Apr
29
Sunday Morning, 0800hrs
April 29, 2007 |
Why am I awake at this hour on a Sunday morning? Well, of course it has to do with Nan. It would seem that Isan country folk, Nan included do not give a hoot about my traditional sunday sleep in. So today I received my usual wake-up SMS message from her, complete with I Love Yous and a bunch of smileys and XXX’s at the end. So instead of really being grumpy I am sitting her smiling and telling myself what a lucky sod I am.
Nan is right now busy at the rice farm preparing for planting rice. Something she does every year. So today I will wait a bit before I give her my daily call. Meanwhile I will busy myself with my Thai lessons, that have gone neglected since I went to Thailand in the beginning of this month. Well I did pick up a word or two while there, but I find it hard to learn much over there. As i never remember what I already know when I am in a position to use it. And Nan wants to practice her English. So thats the language we use.
We SMS each other several times every day. And I call her every afternoon when I get home from work. Of course our talks on the phone contains a lot of sweet and mushy talk, but we also manage to talk about what we where doing that day, and what we are going to do when we are next together. Nan is also making ready to go for a trip to Bangkok to visit sister number one, who has a business there. She is also going to get herself a pass port.
When I finish with my daily half hour of Thai (if I can get to that routine that is), I am going to watch the last of the Thai movies I picked up on my last day over there. So far they have been pretty fun, and I am constantly listening for words and phrases that I know. I am cheating though, and I am watching with English subtitles turned on. Unfortunately I cant read the titles on any of them, so cant really tell you what films they are.
The rest of the day will probably be spent in front of the computer, playing games, checking out other peoples blogs, and keeping an eye on some online forums I am a member of. They are all about Thailand. I am completely hooked by that country. And read just about everything that may look interesting about that country. And right now I try to find out as much as I can about Isan, and especially the Khmer people there, as Nan belong among the 1.1 million Khmer speakers in Thailand. She also speak Lao, Thai and passable English, making her far more linguistic than my bi-lingual self. I had French in high school, but when final exams arrived the teacher told me I should not bother to show up, as it would be a waste of time. And he was right!
As we talk on the phone, I have noticed that Nan’s English is improving super fast. I gave her a book with some CD’s for her to study, and she is really going at it with a gusto. But her written English is not quite there yet. So I will see if I can get her on a course. As a Norwegian I should really teach her to speak my own language. But there are only 4.5 million of us and she wont have much use for it outside of that Kingdom. But to help her English I should really stop my Thaiglish. For some stupid reason, when I speak with her I end up using Thai grammar. Articles are thrown out the window, and I simplify everything. It helps in making her understand what I say, but it is not helping her English.
Well that was todays post. Have a wonderful Sunday folks!
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Comments
3 Comments so far
After 6 years, I still use Thai grammar with Ae I try to talk normal, but after 2 or 3 times of her not understanding correctly, I revert back. She speaks very well compared to when I first met her, my Thai is not good at all, know just a few words. Her English needs to be better for USA citizenship, so she is studying again.
Ae is doing better than me then, as I still have not managed to start my study session today. Found it more interesting to watch TV, call Nan, and generally just being lazy.
My breakfast consisted of some leftovers in a Pringles can and a can of Red Bull…
I have ended up slipping into Thaiglish in England with English friends.”I go toilet” and “I have food now.” English grammar is too elaborate anyway.