Vocabulary lesson & good bye Chiang Mai.

TAG - Watermelon

For good or for ill, I’ve been able to get by in Chiang Mai speaking only English. I have actually tried to pick up and use a few words… but it’s been hard. I’ll ask what something is, someone will patiently repeat it umpteen times until I can pronounce it more or less correctly. Then ten minutes later I completely forget the word. Sometimes if I can hear it again I’ll remember it… but it’s really hit or miss.

My current Thai vocabulary:

I don’t understand the Thai language. (I’ve been laughed at when I’ve said this… so I’ve started just saying ‘don’t understand’.)
Hello.
How are you? Fine.
Yes, No
Thank you.
Excuse me.
10 baht
20 baht
1, 2, 3, (I have a very tenuous grasp of #s 4-9, I really have to think about it)
I would like…
glass
water
chicken
pork
fried rice
pineapple
a little bit
tuk-tuk
songthaew
island
temple
It doesn’t matter.

Hmmm… I keep thinking that I *must* know more than this, but I really really don’t. Well, I’m pretty sure I know how to say “Where is…?” and “It’s here/there.” but I haven’t used it because I can get away with pointing at a map or just telling the driver the name of the place I want to go to. Honestly, I find this embarrassing… but like I said, so many people speak basic English that I can get away with it. I anticipate needing to know quite a bit more Thai in Rayong, since it’s not a tourist spot. It’ll be interesting (to me) to see how quickly this list expands.

In an hour and a half I'll be hopping onto a bus heading to Rayong. It's said to be a 12 hour ride - but who knows how long it will actually take. It's a VIP bus with air conditioning, so it shouldn't be too painful. I'll be sure to give you the full report.

This past week in Chiang Mai has been a bit quiet. I had fun going out to the gay bar, of course. And yesterday I met up with a gal from Ajarn for lunch & shopping (Hi V!). But beyond that, I haven't accomplished anything. I don't do well with vast amounts of unstructured time. There's only so much relaxing I can do. I had hoped to learn to ride a motorbike, but I kept getting put off "tomorrow, tomorrow" by the bike shop. I realize there are like a dozen different bike shops I could have tried... but I guess I wasn't all that motivated after all. Overall though, I've enjoyed Chiang Mai. It's a nice sized city, big enough to have a lot to see & do... but not so big as to be overwhelming. Well, to be fair, I didn't do *that* much exploring. I could see myself coming back here at some point.

My goals for living in Rayong:
spend quality time at the beach,
learn to ride a motorbike,
learn enough Thai to get by,
make a couple of friends,
have more fun!