Speaking Thai

Will I attend a Thai course? I'm not sure yet. You would think that, working as a languages' teacher in Thailand, I would be rushing to learn the language of the country but somehow that's not the case. I am, of course, interested in it, which is the reason why I attended a Thai lesson the other day.

It was fascinating to realise that, similarly to Mandarin Chinese, whatever you say in Thai depends greatly on how you say it; so much so that a slight change in tone will change the meaning of words entirely. And as far as numbers are concerned, the logic behind both languages is also pretty much the same.

It felt great to be able to spot these features so it was definitely a good thing to have self-studied Mandarin Chinese over the summer. If I'll keep on learning Thai is another question altogether.

Like I said, I think that it's interesting but the fact that I'm on language-learning mode all the time makes me want to switch to something different when I have some time for myself. Maybe I can pick up some words and expressions along the way. Focus on "maybe"...

Only yesterday

One of my Japanese students mentioned that the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre is well worth a visit so, as soon as I had a break, I decided to stop by. When I arrived, I had the feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy the exhibition but it didn't disappoint me because I thought that it would be nice to walk around in a complex, which reminded me of the Guggenheim Museum.

But then I really got into the works of art and realised that their triggers - including the need to define Thai identity - are ultimately interesting. If you think about it, when a country decides to open up this much to the outside world, it's legitimate for the population, in general, and artists, in particular, to start asking questions such as "Who am I?" 

What I found even more fascinating was to look at expressions of Thai individuality, which I still don't know what to make of; I mean, what does individuality stand for? And in a country where social relationships, in general, and family relationships, in particular, are so important, is it really possible for anyone to be and act as... one?

I was thinking about this when I bumped into the Erawan Shrine later in the day (the Erawan Shrine is a place where people go to make wishes). A couple of hours before, I had seen some paintings inspired by Buddhism; and then realised that, as different as they are, all religions have found a way to inspire art all over the world.

But however fascinating Thai painting, sculpture and architecture might be, my favourite form of Asian art is still Japanese animation and I don't see the end of this preference any time soon. The other day, I watched an amazing animated movie entitled "Only yesterday" and am still lost for words whenever I try to describe the quality of the drawings - so detailed and colourful - and the depth of the story, which turned out to be surprisingly touching. Yep, animated movies are not just for children; but if you're lucky, they'll bring out the child in you...

The B factor

It occurred to me the other day that I moved from a capital city starting with the letter B to another capital city starting with the letter B; and the common features don't seem to stop here:

a) both cities have a great geographical location and can well be the main gateway to the rest of the continent;

b) both are really international, which ends up working well for an expat;

c) both have sidewalks in extremely poor conditions - it doesn't take much to trip and/or splash water (or worse!) all over the place.

I'm also very happy with the fact that some of my Brussels and/or Belgian friends have been nice enough to put me in contact with friends of theirs, who are either living here or coming over for a visit - this has definitely taken my social life one step further!

I met Ed through Charlotte and we had a great time at local markets, including the Chatuchak Weekend Market, where we spent an evening drinking SangSom at Buckingham, and the night market in On Nut, where we had the opportunity to taste various Thai dishes. Liebrecht gave me Boom's and Mai's contact details; I met Boom for dinner the other evening and should be meeting Mai pretty soon. In the future, and thanks to Gilles and Carolina, I should also be meeting Guillaume and Ellen.

It's nice to be on the other side of the world and keep a connection with the best thing in Brussels - the people I met there. And, hopefully, it won't take long for me to see most of them in Bangkok...

Driven

"I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life"

Sometimes I think that Bangkok is just one big road; the road I take to work every day and passes through all sorts of buildings - some bigger than others but all somehow reaching for the sky.

The road to the house of the student I teach French to on Saturday mornings - he lives in a really great place on the outskirts of Bangkok; I particularly enjoy being driven through the lake nearby while staring at the beautiful lotus flowers.

The road to the Thai immigration service, which I took twice this week. The second visit was a successful one, which definitely made me feel relieved on the way back to the city centre.

The road to the Portuguese Embassy, which was very supportive when I requested extra documentation to submit to the Thai authorities.

The road to the airport, which I took in order to change the date of my flight back to Europe. On the way back I met Pete, a cool Australian dude who turned out to be the only person I know who actually hates New York City. He told me that he will try and have an orange suit tailor made - not too shabby, is it? Shortly after we got to Phaya Thai, he took off in a taxi; and I hit the road again...

"This is our decision, to live fast and die young

We've got the vision, now let's have some fun"

Teaching French, teaching kids and teaching kids French

Was it surprising to be asked to teach French? Yes, it was; but I didn't say no. The perspective of teaching the language didn't scare me at all. And when the moment came to actually do it, I felt quite comfortable. I also felt extremely homesick - as funny as it might sound, nothing has yet made me miss home as much as teaching French...

Was I wary when confronted with the possibility of having to teach kids? Definitely; but the feeling of discomfort is usually the first step towards learning so I just allowed myself to go with the flow. Also, I got pretty useful hints on how to deal with the little buggers so it shouldn't take long for me to hit the kids classroom.

I don't feel prepared though; I feel a mixture of curiosity and fear - let's face it, children have high levels of energy and tend to feel bored very quickly so it won't be easy to try and make them learn something...

Am I looking forward to the opportunity of teaching kids French? Not really; but if it comes to it, I'm sure I won't say no. In the end, it's all about learning, isn't it?

Out and about

Because the weather was so nice these last few days, I managed to explore my surroundings without worrying about the rain.

Yesterday, for example, I spent a great day walking around in my neighbourhood. I also bumped into another teacher from school and ended up in a terrace chatting and enjoying the effects of the natural light on the buildings, the streets, the people...

I've definitely started going out more. Just the other day I paid a visit to an astonishing bar on the 64th floor of a building, which (not very surprisingly!) offers breathtaking views over the city.

It seems that some scenes from "The Hangover - Part II" were shot there, which is the reason why they came up with a special cocktail - the Hangovertini. I didn't have it then; maybe one day I will.

In the meantime, I've also discovered a great place to have mango with sticky rice and coconut milk; and it happens to be pretty close to where I live! There are a lot of nice places in my neighbourhood actually - and I've barely scratched the surface...