As any first year communication student knows, there's more to communicating than just words.
There are cultural differences I'm uncovering here that go beyond language and the way we talk. It's in the expressions, the attitudes, the non-verbal sounds, and even in the way we walk.
For example, it took me a little while to realise that my Thai friends weren't making fun of each other in a conversation when they responded with "Errrrrr. Ehr, ehr." They were agreeing with what was said. Similarly, anyone who who has socialised with a group of Thai people will recognise that "Oiiiiiii!" has nothing to do with 80s punk music, or that annoying "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" anthem.
In Australia there's a look, combined with a posture and a defiant walk, which you adopt when a car fails to stop at a green "Walk" signal or pedestrian crossing. It's a look of righteous indignation; a purposeful "how dare you!" to the driver of a one tonne vehicle who should know better, and is clearly in the wrong.
Now take exactly the same look and posture, in exactly the same situation, but on the streets of Bangkok, and its meaning is completely different. It means "I'm a stupid farang." Repeat the non-verbal communication a few times in quick succession, and it can come to mean "I will be availing myself of your wonderful healthcare system shortly".
These non-verbal messages can work to your advantage. I think I've become fairly good at not looking like a tourist. Those who are familiar with my loud shirt collection may disagree, however there's definitely certain non-verbal cues you can adopt if you don't want to look like a sucker, and I am willing to share my insights with you here, gentle reader.
A work colleague recently mentioned standing in public looking at an open map as a dead giveaway. This, along with the loud Hawai'ian shirt and camera around the neck, are obvious clues - so obvious I'm not going to mention them. Whoops, too late.
Of course there are times when you want to be a tourist and enjoy the new experience, but if you'd like to be able to walk down the tourist strip (or out of the airport) without being accosted by tuk-tuk drivers and people expounding the joys of table tennis exhibitions, there is a walk and an attitude that you can adopt.
Start with a lack of eye contact and don't look at your surroundings. Even if you've never been to this place before, look down at the ground where you going, or better still, straight ahead. Pretend you're walking home after a long day at work, and all you want to do is get home.
You can comfortably glance at the things around you as you walk, but your walk is purposeful. You're not browsing at the Sunday markets (even if you are actually browsing at the Sunday markets), you're headed somewhere.
There's no need to be rude or aggressive, it's more an attitude of boredom. Act like you've been here a thousand times before, and are just on your way through once again on your way somewhere, so not really looking to buy any Viagra or Sponge Bob Square Pants items today. The non-verbal message you're sending is that anyone wanting to sell something is better off approaching the couple behind you arguing about whether it really was Tiffany at that last stall, and that even if it was Tiffany, you still could have talked him down a bit more.
I have survived many forays into markets, airports, shopping centres, and unlit alleyways with this method, and have lived to tell the tale.
Unfortunately, it doesn't stop me from buying a lot of crap though.
D.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Language update
I make a living out of the English language. Correcting, suggesting, creating - so it's very frustrating to feel so out of my depth with this new language, and to be powerless as a communicator. I have gone back to square one and had to start from scratch with this language that is so different from my own.
The different tones are the problem - not the tones themselves, but the innate cultural barrier to using alternating tones when you speak. It's very hard for an Australian male to use expressive tones at all, let alone varying tones from word to word. About the most you get is something at the end of a sentence such as: "Bloody 'ot, eh?" We don't naturally raise and lower our pitch in the one word - and certainly not several times in the one sentence.
When I was staying in Phuket, I would tell people I was staying at the Phu-ke-ta hotel. Thai people couldn't understand what I was saying. I would point to the name - and they would say "Ohh, Phu-ke-taar!" That's what I said.
If you order a Coke, you have to say "Cooooohhc" with a rising intonation and a very slight "c" sound on the end - not a hard "k" as we know it. Even Singha beer I'm told by the locals, is pronounced "Singh" - presumably it has a silent "a". Well it's your beer - why did you put the "a" there if you're not going to pronounce it?
Still, who am I to talk about language rules. We have: where, wear, and we're; Canowindra; gaol; though, through, and thought; and a few hundred other weird and wonderful English names and words.
But it's not just the tones, it's also the grammar. When you listen to ex-pats who have been here for a while - and they tell me this themselves - you can hear them talking in Thai grammar, even when they're talking English.
To try it out yourself, just stop using pronouns, and forget all about past and future tense, to say nothing of future continuous, past perfect, etc ("yippee, when do I start" I hear some of you shout). Here's an example of what it may sound like.
If your English friend were to offer you a drink, and you were to decline, it would go something like this:
"I say old chap, care for a spot of Pimms?"
"Oh, thanks awfully old bean, but perhaps later, what?"
In Thai, the same conversation - translated literally into English - goes something like this:
"Drink, yes?"
"Not want, thanks."
And the thanks on the end is the ever present "khup" for men and "kha" for women. It's like a swiss army knife - 1000 uses in one word. If in doubt, pull out khup/kha and it's bound to work.
Khup for listening khup.
D.
The different tones are the problem - not the tones themselves, but the innate cultural barrier to using alternating tones when you speak. It's very hard for an Australian male to use expressive tones at all, let alone varying tones from word to word. About the most you get is something at the end of a sentence such as: "Bloody 'ot, eh?" We don't naturally raise and lower our pitch in the one word - and certainly not several times in the one sentence.
When I was staying in Phuket, I would tell people I was staying at the Phu-ke-ta hotel. Thai people couldn't understand what I was saying. I would point to the name - and they would say "Ohh, Phu-ke-taar!" That's what I said.
If you order a Coke, you have to say "Cooooohhc" with a rising intonation and a very slight "c" sound on the end - not a hard "k" as we know it. Even Singha beer I'm told by the locals, is pronounced "Singh" - presumably it has a silent "a". Well it's your beer - why did you put the "a" there if you're not going to pronounce it?
Still, who am I to talk about language rules. We have: where, wear, and we're; Canowindra; gaol; though, through, and thought; and a few hundred other weird and wonderful English names and words.
But it's not just the tones, it's also the grammar. When you listen to ex-pats who have been here for a while - and they tell me this themselves - you can hear them talking in Thai grammar, even when they're talking English.
To try it out yourself, just stop using pronouns, and forget all about past and future tense, to say nothing of future continuous, past perfect, etc ("yippee, when do I start" I hear some of you shout). Here's an example of what it may sound like.
If your English friend were to offer you a drink, and you were to decline, it would go something like this:
"I say old chap, care for a spot of Pimms?"
"Oh, thanks awfully old bean, but perhaps later, what?"
In Thai, the same conversation - translated literally into English - goes something like this:
"Drink, yes?"
"Not want, thanks."
And the thanks on the end is the ever present "khup" for men and "kha" for women. It's like a swiss army knife - 1000 uses in one word. If in doubt, pull out khup/kha and it's bound to work.
Khup for listening khup.
D.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Dinner with the locals
Dining out with a group of Thai locals is a very different experience from what I've had so far in Thailand.
Here you eat out a lot more than you cook at home. In fact, I know Westerners who lived here for a year and never owned a single plate or cooking implement (you know who I'm talking to). It's just so cheap! In fact, having cooked for myself a few times, I doubt I paid less cooking my crummy pasta and sauce at home than I would have paid going to a restaurant or street vendor.
My lunch today cost me THB25 - not even a dollar. By comparison, a packet of instant noodles and some thinly sliced beef from the supermarket (mixed with a little left-over chilli sauce) cost me about THB80.
So all of that is just to say that I've been eating out a lot, but up until tonight, always with other farang, and maybe one or two Thai people.
Tonight, I went out with the locals to a local eating place - a place where you sat on plastic stools, at plastic tables, on the footpath, next to the road, and you were surrounded by the kitchen. Several vendors cooking salted fish, chicken, seafood, stir fries ... I've been to places like this before at lunch time, but again, always with ex-pats showing me their favourite spots.
On the way there tonight, my hosts were kind enough to ask me what my favourite Thai dishes were. These are what they ordered first. And then they ordered a bunch of stuff I've never eaten, seen, heard of, or even thought about eating before.
I was handed a menu when I sat down, but instead of ordering, I was too busy taking photos of the Thinglish to try to decipher what I may want to eat.
What I did eat was the usual som tam (green paw paw salad), tom yum gai, and gai yang (grilled chicken). But then I also impressed them with my willingness to try the gung chae nam-pla (raw prawn salad), deep-fried pig intestines (for which I cannot remember the Thai name), and boiled (or possibly raw) miniature seashell creatures, which I told them were called pippies. This brought much amusement, possibly because I either sounded like I was saying "Phi Phi" or sounded like the Road Runner.
There was much concern for my weak gastro-intestinal system, and at the first sign of my breaking into a sweat at the extra level of spiciness served up to and by the locals, I was handed copious amounts of fluid, bland fried chicken, and toilet paper (more on this in another post).
My hosts were most gracious, and I felt honoured to have been invited out with them for a meal. While most of the conversation I didn't understand, they did go out of their way to interpret the funny and meaningful parts, and some parts which I still do not understand.
After dinner we retired to the air conditioned shopping centre, where I discovered that the phenomenon of women going to the toilet in packs knows no cultural boundaries. And neither does men standing around outside the toilets, trying to look purposeful and suave.
We went to an ice cream house for dessert. I was informed that they have a contest, where you have to put an entire scoop of ice cream in your mouth, and see who can finish it first. I now believe that this game was actually invented for my benefit, and was not, as I originally thought, a regular Friday night event.
Needless to say, the westerner with the big mouth won, but only just. O gave me a run for my money.
We wandered the shopping centre looking at make-up and trying to figure out what the Thai word for Balmain Bugs is (also known in some backwaters as Moreton Bay Bugs). Eventually there was agreement on the name, and I discovered that the English translation of the Thai name means "back-stroke crab". Our Balmain girl, Dawn Fraser, would be proud.
Dining with my Thai friends tonight has given me a new appreciation of several things.
Firstly, of my work colleagues. Even though we work for the same company, these are people who were complete strangers until about three weeks ago. They are hard workers, they love life, and they enjoy socialising together. And they're welcoming enough to allow an outsider to join them.
Secondly, of what it's like being the only person who doesn't speak the language. I've only experienced this once before while travelling in Seoul. Here I was lucky enough to have some friendly faces to interpret and make sure I didn't eat too many of the "toxic" shellfish.
Those of you from Australia will know that there is a section of the community at home with the attitude "if you want to live in our country, learn the language". Here I am, living and working in their country, with only the faintest spattering of Thai to get me through, and these beautiful people go out of their way to make me feel at home.
Finally, I have a new appreciation of my favourite food group - ice cream. It's good to know that wherever you are in the world, you can still get a scoop of something called "chocolate fudge brownie".
D.
Here you eat out a lot more than you cook at home. In fact, I know Westerners who lived here for a year and never owned a single plate or cooking implement (you know who I'm talking to). It's just so cheap! In fact, having cooked for myself a few times, I doubt I paid less cooking my crummy pasta and sauce at home than I would have paid going to a restaurant or street vendor.
My lunch today cost me THB25 - not even a dollar. By comparison, a packet of instant noodles and some thinly sliced beef from the supermarket (mixed with a little left-over chilli sauce) cost me about THB80.
So all of that is just to say that I've been eating out a lot, but up until tonight, always with other farang, and maybe one or two Thai people.
Tonight, I went out with the locals to a local eating place - a place where you sat on plastic stools, at plastic tables, on the footpath, next to the road, and you were surrounded by the kitchen. Several vendors cooking salted fish, chicken, seafood, stir fries ... I've been to places like this before at lunch time, but again, always with ex-pats showing me their favourite spots.
On the way there tonight, my hosts were kind enough to ask me what my favourite Thai dishes were. These are what they ordered first. And then they ordered a bunch of stuff I've never eaten, seen, heard of, or even thought about eating before.
I was handed a menu when I sat down, but instead of ordering, I was too busy taking photos of the Thinglish to try to decipher what I may want to eat.
What I did eat was the usual som tam (green paw paw salad), tom yum gai, and gai yang (grilled chicken). But then I also impressed them with my willingness to try the gung chae nam-pla (raw prawn salad), deep-fried pig intestines (for which I cannot remember the Thai name), and boiled (or possibly raw) miniature seashell creatures, which I told them were called pippies. This brought much amusement, possibly because I either sounded like I was saying "Phi Phi" or sounded like the Road Runner.
There was much concern for my weak gastro-intestinal system, and at the first sign of my breaking into a sweat at the extra level of spiciness served up to and by the locals, I was handed copious amounts of fluid, bland fried chicken, and toilet paper (more on this in another post).
My hosts were most gracious, and I felt honoured to have been invited out with them for a meal. While most of the conversation I didn't understand, they did go out of their way to interpret the funny and meaningful parts, and some parts which I still do not understand.
After dinner we retired to the air conditioned shopping centre, where I discovered that the phenomenon of women going to the toilet in packs knows no cultural boundaries. And neither does men standing around outside the toilets, trying to look purposeful and suave.
We went to an ice cream house for dessert. I was informed that they have a contest, where you have to put an entire scoop of ice cream in your mouth, and see who can finish it first. I now believe that this game was actually invented for my benefit, and was not, as I originally thought, a regular Friday night event.
Needless to say, the westerner with the big mouth won, but only just. O gave me a run for my money.
We wandered the shopping centre looking at make-up and trying to figure out what the Thai word for Balmain Bugs is (also known in some backwaters as Moreton Bay Bugs). Eventually there was agreement on the name, and I discovered that the English translation of the Thai name means "back-stroke crab". Our Balmain girl, Dawn Fraser, would be proud.
Dining with my Thai friends tonight has given me a new appreciation of several things.
Firstly, of my work colleagues. Even though we work for the same company, these are people who were complete strangers until about three weeks ago. They are hard workers, they love life, and they enjoy socialising together. And they're welcoming enough to allow an outsider to join them.
Secondly, of what it's like being the only person who doesn't speak the language. I've only experienced this once before while travelling in Seoul. Here I was lucky enough to have some friendly faces to interpret and make sure I didn't eat too many of the "toxic" shellfish.
Those of you from Australia will know that there is a section of the community at home with the attitude "if you want to live in our country, learn the language". Here I am, living and working in their country, with only the faintest spattering of Thai to get me through, and these beautiful people go out of their way to make me feel at home.
Finally, I have a new appreciation of my favourite food group - ice cream. It's good to know that wherever you are in the world, you can still get a scoop of something called "chocolate fudge brownie".
D.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
I love the smell of Bangkok in the morning
There's a funny smell coming from my sink. Not funny in a ha-ha kind of way, but funny in a "holy crap what's that smell!?" kind of way.
It's the smell anyone who's been to Bangkok will tell you about. For those of you who haven't been to Bangkok, here's how you can make your very own Bangkok smell at home!
First, don't put your rubbish bin out for about two weeks.
Next, install your own grey water system in the kitchen, so that your used washing up water and vegie strainings are stored in an outside container.
When two weeks are up, mix the bin contents with the grey water and leave sit in the middle of the yard, preferably in direct sunlight.
For best effect, leave down-wind from an open window.
Wander through your house, and at random times, if you close your eyes, it's just like being in Bangkok. Enjoy!
[walks to sink] Here's one I prepared earlier...
Don't get me wrong, it's not a totally evil, suffocating smell, it's just a "something's off" smell. Every now and then when you're stepping over a drain, or walking past a particular spot on your soi (street), you'll get a little taste of it. Just to remind you where you are, and who's boss.
Well that's the smell that's coming from my sink.
I have opened the cupboard to see what's under the sink. There's a big plastic box with lots of pipes going into it and, presumably, out of it as well. I'm assuming this is some kind of water/garbage filter device. There's no disposal switch or other such electronic gizmo. Not that I can find a switch for, anyway.
Perhaps it's like the Flintstones and there's a sort of lizard living in the box munching on the scraps and bugs that fall down my sink.
Well I think the lizard is unwell. But I'm not game to open the box and find out for fear this would only antagonise the smell. If I don't bother the smell, perhaps it won't bother me.
Or maybe it's time to increase my language skills and find out how to say "can you take a look at my sink please" in Thai.
D.
It's the smell anyone who's been to Bangkok will tell you about. For those of you who haven't been to Bangkok, here's how you can make your very own Bangkok smell at home!
First, don't put your rubbish bin out for about two weeks.
Next, install your own grey water system in the kitchen, so that your used washing up water and vegie strainings are stored in an outside container.
When two weeks are up, mix the bin contents with the grey water and leave sit in the middle of the yard, preferably in direct sunlight.
For best effect, leave down-wind from an open window.
Wander through your house, and at random times, if you close your eyes, it's just like being in Bangkok. Enjoy!
[walks to sink] Here's one I prepared earlier...
Don't get me wrong, it's not a totally evil, suffocating smell, it's just a "something's off" smell. Every now and then when you're stepping over a drain, or walking past a particular spot on your soi (street), you'll get a little taste of it. Just to remind you where you are, and who's boss.
Well that's the smell that's coming from my sink.
I have opened the cupboard to see what's under the sink. There's a big plastic box with lots of pipes going into it and, presumably, out of it as well. I'm assuming this is some kind of water/garbage filter device. There's no disposal switch or other such electronic gizmo. Not that I can find a switch for, anyway.
Perhaps it's like the Flintstones and there's a sort of lizard living in the box munching on the scraps and bugs that fall down my sink.
Well I think the lizard is unwell. But I'm not game to open the box and find out for fear this would only antagonise the smell. If I don't bother the smell, perhaps it won't bother me.
Or maybe it's time to increase my language skills and find out how to say "can you take a look at my sink please" in Thai.
D.
Monday, March 7, 2011
It's yoghurt Jim, but not as we know it
Everything is different over here. Take my lunch for example: a roasted (not just roast) beef sandwich and a tamarind yoghurt.
I liked the idea of the tamarind yoghurt, and indeed, the tamarind portion of said product was very nice. But the yoghurt (the larger portion of the serving) was unlike any yoghurt product I had hitherto experienced.
It wasn't unpleasant, just watery. It kind of reminded me of the Junket mum used to give me - presumably as some sort of punishment - when I was a youngster. But tangier.
I guess, from a marketing point-of-view, "Tangy Tamarind Junket" just may not sell as well as "Tamarind Yoghurt", but I'm guessing it's an untested market.
The roasted beef sandwich was a lot more sandwich-like than the yoghurt was yoghurt-like, but the term "roasted" clearly referred to some sort of Thai roasting process that doesn't involve actually cooking the meat very much. Again - nothing nasty about it, just different.
Now to the language, because I know you're all wondering how I'm going learning Thai, and how I'm getting by while I'm in the process of learning Thai. Well, my Thai skills were summed up by a taxi driver last night: "nit noi" meaning I have "a little bit" of Thai (meaning bugger all).
At the moment, my confidence in speaking Thai is pretty low. I've got a couple of phrases down (hello, thank you, yes, no) and the numbers, but I'm not confident with my pronunciation, so I tend to mumble and nod, and hope they understand what I mean.
The hardest part is understanding someone else when they ask or tell me something. It takes my brain a little while to match the Thai to the English in my head. I'm still a baby at this, so it's like I'm still using my fingers to count - only I'm using wobbly bits of my brain to match Thai words to English.
Today was the hottest day I've had so far. So of course, I wore a thick long-sleeve shirt, and walked through the city for about an hour in the middle of the day. Derr. I needed a shower when I got home from work today.
On the happy side of things, I put a deposit on the cloud apartment today, and I move in on Wednesday! Yippee! So my address will be somewhere in Soi Nai Loet (also spelled Nai Lert, or Nailert - don't get me started).
Provided, of course, that I come up with the cash on Wednesday to take possession of said apartment. Apparently, using credit cards for payment of large sums of money is not common practice, so instead, one must carry three months worth of rent in cash.
I'm looking forward to having a Bangkok address by the end of this week. Thanks to all my fans who posted comments about which apartment would be better and gave me such encouragement. (I'm being sarcastic by the way).
D.
I liked the idea of the tamarind yoghurt, and indeed, the tamarind portion of said product was very nice. But the yoghurt (the larger portion of the serving) was unlike any yoghurt product I had hitherto experienced.
It wasn't unpleasant, just watery. It kind of reminded me of the Junket mum used to give me - presumably as some sort of punishment - when I was a youngster. But tangier.
I guess, from a marketing point-of-view, "Tangy Tamarind Junket" just may not sell as well as "Tamarind Yoghurt", but I'm guessing it's an untested market.
The roasted beef sandwich was a lot more sandwich-like than the yoghurt was yoghurt-like, but the term "roasted" clearly referred to some sort of Thai roasting process that doesn't involve actually cooking the meat very much. Again - nothing nasty about it, just different.
Now to the language, because I know you're all wondering how I'm going learning Thai, and how I'm getting by while I'm in the process of learning Thai. Well, my Thai skills were summed up by a taxi driver last night: "nit noi" meaning I have "a little bit" of Thai (meaning bugger all).
At the moment, my confidence in speaking Thai is pretty low. I've got a couple of phrases down (hello, thank you, yes, no) and the numbers, but I'm not confident with my pronunciation, so I tend to mumble and nod, and hope they understand what I mean.
The hardest part is understanding someone else when they ask or tell me something. It takes my brain a little while to match the Thai to the English in my head. I'm still a baby at this, so it's like I'm still using my fingers to count - only I'm using wobbly bits of my brain to match Thai words to English.
Today was the hottest day I've had so far. So of course, I wore a thick long-sleeve shirt, and walked through the city for about an hour in the middle of the day. Derr. I needed a shower when I got home from work today.
On the happy side of things, I put a deposit on the cloud apartment today, and I move in on Wednesday! Yippee! So my address will be somewhere in Soi Nai Loet (also spelled Nai Lert, or Nailert - don't get me started).
Provided, of course, that I come up with the cash on Wednesday to take possession of said apartment. Apparently, using credit cards for payment of large sums of money is not common practice, so instead, one must carry three months worth of rent in cash.
I'm looking forward to having a Bangkok address by the end of this week. Thanks to all my fans who posted comments about which apartment would be better and gave me such encouragement. (I'm being sarcastic by the way).
D.
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