I can't believe a week has passed by in Bangkok already! Julia is back at work this morning, and it looks like this week she won't even have Sunday off so I will be left to my own devices all week long. Fortunately, I have learned how to pronounce the name of the drop-off point for the motor-bike drivers, so I now can get home after running errands. I start cooking classes on Saturday, and I'm really excited about that. It should include a trip to the market, a lecture on Thai ingredients and methods, and then a few hours of cooking...and best of all, I get to keep all my results! Perhaps I'll save some for Julia, perhaps I'll eat them all myself before I even make it home, I don't know. Only time will tell.
Today I'm going to investigate some options for Thai language classes. As I have mentioned in the past, I've been getting started here at home with looking up some Thai language lessons online. The most useful ones are obviously those with voice recordings of English phrases translated into Thai. Otherwise if things are just written, I don't know how to read their alphabet, and I certainly don't know how to make all the intonations necessary to communicate. But I have discovered that there is something for every Thai-language need. In my search this morning, I came across the website Thaiforlovers.com, which is exactly what you might expect it to be: cheesy, romantic phrases translated into Thai. No voice recordings, only things that you would cut and paste into a makeshift love letter or valentine's day card. But don't worry, this will really help you develop your inter-cultural relationship. Which leads me to point out one of my observations of Bangkok social life: it is a haven for fat, washed up, middle-aged white men. They love Thailand. Why, you might ask? Because while Western women view them as how I have just described them (one might say we see them as they really are), Thai women see them as walking dollar signs. This might be a bit of a harsh assessment, but it is the only reason I can think of that would account for the fact that the vast majority of mixed couples I see here are composed of beautiful, young, manicured Thai woman, and an old, fat, ugly white man. The men are either blissfully ignorant of this perceptual difference, or they just don't care because "dude, she's hot". Call me a cynic, but I just don't think that love is blind enough to account for these, um, inequalities. And while Thai men are quite beautiful, somehow I don't think I'm going to have to know how to write "Ten thousand times farewell-yet stay a while. Sweet, kiss me once: sweet kisses time beguile" in Thai. So I will continue in my search for the acquisition of some sort of proficiency in the Thai language. Don't be confused by my use of the word proficiency when I come back to the states not being able to speak a full sentence in Thai. By proficiency I mean being able to count to 10, say hello, goodbye, how much and thank you without being laughed at or unknowingly saying something inappropriate, which, considering the intricacies and complexities of the language, is a feat in and of itself. I'll let you know how it goes.
Yesterday, I went on my first true Thai shopping trip. As my guide Anna (a friend and co-worker of Julia's) explained to me, shopping in Bangkok is not just a means to an end. It is a way of life, a pastime. And I can totally see why. The mall we went to was packed, an amazing amount of products and people crammed into a tiny amount of space. 6 floors of absolute commercial chaos. It was beautiful; there was everything you could ever want and then some. The sad thing for me is that a lot of the clothing shops were "one size fits all" kind of places. Except unlike the massive, flowy outfits that fit under that category in the States, all these clothes were extra small. Apparently "one size fits all" only if you are a tiny Asian woman. And there are no fitting rooms so you don't even have the joy of getting stuck in a garment that is too tight to make you not want to even contemplate trying another one on. Not only are the clothes really tiny, but the stalls themselves are too! At one point I was looking at belts or headbands or something with Anna, and when some other people wanted to come in, all of us had to turn and face each other and shimmy sideways to maneuver ourselves into and out of the store. It struck me that a good 25% of the U.S. population wouldn't even be able to fit into these stores! I'm not exactly slimness personified, but I managed ok; you can imagine though if I were pregnant or had a bit of a beer belly, it could have been a very uncomfortable situation. After a long, arduous day of shopping, Anna and I went for pedicures and manicures at the salon that she frequents. It was wonderful. Top it off with some pad thai, and I went home an exhausted but very satisfied person, if a little more broke than when I left. Until next time ...
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