Cereal

I bet all the Indian tailors are drooling at the prospect of all those potential new homegrown customers.

I am so fuzzy from a long night of boozing that I actually got vertigo reading that claptrap, and I'm sitting in my chair!

They looked like decent shoes.

What's so difficult about wearing the proper uniform? I teach at a private school and the uniform thing is a regular challenge with certain students. Wear what you're supposed to. 

As to the falang parents who have a problem with this, you had the kids in that country by choice, deal with it or home school or send your kid to England or wherever to get an education. Stop whinging. You have choices and "go home if you don't like it" doesn't have to be one.

It's like living here and constantly complaining about all the freaking rice.

Yes the teacher was way out of line. Who knows how bad the injuries were, it could have been a little redness the way Thais go on about incredibly minor things. But, it all boils down to simply doing what you're supposed to do which is part of the deal when attending or working for certain institutions.

We're not exactly living in a bastion of creative free-thinkers here. Wear the stinking uniform exactly as it should be and teach the kids about group-think and individuality after school. Use 'joining in' as a lesson in cultural idealism.

I didn't read if it said they were traveling up or down the slope or how steep it was. Odd, these are germane to the story in my opinion.

6 hours ago, diddygq said:

I'm so glad you had this pic to match my description.  I sent you a private message!

I have a lot of pics and videos LOL if I ever find myself missing China I'll look at them from time to time.

I'll ask the hard question. Why didn't the boy just get out of the truck?

This story reminds me of the lunacy of Korean mentality when 300 high school kids drowned on the Sewol Ferry because not one of them had the critical thinking abilities to figure out they had to leave or they were gonna die. 

Is there any chance that the aggrieved party understands that the guilty party has lost face here through both his actions and the fine being highly publicized? Thus, by default and because no one was hurt and no damage was done, the aggrieved wins.

I don't know, man. I'm trying to rationalize the completely freaking irrational. I will tell you this, I have lived in Vientiane for over 11 years now, and there's a gap a heck of a lot wider than the Mekong separating Thai and Lao folks.

Seriously?!? No one from the electric company had the critical thinking skills to even wonder if it should be moved and ask questions?

Idiots!

1 hour ago, rkidlad said:

If it was done for the right reasons, good on them.

 

As one fine Buddhist local once said to me "I don't go fishing. I'm Buddhist", to which I asked "But you eat fish?" "Yes", he replied, "but I don't kill the fish".

 

How about a little less religion and little more common sense in the world. 

 

 

Now wouldn't that be nice! Personally, I think you're asking way too much of the human race.

Air conditioners work by removing moisture from the air in the room. By doing their job they cool the air; wet air is hotter than cool air. I'm sure you know this. Measure the room for cubic meters and install the proper unit for that size. Find a comfortable temperature and let it run, you'll save money in the long run over turning an air con unit off and on as the needs arise.

http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-dishes/index.html

List with pictures and commentary

13 hours ago, StefanBBK said:

love Thai food. but best dishes worldwide? what an ambitious undertaking to compile such list. is there anywhere a link to the full list?
Chicken fried rice can be comforting. but to make it on that list is pathetic.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-food-dishes/index.html

Link with pictures and commentary

I'd love to be super rich, man. Seriously, having the means to do anything, buy anything (a vacation on the ISS), go anywhere...would be too freaking cool. However, I would hate to be famous or well known. That's the tipping point for me. I love my anonymity, it would be a serious drag to be unable to walk around freely.

1 hour ago, Ian Maxwell said:

Why is it that you guys have to post such un intelligent comments do you think you are being funny ? this is a serious crime anywhere in the world and a major problem for the authorities to keep track of terrorists which endanger your safety and your families safety ! not to mention criminal activity ! which also could effect you and everyone else ! get a grip for gods sake ! why is it always that Pakistanis are at the back of any forgery especially passports ? have you ever had the moment to think why ? because they are terrorist supporters and help them move freely around the globe you bunch of idiots ! so praise the police force and immigration officers catching these bastards more the merrier in my opinion well done guys keep up the good work ! this is not a dodgy driving licence that is only valid here in the kingdom which by the way they have also cracked down on as well thank god this keeps a few more idiots off the road at least and saves a few more lives ! stop praising this criminal culture and shun them its not cool ! grow up 

https://www.washingtonreport.me/1998-january-february/mossad-s-use-of-canadian-passports-two-reports.html

It's not always the Pakistanis. Israelis like the Canadian passport too.

The poster - a man called Kheen who put the CCTV footage on his bike shop page at "Bikkychianggmai" said the story had a "happy ending".

Well, at least there was a happy ending.

This is, and will forever remain, a problem as long as the Thai (and Lao) are completely irresponsible pet owners. Many years ago there was a bit of a problem with dogs on my very short soi. I bought a Doberman. I had her imported from Germany from a very reputable breeder. By the time she was 6-8 months old she had chewed the crap out of every dog around. I would take her for walks on a 3m leash. When the soi dogs came barking and growling I held the end of the leash and let her take care of business. It didn't take long for word to get out among the mutts. Don't mess with the German! It's peaceful now.

18 hours ago, diddygq said:

Yep, a normal thing when I lived in Zhengzhou, China.  It's normal for the babies, toddlers, and children usually have a hole cut in the back of their undies and they just pop a squat.  The children usually carry some tissue with them for a gift wrapping on top of their business.  I've seen a few adults do it but it's not as common. Possibly because their public bathrooms are in the worst conditions you could ever imagine (Squatters, no doors, hole in the ground, literally shit everywhere, and the worst smell humanly known to man). It's a little different in first tier cities like Szchenchen and Shanghai but a normal thing in every other city.   That being said, you think that would be on the list of things their tour guide should educate them on what not to do in any other country in the world. 

Hey man! I lived in Zhengzhou too. I worked at the Zhengzhou University of Engineering teaching English to morons. I have many pictures and videos of the place along with scenes exactly like this. Toddler pants are more like chaps, basically 2 legs sewn together at the belt line. Kids squat and dump everywhere.

It was the single foulest most disgusting place I have ever seen, hands down. Here's a pic of the toilet in the local pool hall and walking to it from the university. This is Zhengzhou. I quit my contract 1/2 way through because I hated it so badly.

Why were you there, out of curiosity.

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

American media anyway. It depends on the brand also. Fox obviously. 

The CBC in Canada too.

On 7/27/2017 at 1:09 PM, Jingthing said:

I'm OK with that, free press and all that, but it can't be denied that AJ has a strong pro-Palestinian / anti-Israel bias. 

Nor can it be denied that the Western media has an even stronger pro-Israeli / anti-Palestinian bias.

Why are school boys running around with machetes? Wood carving class?

Just now, impulse said:

 

I lived in China for 10 years and still have an apartment and a warehouse there.  May not be surprising, but that doesn't mean it's not mental illness.

 

 

Perhaps, but I doubt it is legitimate mental illness. You know the outrageous drama some of those people are capable of. I doubt he seriously tried to kill himself, it was much more likely carefully planned as nothing more than, "Look at me I'm so hard done by."

10 hours ago, impulse said:

The guy obviously has mental issues, as even the most spoiled of brats won't try to kill themselves over a hamburger.  Throw a tantrum, sure.  Threaten to commit suicide?  Possibly.  

 

Throw himself in front of moving traffic?  That's mental illness.

 

Having lived and worked in China and Korea, the boy's actions don't surprise me at all.

On 7/22/2017 at 6:43 PM, saakura said:

Well, i do not remember crying in my adult life. Grief and moist eyes when my parents passed away in their ripe old age, but no crying and wailing when i got hurt physically in sports or accidents, or during the rare arguments with my wife. Men are just designed that way, nothing to do with being a Thai or a farang?

Are you claiming this is a nature not nurture thing? If so, I think you are 100% off base. There are societies where crying with happiness or grief is normal. I am French and we cry, as do other Latin based cultures/races, S. Americans.

There's plenty of medical research which shows that crying - emotional release - has benefits. Tears contain toxins which are obviously being cleansed from the body. The act of crying relieves stress and anxiety and lowers blood pressure.

People are genetically designed to cry, that's nature. The nurture aspect is the negative. Not showing one's emotions when circumstances dictate - holding it in, keeping a stiff upper lip - just leads to increased stress.

There's also the aspect of manganese, a mineral found in the body directly related to mood. Tears have a 30% higher concentration of manganese than in blood serum. Thus crying relieves the internal pressures that lead to bad moods. Crying calms you down, it's chemistry.

Looks to me like Thai men could do with a good cry every now and then!

It makes me wanna cry.........

The Asian way of learning to read is to memorize words and spelling. This does not work. It would help the boy's confidence if he could read at a fairly high level for his age. To teach this he has to know sounds. If he recognizes sounds he can "sound it out" and spell words he's never seen or heard.

The English language has 43 sounds I think. 31 of these sounds comprise the consonants and the long & short vowels. Pump him full of confidence. I am sure he knows these sounds by now (he should) so he already knows 31/43 sounds and he probably doesn't realize it. Throw in some dipthongs: sh, ch, th, then add in prefixes and suffixes: re, un, & tion, cion,....

Speaking proper English is essential. Do not do the Thai thing, saying words with the ending accented and missing prepositions and proper verb tenses etc. Hearing the language spoken correctly helps acquisition through osmosis. Don't obsess about the bizarre vagaries of the rules of grammar. Get a bunch of Dr. Suess books. I know he's a little too old but they are likely appropriate for his level.

Use computer games a reward for doing well and trying hard. Ice cream at DQ, pizza, whatever. There should be incentives to try. As mentioned, you and your wife should speak nothing but English to him and each other.

In no time the boy will have a solid grip on almost all the sounds in the English language. He'll be able to sound out words he's never seen. This increases confidence.

I taught this method - this is how I was taught back in the 60's - to elementary grade 3 and 4 kids and they were shortly spelling words that middle schooler's couldn't spell. They may not have known what the word meant but they could spell it. Learning definitions is easier after that.

The added bonus is of course, as you learn sounds you must vocalize and this increases one's confidence in speaking.

I have a friend who has 2 kids, now 9 and 5. They are fluently bilingual in Thai and English appropriate to their ages. When they speak English they're Canadian, no accent at all. The same with Thai. It's eminently doable.

It has to be enjoyable from his perspective with clear goals. You have to be firm with clear achievable expectations.

I have taught students from beginner right through to university scholarships in the West. My methods work.