Bryan in Isaan

Dear All,

Does anyone know when the children in Thailand have there school holidays.

Is there an internet site where I can find this information ?

Thanks

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Can i ask why you want to know this information?

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I don't know about Marktdag, but this info would be very handy for my wife and I since we live in Thailand and have one of her nieces staying with us. Also, I assume these holidays might be the same as the public holidays which would also be good to know. I just got back from a 20 km drive to the bank, finding that it was closed today - yes, unbeknownst to me, another holiday.

Bryan

PS: Just found it it was King Chulalongkorn day. I guess I should be better informed.

This looks like local government gone crazy. I don't know if the central Bangkok government is to blame for this. Lots of wacko things go on in the village schools and noone is held accountable.

On the donation idea: I'm all for charity, but whoever is managing it must keep their hand on the money all the way to the intended recipients; teachers, bills, maintenance, etc. Trust noone. If you can do all that, you solved the problem. However, whoever caused the problem is still pocketing the money and you enable them to continue to do so.

For a hypothetical example, let's say you give 1000B to the village school. 1000B is then subtracted from the budget and moved into the teacher's whisky fund. No net gain for the students. We all want to help, but giving cash is difficult.

If there is a way to eliminate this kind of corruption I would be interested in helping.

Bryan

Its getting more and more difficult to hope for peace over revenge. It's only a matter of time until the Thai people strike back with such violence and horror that the whole world stops what its doing to watch. This is not only a Thai problem, it is a Muslim problem. Muslims worldwide better get more involved in stopping the violence before its too late.

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I have also been wondering when there will be a major offensive by the Thais - I think it will happen. Then in will come the Taliban, JIs or other bands of thugs, this time in greater numbers, with weapons and financing from the oil countries. This is probably the goal of the terrorists - civil war, and ultimately world war.

I started my first degree at age 27, I did my masters at 34.

I agree whole heartedly with what Trustwarrior say regarding studying early and I would add that I have seen reports that indicate people who graduate their first degree past about 34 years old reap very little financial or career benefit.

.......

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And here I went to school to get an education! What was wrong with me, studying what interested me rather than what could get me a job?

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I agree with both of you.

I got my BS in Engineering at age 33. I probably lost money doing it, as I already had a good job, but I don't regret it. I had lots of fun. Living in the coed dorm had nothing to do with that, of course.

Later I studied some Japanese language, being interested in it at the time, and a year of computer network tech training. A guy has to keep his brain active. I don't go to school now, but am teaching myself to read Thai, so that is my challenge for the moment.

Now, here I am in NE Thailand. This time my wife is going to Ram U. at a branch campus nearby for her first degree. We are both in our late 40's. If I go back home to the USA I hope to go back to school again somewhere.

If you want to do it, go for it!

Bryan

Actually the rice farmer's kids are already more than welcome at OCA, OKLS, CCC, etc.   They last about 1-2 terms on average before putting it into the "mai sanook" category. 

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Good point. I am not familiar with OCA, OKLS or CCC. Are those Chinese or English language institutes? I will talk about English language. I think any kid with average or better intelligence can learn it. The kid must also be able to stand on his own and resist peer pressure, which usually discourages performance or work ethic.

The resources are there. The textbooks are good. There are cheap dictionaries and reference books.

My wife is a rice farmer's kid. She learned English just by paying attention in school. She was fluent and earned a good score on the TOEFL test by the time she graduated from high school. She had no special extracurricular classes or tutors and didn't even see the English alphabet until she was in 5th grade. However, she did get academic scholarships to get out of the village where school only went up to 4th grade, and ended up in good schools where there was better English instruction.

That was a long time ago. It should be even easier now. The problem is with the rice farmer's kids; not the rich people, the Chinese or Thaksin.

Bryan

The Nation:

Mandarin taught in all schools by ’08

...

Kasama said the government would help the schools in regards to Mandarin teachers and teaching materials during the first three years. After that, she said they would have to start running the Mandarin classes on their own.

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BU SHR, as they say. Good idea to have some Chinese speakers, but I doubt if this program will ever happen. Maybe in BKK where there are a lot of middle class Chinese, but here in the backwater Isaan provinces the program would be dead in the water after three years when the government stops subsidizing. There are quite a few Chinese here - all the merchants. The families are well to do and none of them are going to teach for 80Baht/hr, 6000Baht/mo. fulltime+ or for charity. This of course is probably the same reason why there are not many English teachers here either. No money. Good luck.

Bryan

The thing that shocked me about the test was I didn't hear anything about the test until February and thought I must have failed. I received a letter in my handwriting addressed to me (you have to provide a self-addressed stamped envelope when making your application) and inside the letter was the words, in Thai, saying 'Pass' and nothing else. It took me a while to work out what is about.

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TIT That's a bit different than the MCSE computer technician cert tests back in the States where I could find out the results immediately.

You're right about the Thai language course. Although I will be doing self study up here in the far corner of the Isaan where there are no real schools, I need to find one somewhere eventually in order to do well on the the live speaking and listening portion of the test.

Thank you,

Bryan

From reading the application forms and accompanying material, this years test will be extremely difficult.  There is no letter writing section (becuase it was found that peoplewere simply memorizing format letters) and there will be a spoken portion as well.  The examiners have come to realize that people simply study to pass the test and this has been deemed by the MOE to be an undesirable state of affairs.  Accordingly, this will be a very detailed exam to see if people are able to communicate (reading, writing, listening and speaking) in the Thai language. 

The breakdown of this years test is as follows:

Dictation (30 minutes) - 20 marks

Comprehension (60 minutes) - 30 marks

Essay Writing (90 minutes) - 35 marks

Reading and Spoken test (no set time) - 15 marks

It will be a killer for sure.  Students are expected to even know about Thai literature and poetry.  After I read all of the info on the website, I feel a bit nervous to say the least.  But you know what they say - สู้ๆ

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Thanks for the info about the literature and poetry. I have been slogging through some elementary school paasaa Thai textbooks and each one has large sections devoted to poetry and proverbs. I had been disregarding the poetry and looking for "normal" Thai material, but I guess it is more important than I realized. I am glad that it is a difficult test, so the credential will be more meaningful. However, it will probably be years before I can pass it.

Bryan

Bob:

Thanks for the info and the link.

It will be good reading practice for me just going through that webpage.

Bryan

Sorry what it means: Goofy things?

KR,

Alex

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Goofy means silly, laughable, odd, strange, etc.

Oh and by the way sorry for my bad english writing, I am not a native speaker and after 12 years working with people with very limited English skills it seems my English went from good to bad, anyway I hope what I try to tell is understandable.

KR,

Alexlah

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You're doing fine Alex.

You really do need to come up with some way to cope with all the goofy things that go on around here.

Bryan

.......I live in a village development and my neighbour has a cock, in fact a lot of my neighbours have cocks and I hardly hear them. My girlfriend tells me she loves the idea of a little cock in the morning in fact she even says that late at night it helps her go to sleep. However I’m not to keen on the idea of it being my neighbour’s cock so I thought I’d investigate the possibility of investing in a coop and so would be able to satisfy her needs with a cock of my own. So in future my gf and I will be looking forward to a crowing cock in the morning and perhaps every now and then throughout the day….I wonder if it will silence my neighbour’s cock….

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ROFL

It's about safety margin. The Thais have no concept of it. They can either do something or not do something. If they miss the oncoming bus by an inch it is as good as a mile, no difference.

As a former mechanical engineer, we designed to the maximum load or condition plus 25%, 50% or whatever, according to the situation. The Thais design (I use the term loosely) something to the maximum condition, or back off because the maximum condition probably will not occur. This results in a zero or negative safety margin.

That's probably way more than anyone wanted to know. Good night all.

Bryan

I understood Alex's post, after I figured out the "ores" (s/b "or").

I think the last part, about the meditation exercise is supposed to be generic - just do a mental exercise that takes your mind off the noise. Is that right Alex?

It did sound sort of mystical the first time I read it. I got a chuckle out of these two posts.

By the way, Mijan. I have been noticing that you must be a Ford man, though the logo kept bouncing so much it was difficult to read at first.

Bryan

Don't forget that there are several million Thai kids who are also trying to learn how to read. If you have some basic reading skills consider turning to the same books the Thai children use. Most bookstores have a large textbook section which will have part of that devoted to ภาษาไทย. I recently found part of a series going from 1st grade through 3rd grade. ปีที่ ๑ through ปีที่ ๓. The first grade book has about a dozen short stories which are entertaining. It even has spaces between the words as an aid to the students. Each chapter has a picture dictionary section, and every page has full color cartoon type pictures. My wife, who is bilingual says they are well written. As I read the first grade book, I still use my dictionary, but much less. It is actually easy. These books cost from 35 to 60 baht each.

Just an idea. Good luck.

Bryan

Lemongrass oil works wonders - some find the small a bit too strong, but at least it is 100% natural.  It lasts for a few hours, but it is cheap, and very effective.  Comes in spray bottles.

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I wonder if it would be easy to make a lemongrass oil/baby oil mixture. Maybe it could be crushed like som tham. We have lemongrass growing all over the property.

Bryan

Like most people learning to read Thai, I'm often completely thrown by some of the typefaces used.  I've found plenty of free downloadable standard fonts, but have completely drawn a blank with the following types:

(1) the type without loops, where letters are radically simplified (I think of it as "sans serif")

(2) the type based upon Indian-style letters, very angular, and written as if with a broad-nibbed pen (often used for menus in restaurants)

(3) the script type, with big flourishes (often used for restaurant name signs)

Does anyone know where I can download (for free) these types of fonts (for PC)?

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Yeah, that's for sure.

If not computer font, how about a link to some charts of cursive or handwriting varieties of font? I presume there must be some standard for handwriting, signpainting, etc... or the Thais wouldn't be able to read them.

Thank you,

Bryan

I am also interested in the Bor Hok test, not so much for the test itself, but to achieve that level of proficiency. I have been living in Thailand about 4 years and have been almost 100% self taught, so I am trying to find out in which areas I need to study or practice more (there will be many). Is there a textbook, review materials or website which give details about this test?

Bryan

Hmmmm......... I think some of you are being a bit harsh about the OP's question (even if it does call for an extreme amount of detail). IMHO, it's useful and sobering to know something of what an "average" Thai earns - particularly when it's compared to what the average tourist pays out for hotels etc and what expats pay for rent etc.

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I agree and think it is an excellent question for any of us living in the LOS and wanting to know more about it's people and culture.

Here in Kalasin, one of the poorest provinces, per capita in Thailand, most people outside the major cities work as farm laborers or other jobs in the agricultural sector. They make about 100B to 150B /day depending on season. A skilled construction worker can make 200B to 250B /day. Other than a few wealthy merchants and politicians, teachers make the highest salaries. The range is from about 7000B to 30000B+, for beginners all the way to principals and all are required to have a college degree now. Most people consider themself lucky if they can go to Bangkok and make 7000B/mo. and they are expected to send money home. With a vocational degree, a person can go to a city (usually Bangkok) and make a little more, usually starting around 10000/mo. My wife has a brother who was lucky to land a job overseas in another Asian country where he will be making a whopping 22000/month, most of which will be sent home to repay loans for fees to get that job. So, all in all, life is tough here.

These are rough estimates, based on living here and watching people over the past four years. The cost of living is of course cheaper here than in BKK, but some things, such as a new car costs the roughly same no matter where you are in the world.

Bryan

It's about time. Up here in the far side of the Isaan we could hardly get a bottle of milk or a loaf of bread if it were not for the 7-11s occasionally stocking them. If there is a Macro next door I can still go to the open market if I choose to. I think most of the natives will do that. And yes, there are a couple of superstores in Roi Et nearby, right on the main street through town, as they should be. The shoppers want them. What do we owe the small merchants that we have to protect them from competition?

Bryan

The one on the main road going through Kalasin. I think that is the biggest one this side of Khon Kaen. Those cheap hamburgers at the coffee shop aren't too bad .... for the price.

Bryan

Hi,

Are you using a Thai or English version of Windows ME? I found that some programs eg Pirch would only sort Thai in alphabetical order under Thai Windows.

Secondly, I seem to remember that getting Office XP to display Thai properly on English Windows ME was not straightforward and involved hacking the registry and installing extra files etc.

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I got on my old computer with Thai version Win98 and Thai Office2000 and it sorted perfectly. Apparently the Thai version has an algorithm that will handle the vowels which occur before consonants. I don't have the latest version of Thai XP windows and office to try the sort. Hopefully it will work as well.

Again, thanks everyone for all the excellent posts.

Bryan

and thought it would be a relatively easy reading for language learners to start on.  ........

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So, It is easy?

I am looking for some good, easy books, probably kids story books in regular language (not dialects, royal language or other non standard). Since I am way up in the Isaan it would have to be something very common and available at the small SE-ED bookstores we have up here.

Bryan

Hi,

Are you using a Thai or English version of Windows ME? I found that some programs eg Pirch would only sort Thai in alphabetical order under Thai Windows.

Secondly, I seem to remember that getting Office XP to display Thai properly on English Windows ME was not straightforward and involved hacking the registry and installing extra files etc.

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I am using English WinMe and English OfficeXP. It has been generally well behaved and was easy to set up, but missing a few functions, for example, it won't read Thai filenames, and this sorting problem.

Cheap and nasty way to sort only on Thai Consts in column (in this case column A). Knocked it up in 30 minutes, so its not perfect, and only sorts for a single column which must be A - can be changed to accomodate multi columns and/or prompt for the column etc. It still uses Excel's sort (which is much faster than a bubble or ripple sort written in VBA!), but it ignores the vowels. Anyway, cut and past this into a VBA Macro (XL 98+ - though I used 2002, so may need modifing for earlier versions):

This will be quite a learning experience for me, as I try using this. It probably answers the questions raised in my previous post from a few minutes ago. Thank you for spending the time and expertise in writing the code.

And I thank everyone else for all the other good answers.

Bryan

Dear Bryan,

I kindly suggest that one of the next steps in your analysis is to map the Unicode encoding for the Thai language to your list, to see if a pattern emerges.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Farang

I agree that would be a good place to start. I will do some googling to figure out how to do it. So far all I have found is an Excel function "code()", which returns someting like an ascii number for each character, but its always the same, 63, for all the Thai chars. I will need to find a way to extract the real code number. As I recall from my little bit of programming experience in fortran (or was it pascal) in college, there was some "string" functions which would get it. Maybe then there would be a way to sort or do an customized sort on those numbers.

As an aside, I also used a program which typed Thai in old ascii font, and I sorted that. Unlike unicode, the consonants came before the vowels, and I could get the ascii code for all the characters.

Thanks, Bryan