, my reflex response never comes out in Thai. Or English. My friends and I tend to respond in our previously studied foreign language. For me, that's Spanish. Here's a sample conversation:

*in Thai*
Me: Salaya?
Cab Driver: Salay-huh?
Me: Salaya, Mahidol University
C.D: Oh, Salaya! Near Buddhamonthon park?
Me: (in Spanish) Sí!
C.D. *confused, since "si" in Thai means either color or four, depending on the tone*

And another sample:
Me: Excuse me, where is the sky train station?
Nice person on street: Oh, sky train? *responds a mile a minute in Thai*
Me: *panic* Qué?
Both: Gee, this is awkward!

In the case of awkward situation #1, I'm trying to get in the habit of saying "ka" (proper response), but that only makes the person think that I speak more Thai than I actually do, leading inevitably to awkward situation #2. A vicious cycle.

Victory Monument:

I am learning my way around Bangkok little by little. After school, I'm starting to take the bus to VictoREE MonuMENT and then the sky train into Bangkok. One of the malls has a Subway (the restaurant chain), Starbucks, and an English-language bookstore, which makes for a nice afternoon of studying and browsing travel guides.

Yesterday, I spent the day with my friend Alison (from the UNC drumline) who is teaching English in South Korea and was in SE Asia on her break from school. It was really nice to catch up and compare experiences, and it also gave me a chance to see all the "touristy" things in Bangkok that I hadn't visited yet. We saw the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), and Wat Pho (the giant reclining Buddha). I also discovered another great form of public transportation: the long boat down the river. Between that and the sky train, we got to see a lot of the city in just a day.

The reclining Buddha:










That's about all of the news from here. Next Wednesday we leave for Singapore, and Friday is the Incubus concert! I'm excited. Also, Maroon 5 is in Bangkok on Monday, but we keep forgetting to buy tickets. Hopefully it isn't sold out yet.