simon43

Is there any chance that Trump will claim the UK as the next US state? 'Cos we really need his kind of action plan to sort out the mess that the current (and previous) UK governments have made.....

Just an update: My updated learning/teaching Android app is almost ready for relaunch on Google Playstore. This is good news, because downloading the old version from my website causes various pop-up warning messages "Do you really want to download this app?" etc by the Android software, which is rather worrying for end-users! I've been testing the updated app on my phone and I'm very pleased so far. The app now supports the Burmese character set for my file names, which makes it easier for beginner learners to understand. Once that app is completed, and I've moved into my Jomtien Beach condo 'base', I should be back to Myanmar. It's likely that I will be in Yangon, because there are warnings that the pdf/civilian fighters may try to cut off the road between Mandalay city and its airport, so not a great idea to return to Mandalay. 2 international schools in Yangon have asked me to join them, so everything is looking 'rosy' 🙂

Yes, most expats are non-immigrants, but they maybe stay here for 5, 10, 20 years or more, renewing their non-immigrant visa each year 🙂 I think once you're on your 5th annual renewal, you should be required to take a spoken Thai language test. That shouldn't be too difficult now, should it?

Hmm, we need to cut imports of an export from France that they currently sell a huge amount to the UK. Let me think... what does the UK import from France in huge quantities? I know!! Electricity!! Er.... wait a moment.... 🙂

I don't think Columbia wanted to coordinate these actions a little. They just didn't want to accept their citizens back. According to media reports, it was only after Trump threatened tariffs etc on Columbian imports that they relented. Perhaps The UK should threaten France with tariffs if they don't take the illegals who left their safe shores back. 500% on imports of frogs' legs or something perhaps?

Correct. He wasn't 'hiding' in Kanchanaburi. The authorities knew where he was all the time, but there was no evidence to arrest him.

If our attitude is that we should not learn Thai, then why should immigrants to the UK learn English? I speak/read Thai to a good level because I consider it 'good manners' to speak the language (at least to conversational level) of the country that one lives in. So I speak/read Thai, speak/read Lao and speak/read Burmese, with Thai being my most fluent language because that's the country that I've resided in for the longest time.

In my youth I did actually work for MFI 🙂 My 'weapon' was a large box of 6 inch mails and a hammer, because as an employee of MFI I had been warned that it was impossible to construct a strong piece of furniture from these flat-packs without resorting to use of 6-inch nails to hold it all together.... BTW, 'MFI' stands for 'Manufacturers' Foreign Imports' 🙂

I'm hoping that Trump will have a positive effect on the useless UK government. He already started by not inviting Starmer to his inauguration..

How on earth can anyone. regardless of their beliefs, attack and kill a 2-year old child?

Yes I know! I have been teaching in Myanmar since 2012, so I'm aware of the changes. Now there are many ATM machines of course, but no foreigner would want to use them with the appalling official exchange rate!

Although I'm currently in Thailand, and resting my eye, I want to post more in this thread, sort of to keep the momentum going. I'm just waiting to move into my new 'base' studio condo at Jomtien Beach. Since I am only a few months away from drawing my huge (!) UK state pension, I've decided to no longer teach 'in-class' for a monthly salary, but to continue with my online science teaching AND to only teach in-class in Myanmar as part of my volunteer efforts. I move into the condo in a few weeks from now, but I've been sorting out more audio file recordings for my mobile app. Since there are hundreds (probably thousands) of these files, I'm going to build a small 'sound recording booth' in my condo, with a decent microphone and sound-absorbing wall/ceiling tiles, to provide the clearest sound recordings of my dulcet voice 🙂 The mobile app development company in Pakistan sent me their first attempt at updating my existing Android app. This was very good, with only a few issues, and they are now checking through these software bugs. Once I've tested it all, then it's pay-day for them and my updated app can be back on the Google Playstore 🙂 My Myanmar business visa expired 2 days ago. Since I no longer plan to teach at a school in Myanmar, I can no longer get a business visa. So I'll have to rely on 28-day tourist visas. I am pessimistic enough to consider that the junta may - at some time - refuse me entry to the country (they don't really like people helping local teachers to educate local students). So in my initial tourist visa trips, I will try to recruit a local (anonymous) person who can market my app, print vocabulary posters etc in my absence. Luckily, return plane tickets from Bangkok to Yangon with Air Asia are reasonably cheap, about $110 USD on the cheapest dates. A Burmese friend in Yangon is sourcing the cheapest hotel/hostel that is licenced for foreigners, so that I can minimise my expenses whilst in Myanmar. Anyway, all my plans are going well 🙂

This is a major issue in many countries. The English teachers can't speak English! This is the problem that I face in Myanmar. The local teachers can read and write English to an acceptable level (usually), but their spoken English is appalling. This is no surprise, because they've learnt to speak English from a local teacher, who learnt from a local teacher who learnt from....... You get the idea! Sort of Chinese Whispers and the English they speak is not the same language as the English that I speak 🙂 In Myanmar, I do a lot of volunteer work to help local Burmese teachers improve their English pronunciation, so that their students can also achieve clear pronunciation. But there has to be a willingness to learn! In Myanmar, every Tom, Dick, Jack and Jill is extremely keen to learn to speak and understand English, because they realise that knowledge of English can increase their chances of getting a job or going on to higher education. In Thailand.... well they seem not so keen. As to Native English Speakers, that phrase means absolutely nothing when one considers many of the unintelligible Brummie, Scouse and Scottish accents that I've heard over the years. A dear friend of mine (now deceased) taught English at a school in Yangon where I was also teaching. I once asked his students what they had learnt today. "Teacher Simon, we don't know" was their reply. "Huh?, why not?" I asked. "Because no-one can understand him!! - but we are too polite to say anything..." Oops!

In 2012, I was teaching English to a class of young adults in Yangon, Myanmar. We were reading a passage from The British Council. The English vocabulary was not difficult, but my students were all having a hard time understanding some of the words and phrases. I asked them which words they didn't understand. "Teacher Simon, can you please explain to us. What is a credit card and what is an ATM?" This English language passage from the British Council would have been understood in almost every country in the world. But Myanmar in 2012 still had no credit/debit cards nor ATMs....

Can I just mention that in a previous career I was indeed a rocket scientist, but my efforts to establish a porn-star career with my colleague Candi has come to nought...

Mods, please move this post if you think it's in the wrong sub-forum! Yonks ago, one of the first qualifications that I obtained was a certificate in 'Sound Studio Recording Techniques' from North London Polytechnic. Well, although I'm a scientist and often teach about sound energy etc, I'd like some advice as to how I can obtain good voice audio that I will use for my little educational charity work in Myanmar, which provides video and audio content to local school-teachers and their students, so that they are better-equipped when they teach/learn English. I use Filmora for editing my content files, and the video part is not as important as the audio part. The audio content consists of myself reading various English words and sentences that match with the video. So it's very important that my pronunciation is clear (no Scouse accents please!), and also that the actual audio recording is clear. Previously, I simply used to record the voice files using my mobile phone, then import the file into Filmora and then edit/trim it etc. In a few weeks, I will move into a small condo at Jomtien Beach, which I propose to use as my 'base' between my regular trips into Myanmar - I visit various orphanages/schools etc and assist local teachers to access my free content. I regulary record new files that are then uploaded to my webserver and can then be downloaded either directly from the 'web', or (more user-friendly), using my free android App So I thought it a good idea to create a small audio recording 'corner' in my condo which will provide a good environment for decent audio voice recording. I'd very much appreciate your advice about what I would need to do to create this space. I'm thinking about: - Build a little 'box' with sound-absorbing tiles to minimise echo. Good idea or not? - Use the correct microphone for the purpose. What kind of microphone etc? (Bear in mind that my work is totally non-profit and self-financed, so no $1,000 microphones!) - Microphone shields etc?? - Recording hardware/software. Should I just connect my microphone to Windows Voice Recorder or Zoom record function? Or perhaps use a simple audio mixer to adjust the input levels, equaliser etc The aim is to create a voice file that is as clear as possible, so that the local Burmese teachers and their students can clearly hear the word/phrase being pronounced. Thanks for advice 🙂

^^^ Frozen state pension, winter fuel allowance cut, triple lock under threat, means-testing pension, where will it end? I'm getting a little concerned about my UK state pension, which I'll start to receive in about 5 months from now. For various reasons (which don't include p*ssing my income up the wall), I will need to rely on my UK state pension as my main income source after I retire. I still have a decent income from inline teaching, but I don't expect to be teaching in this manner into my 70s etc, and I would be foolish to assume that I would be teaching. We all know that the UK state pension is 'frozen' for those pensioners living in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia etc, and this will never change, regardless of how many people moan about it. The winter fuel allowance is being cut, but this doesn't affect overseas pensioners. Now I hear about 'threats' to the triple lock. Again, that doesn't affect UK pensioners in the Thailand, thanks to the frozen pension state. But means-testing pensions is a possible threat to pensioners' income in future years! (It won't affect me, because I don't have a pot to p*ss in!). However, where will this all end? I fear that this UK government may try to save more money by restricting state pension payments for expats, regardless of which country they are living in. Perhaps they will only pay out for pensioners who are living in the UK? (Of course, not paying expats will force many of them to return to the UK, thus costing the government more money in claimable allowances/benefits etc, but I don't think any government has enough brain cells to think this all through...) What are your thoughts about this? And is there anything that you can do to mitigate these possible scenarios? Plan your retirement to minimise unnecessary expenses, or even plan a return to the UK? Difficult decisions....

Speaking with some of my Chinese (online) students, the news is all over China that Thailand is a very dangerous place to visit..... I countered this by pointing out that Thailand is as safe as houses when compared to Myanmar...

What are 'laptop deniers'??

[quote] so i guess this thread dies ;-( [/quote] Why? I have already planned my return trip to Myanmar. I am resting my eye for the moment by the sea at Jomtien Beach and using this time to improve my spoken/reading Burmese by taking face-to-face lessons from a native Burmese teacher. It also gives me time to update my Android app content files (the updated version of this app is almost ready for relaunch on the Playstore). @Rhodie, I went to Rutin Hospital in Bangkok, zapped by some laser gun to re-attach the retina. That eye does not have perfect vision anyway, so any sight remaining in it is a bonus for me. I don't know the final cost - my insurer handled all that directly.

As RSD1 commented, this is not a thread about Twitter/X, so I'll simply say that I have never had a Twitter/X account 🙂

Thanks! I will advertise this information to all the Thais who have expressed complete ignorance of these terms....

This comment from him: " At the end of 2022, I abandoned Twitter/X altogether, having recognized the poisonous effect that it had on my life" demonstrates to me what a mentally-weak individual this person is! If you can't take it, go and join a monastery instead, 'cos the real world is a hard and unforgiving place. Twitter/C poisoning your life? Jeez....... BTW, Elon is a top bloke!! I love his space work and I love his comments and how he can trigger so many people (same goes for Trump). Go Elon, go Trump go!! 🙂

Shark attack?! At Pattaya Beach?!! What have you been smoking? Mind you - I did spot 2 crocodiles at Pattaya Beach yesterday ...

Thanks, but that doesn't seem to work with all the Thais that I asked today and whom I showed a photo of a 'Red Indian' Perhaps I'm not associating with the right kind of Thai 🙂 [quote] India Daeng works. I guarantee it. I have heard it used by Thais many times. [/quote] I'm happy to hear that. But I'm intrigued as to what sort of conversations they were having that involved discussing Red Indians 🙂 "Hey Somchai, don't go into town today. It's full of Red Indians" "Yea I know, these Red Indians are getting everywhere. I wish they would go back to India.. er .. the prairies of North America" Perhaps they were talking about sunburnt Indians from Bombay?