Thai vocab...

Let's talk about language learning. I could rant for ages about the many difficulties in learning Thai, writing it is a near guaranteed headache, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It's come through changing teachers. Well, I liked my first teacher, she was an older christian Thai lady who was very sweet and teaches most of the staff here. Really, the problem's not with her, it's just that I couldn't concentrate for 2 hours straight in a one on one tutoring situation. So I would begin to visibly drift asleep by the end of the first hour, regardless of all my good intentions.
After 5 months of this, dreading every class more, I decided I needed to try a group class. With all the farangs (foreigners) around, you'd think this would be easy, but since I work a full day I was looking for night group classes, and no one seems to do that here. Do all of the other farangs have such easy schedules????
Finally I've joined in Cornerstone, taking lessons 3 days a week from 1pm-3pm, where I'm in a 'group' class with one other Korean man who has trouble with his 'y' syllables...and my thai slang is improving greatly! Basically the first day I came, I met Debbie, who is another missionary from Drummoyne Presbyterian in Sydney - I had heard of her from a mutual friend but we had never actually managed to meet up, and it turns out this is her language school too and she hangs out with the teachers - who are mostly young women in their 20's and 30's. My 'Khruu' (thai for teacher) is extremely cute with big eyes that widen when she's saying certain syllables and she bobs her head in the direction of the vocal tone so I never really have to work hard to guess which one it is...she looks about 16 but is actually 23. She's invited me to go to a party at her place in a couple of weeks...although everytime I ask what the occasion is, the only answer I get is 'big party'.
But the hanging out has opened to door to the final goal in learning Thai for me- being able to make friends with Thai people. Here's what I've learnt already.
khlang khlang = to tease someone
jing jing = serious
mai churr = I don't believe you
mai dii = you're naughty
mai jamben = that's not necessary (Debbie taught me that to say if they told me I needed to sit a test)
ourre= fat

You see what kind of vocab I will end up with?!!

Spot the difference

So I thought that being a missionary would be a vastly different lifestyle, and in some ways it is. I have to 'wai' my greeting, I ride my motorbike between rows of songthews and tuktuks and can't really park in the shopping centre when it's busy cause my bike gets stuck in the jam-packed rows and I can't come back out, I have not much financial control over my life and $20 now seems like a huge amount of money, I fear dengue mosquitoes, I speak softer and move slower than in Australia and I eat very little red meat, but I do eat out a lot.
On the other hand, I'm finding most of the differences are external and many things are still the same. I'm still trying to make friends and building relationships is kind of the same process world over - takes time! I still have to work to get along with everyone, cause you would think being a missionary would make you a nicer, holier or at least less irritating person, but that doesn't seem to be true. I'm still slowly getting involved with a church. Technology still breaks down on me and I spend half my day fixing computers. I still deal with some racism, although it's kind of reversed - now I am accepted for my face until I speak. I still have to try not to impulse buy, even if the price converts to $1. I still stay up way too late reading (although english books are harder to get), I still eat pancakes on sat mornings (although I am also reaching out to the banana pancake cafe owner at the same time) and I have got to try get more exercise!
In fact, I've pretty much realised that most of my daily stuggles just have a different skin now and moving overseas hasn't made me suddenly holier, probably just more dependent on God. Mission is just living the Christian life in less comfortable surroundings.

Reflections on the East.

So I'm back from that great Eastern land, of which I can't say much about, except that yet again it made an impression on me, especially the people of like-minded faith. It has a landscape, as one person described, as if God had paused mid-way through dropping dumplings on that plate called earth. And the people are a blast from the past - in a good way - where inviting strangers in is still safe, children play all around the hills of the village in packs and the rubbish bin is dropping scraps through the holes in your floorboards to the pigs and chicken that live underneath. That part was not so fragrant.

Mai Pen Rai

So I was going to write about how great the honeymoon stage of my cultural adaptation was - how nice it was that I had air conditioning, that the climate here is only moderately warm because it's near the mountains (instead of the horribly sticky heat of Bangkok), that I can flush paper down the toilet, that I can buy nearly everything I want in Chiang Mai cheaply, that I rode a scooter with my new mattress on the back and looked very thai, that my house is great, I like asian food anyway and basically that I was having fun!




Then my freight problems began. Either Thai customs are trying to extort 7,800 baht ($260) out of me in 'import tax' just to hand over my own personal used possessions. Apparently this happens a lot to 'Farangs' because they know we're rich and will pay it so they can make a little extra. Now I've been trying to negotiate with them, but in thai culture everything has to be polite and if you seem like a pushy westerner they will simply dig their heels in worse. Instead, I am supposed to say things like 'I'm very sorry to bother you but I don't have the money, I am just here to make merit and if you help me that merit will be transferred to you' and then persistently bug them, or else I can do the thai thing and just say 'mai pen rai' which can mean 'don't worry about it' and just pay up!Now I am beginning to realise how much I have to adapt my behaviour to never seem displeased even if I am being scammed or make others lose face in public.

What I will miss...

Last night I turned up a little late to my own farewell dinner, an indian curry night hosted at Delle Delle's house. It was a group of very old friends (bar one girl I just met that night) that sat down to eat a 4 course meal that Delle had slaved over all day.
Now girls are always more mature than boys anyway, and never was it so apparent as at dinner; we started by hassling Pete for wearing a hot pink t-shirt, gave Delle instructions on how to cook pappadums when she knew perfectly well, then if you rose from your chair it might disappear under the table only to reappear at the other side, and if you looked away your beer might also disappear. The boys stabbed at each other with the blunt end of their knives, mashed pappadums in each others faces and poured beer into each other's bowls of gelato. Then we rowdily sang an impromptu ode to indian food while iain slapped a two-stringed bass like an epileptic, played chinese whispers charades where Pete completely transformed my act of a spaceman into a disco dancer (at least it matched his shirt), crazy uno where the boys kept talking during the silent plays and just accumulated huge piles of cards which they would then pass off at the first opportunity and in general they cheated at everything!!!
By the end of the night I think I may have strangled them if we played another card game, but this morning I woke up laughing thinking about how Dan had brought his own breathalyser and we all had a go. It was like having all the bratty 8 yr old cousins over at once and while they're there you just wish you weren't related, but in the years afterwards you'll reminisce over the memories...it was community, family.
It is hard to say goodbye.

congratulatory wishes...

Well, after a long and arduos process of going to embassies, to police stations, calling around Australia, I finally have my visa for thailand! However, actually this post isn't really focussing on that. I just want to highlight my father's congratulations to me. This is what it said:
"Good work girl, we will celebrate when I return to Sydney, maybe more prawn for you"

As I've stepped into the mission field, my Dad's emails have given me great joy. Take this one from the time I was in Jakarta:
" I was back home on Wednesday morning and now back to office, last night I was thinking about you knowing that you are in Bali.
Take care and have some laksa. Need food money, I will send some."
It was very heart-warming, even if I wasn't in Bali.

And lastly, this one from the time that I had just escaped from Zimbabwe and I guess Dad must have thought I was still about to face questioning or torture and needed some advice:
"You need to be careful in answering their questions. Do not be emotional about the questions, a cool head will provide a rational conversation. Try not to be away alone without any adult company."

I really enjoy how cool and calm under pressure my Dad is. Poor Daddy has had to suffer a series of emails from his little girl detailing all sorts of horrifying situations around the world. I think he handles it quite well.

aging...why isn't it happening internally?

I was online chatting to a friend yesterday and we realised our 10 yr high school reunions are coming up...but we both still feel like kids! I mean, at least in the last year I have stopped being mistaken for a 16 year old, so something must be happening physically, but mentally, adult things still awe/bore me and I still fight (and often lose) the urge to put my foot out and tap the lever to lower other people's computer chairs during meetings, hide in the bushes and jump out at friends walking past and buy myself lollies in the supermarket.
That is one great thing about my age down on paper at least - I can now buy whatever and drive myself wherever I want...