Deesurin

Well I'm smiling ..lucky to have a 30%er waiting for my return and having married a virgin...wasn't she surprised too

deesurin

Very sad. I would love to share my "love story", but will not subject my wife's honor or my sanity to the leering remarks of few screen prevs out there.

My best to OP and his Mrs. Smile happy.

Thailand and it's people and one woman has taken my heart.

Where will you be living, so I can steer clear....I fit most of your targets

being a "dumb" farang when I came to marry my "Traditional" Thai lady,I had no idea about sin sod. To this day I carry the piece of paper in my walet with the question writen in Thai "How much do I put in wedding bowl" to ask around town.

I ended up putting 100000bt for my 40 year old virgin wife and a lot of gold. The sin so was not returned and I was glad, Mae needed it. I struggled with it's intent, until reading past posts here on the subject. hel_l this is thai culture and I chose to enter it, for the love of a really good woman and a life style that is far better than what I left ( my opion). I wouldn't change a thing, except knowing more before I came

Now I'm helping my sister-in-law with a farang boy friend anad she is 46 w/2 kids and devorsed. The question came up about sin sod for her and it is interesting to see the forum says not needed, but my family ( wife) thinks yes. I think if we farangs can aford it and understand the purpose, why not...this is Thailand and it's culture..not our home country. The running joke with my wife is" I should have married an Indian ( India) girl and then I would have gotten the gold"

My 2 cents

Dee

Yet another step towards "Big Brother"is watching you...I thought this would be the last place for BB to show up and now "they" want "us" to help I don't think so !

I agree with the law on no phones when driving, but let the boys in brown do the enforcing, don't turn us into "rats"

My wife's smile has stolen and sealed my heart,but the smiles from the other Thai ladies are always welcome and returned...it's an ego thing.

For me, the smiles just reenforce the addage " don't matter where you get your appeitite,just as long as you do your eating at home"

I love the Thai people!

one simple way to eliminate poor people in Surin is to put them on the menu.

let the rich enjoy a unique dining experience and eradicate poverty at the same time.

Jesus!! Don't give them any ideas

Do you think "they" will get out of their limo's or just gawk ay the "poor" through the tinted windows?? Mustn't step in the elephant sh*T

I hope that one of these rich fa*ts has a moment of "heart" and desides to by pass the meal and donate his $$ to the poor elephant handlers who can't "take care" of themselves or their elephants.

What rubbish!

These "poor folk" are by far better off and happyer in Surin, than what ever rock these "rich" crawled out under.

Wish I was back at my village to orgainize a wellcoming commity or better still gather a group of "poor people" to go to Bangkok and "watch the rich eat"

Deesurin

My wife's sister teaches Thai massage and is quite well off from it. She has taught my wife and I got the bennies when with her. Our running joke was "massage" always led to"something else" I sure do miss it

Thanks all for the input. As always,the information is helpful and welcomed.

Just to add

Apon arrivail back here (USA) I submitted my filled ( Thai-Cambodia) passport for renewal and recieved my new one no problem( "they" certainly knew where I was traveling)

I read there is a "chip" enbeded in the passport cover,with "my" information on it...what that is I do not know

I also heard-read ?? there would be swip machines at the Bangkok airport ( other airports too)for these chips and possibly fingerprints ( anyone know about this??)

I am a "good person" not a cimminal. I have a past and that is where my problems lay. I work hard and follow the law.I just want to come back to my wife and "live happy future".Of the three farangs I know around "my" village two have records (not american) and they seem to get by. I worry about my return and stay to the point of sleeplessness. I love Thailand and all's crazyness. Just want a quite (yeah! in Thailand?? ) end of life.

Thanks deesurin

Are you totally rehabilitated?

I ask because there are illegal ways around your predicament.

Well I haven't robbed anyone in 30 years...but you never know?? I have tryed to get "it" sealed ..but to no end.

After reading all the five pages of post reguarding the arrest of pedophile Steven Prowler and the ensuing debate about ciminals ( teachers or not) being allowed to enter Thaland I was dismayed to find the post closed when I wanted to post my 2 cents.

The idea of keeping all convicted person out of Thailand effects me. I "screwed up" big time 30 years ago,"served time" and have "a record" (fenony). One time,long ago,I am not the "same" person. I came to Thailand to leave the USA because of the bullsh*t I precieve here,meet and married a wonderful Thai lady and after a year came back here ( USA) to get my passport renewed ( which I did)and earn money for a return ( which will take a lot longer,due to this ressesion) Construction in a 14 year low.

Now I have to worry about how and if I can get back because of "my past". Visa blues.

Well just so you all have something to chew on...this country locks up more of it's citizens than ANY country in the world..1 in 100 are "inside right now...how many have already been in ( like me) and out with a "record" I can't say, but my guess is 5 in 100.

What is it I'm supposed to do? Not come back to Thailand and live a happy life with my wife. I don't think so! I'll find a way back.

Any suggestions?

Record-high ratio of Americans in prison

By DAVID CRARY, AP National Writer 22 minutes ago

For the first time in history, more than one in every 100 American adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report tracking the surge in inmate population and urging states to rein in corrections costs with alternative sentencing programs.

The report, released Thursday by the Pew Center on the States, said the 50 states spent more than $49 billion on corrections last year, up from less than $11 billion 20 years earlier. The rate of increase for prison costs was six times greater than for higher education spending, the report said.

Using updated state-by-state data, the report said 2,319,258 adults were held in U.S. prisons or jails at the start of 2008 — one out of every 99.1 adults, and more than any other country in the world.

The steadily growing inmate population "is saddling cash-strapped states with soaring costs they can ill afford and failing to have a clear impact either on recidivism or overall crime," said the report.

Susan Urahn, managing director of the Pew Center on the States, said budget woes are prompting officials in many states to consider new, cost-saving corrections policies that might have been shunned in the recent past for fear of appearing soft in crime.

"We're seeing more and more states being creative because of tight budgets," she said in an interview. "They want to be tough on crime, they want to be a law-and-order state — but they also want to save money, and they want to be effective."

The report cited Kansas and Texas as states which have acted decisively to slow the growth of their inmate population. Their actions include greater use of community supervision for low-risk offenders and employing sanctions other than reimprisonment for ex-offenders who commit technical violations of parole and probation rules.

"The new approach, born of bipartisan leadership, is allowing the two states to ensure they have enough prison beds for violent offenders while helping less dangerous lawbreakers become productive, taxpaying citizens," the report said.

While many state governments have shown bipartisan interest in curbing prison growth, there also are persistent calls to proceed cautiously.

"We need to be smarter," said David Muhlhausen, a criminal justice expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "We're not incarcerating all the people who commit serious crimes — but we're also probably incarcerating people who don't need to be."

According to the report, the inmate population increased last year in 36 states and the federal prison system.

The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state's crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state's inmate population has increased by 600 percent.

The Pew report was compiled by the Center on the State's Public Safety Performance Project, which is working directly with 13 states on developing programs to divert offenders from prison without jeopardizing public safety.

"For all the money spent on corrections today, there hasn't been a clear and convincing return for public safety," said the project's director, Adam Gelb. "More and more states are beginning to rethink their reliance on prisons for lower-level offenders and finding strategies that are tough on crime without being so tough on taxpayers."

The report said prison growth and higher incarceration rates do not reflect a parallel increase in crime or in the nation's overall population. Instead, it said, more people are behind bars mainly because of tough sentencing measures, such as "three-strikes" laws, that result in longer prison stays.

"For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling," the report said. "While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine."

The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails — a total 2,319,258 out of almost 230 million American adults.

The report said the United States is the world's incarceration leader, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations which make up the rest of the Top 10.

___

On the Net:

http://www.pewcenteronthestates

The only "real" Thai food I've ever tasted came from my wife's cooking in our kitchen. She won't "eat out" because she can't see if it's clean. My 'job" was to go to the Surin open market every day to buy the vegies and moo for our supper, always freash, always a fun trip.

I lost 25lbs eating like a horse . Garlic was local grown and a major part of the feast,as was most ,if not all of the vegies. It would be a cold day in He-l before we would eat chinese garlic... cheap is not better.

After reading through all these posts,both pro and con for Thanskin, it seems to me that ALL politics are the same( granted degrees vary) but who can point to a "goverment" that runs a "honest" platform? Don't you think all PM's or Presidents have "personal gain" on thier mind when taking "the job" of leadership. Bush has raped the USA and will go out a lot richer than he came in,with blood on his hands...it's the "same,same" with every president here. If "the people" are happy( majority)...let them be. The words on this formum will be nothing but "entertanment" in the long run. Take your high blood presure pill...sit back ..and enjoy the show...I'm sure it will get better

throw this into the mix

By JOHN MARKOFF

Published: November 30, 2006

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — When computer industry executives heard about a plan to build a $100 laptop for the developing world’s children, they generally ridiculed the idea. How could you build such a computer, they asked, when screens alone cost about $100?

One Laptop Per Child

Michail Bletsas, the chief connectivity officer for One Laptop Per Child, plays with some potential computer users in Nigeria.

Mary Lou Jepsen, the chief technologist for the project, likes to refer to the insight that transformed the machine from utopian dream to working prototype as “a really wacky idea.”

Ms. Jepsen, a former Intel chip designer, found a way to modify conventional laptop displays, cutting the screen’s manufacturing cost to $40 while reducing its power consumption by more than 80 percent. As a bonus, the display is clearly visible in sunlight.

That advance and others have allowed the nonprofit project, One Laptop Per Child, to win over many skeptics over the last two and a half years. Five countries — Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria and Thailand — have made tentative commitments to put the computers into the hands of millions of students, with production in Taiwan expected to begin by mid-2007.

The laptop does not come with a Microsoft Windows operating system or even a hard drive, and the screen is small. And the cost is now closer to $150 than $100. But the price tag, even compared with low-end $500 laptops now widely available, transforms the economic equation for developing countries.

That has not prevented the effort, conceived by Nicholas Negroponte, a prominent computer researcher, from becoming the focal point of a debate over the value of computers to both learning and economic development.

The detractors include two computer industry giants, Intel and Microsoft, pushing alternative approaches. Intel has developed a $400 laptop aimed at schools as well as an education program that focuses on teachers instead of students. And Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and a leading philanthropist for the third world, has questioned whether the concept is “just taking what we do in the rich world” and assuming that that is something good for the developing world, too.

Mr. Negroponte, the founding director of the M.I.T. Media Laboratory, said he was amused by the attention his little machine was getting. It is not the first time he has been challenged for proclaiming technology’s promise.

“It’s as if people spent all of their attention focusing on Columbus’s boat and not on where he was going,” he said in an interview here. “You have to remember that what this is about is education.”

Seymour Papert, a computer scientist and educator who is an adviser to the project, has argued that if young people are given computers and allowed to explore, they will “learn how to learn.” That, Mr. Papert argues, is a more valuable skill than traditional teaching strategies that focus on memorization and testing.

The idea is also that children can take on much of the responsibility for maintaining the systems, rather than relying on or creating bureaucracies to do so.

“We believe you have to leverage the kids themselves,” Ms. Jepsen said. “They’re learning machines.” As an example, she pointed to the backlight used by the laptop. Although it is designed to last five years, if it fails it can be replaced as simply as batteries are replaced in a flashlight. It is something a child can do, she said.

That philosophy, at the heart of the project’s world view, has stirred criticism for its focus on getting equipment to students rather than issues like teacher training and curriculum.

“I think it’s wonderful that the machines can be put in the hands of children and parents, and it will have an impact on their lives if they have access to electricity,” Larry Cuban, a Stanford University education professor, said in an interview. “However, if part of their rationale is that it will revolutionize education in various countries, I don’t think it will happen, and they are naïve and innocent about the reality of formal schooling.”

The debate is certain to enter a new phase when the machines go into full-scale production by Taiwan-based Quanta Computer, the world’s second-largest laptop maker. (The manufacturer, unlike the project itself, will make a profit.) Overnight, even though it will not be available to consumers, the laptop could become the best-selling portable computer in the world.

The project now has tentative commitments for three million computers and will begin large-scale manufacturing when it reaches five million with separate commitments from at least one country each in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Based on current negotiations, Mr. Negroponte says he expects that goal to be reached by mid-2007.

It got a significant boost on Nov. 15 when the Inter-American Development Bank signed an agreement to supply both loans and grants to buy the machines.

“Several years ago, I thought it was an illusion or a utopian idea,” said Juan José Daboub, managing director of the World Bank and an independent economic-development expert. “But this is now real and encouraging.”

Mr. Negroponte said the manufacturing cost was now below $150 and that it would fall below $100 by the end of 2008.

One factor setting the project apart from earlier efforts to create inexpensive computers for education is the inclusion of a wireless network capability in each machine.

The project leaders say they will employ a variety of methods for connecting to the Internet, depending on local conditions. In some countries, like Libya, satellite downlinks will be used. In others, like Nigeria, the existing cellular data network will provide connections, and in some places specially designed long-range Wi-Fi antennas will extend the wireless Internet to rural areas.

Pig farming?? No better way to get rid of dead tourist than toss them to hungry pigs may be something to keep an eye on

Dam !! Why didn't I think of bank robbery,instead of working in construction, in this oppressed country, for the last year and a half, to get back to my wife

In Surin, it is a very commond sight for elephants to be on the road. You know who has the right of way,if you're on a motor-cy and you pay attention to the "piles" in the road, don't want to hit them

I just thought,"this is Thailand" and enjoyed the sight and had great talks with their trainers,tryed to always give them a few baht .

The Surin elephant festivial is truely wonderful.The "mock" battles,in full dress is amazing to see,as well as the "tricks" and "tug of war" they perform. Well worth the travel to see this.

As the simbol of Thailand, the elephant should be protected and helped as much as possible. As with everywhere, it's all about money, too bad. But at least in Surin, once a year it's about the elephant's glory and the wonder of these wonderful animals.

Deesurin

The Walen school of Thai is the easyest way to stay,with a ED visa for up to three years. They say it's a guarentee to get once you sign up for classes. They have been helpful to me.They teach from all countries,so should speak French. Thier link is at the top of this page.

I'm thinking this is the best way to stay for me and learn Thai as well. Talk to them and see if it works as well for you.

Good luck

Something I've been thinking about....any interest in learning Thai? If BKK is where your gf is studing, consider taking a Thai course at "Walen school of Thai" for 29,500 bt a year and get a one year ED visa ( up to 3 years in row) . May not be the best route to follow but it's one way.

beware ...these forum folks may chew my head off for this advise,but i'm considering it as a easyer way to stay. and learn Thai to boot

Hello to all

I've been reading the forum most everyday since I came back to the usa( 1 1/2 years now ) to earn $$ ( bad timing on my part) for "our happy future" with my Thai wife Noi in Surin. You have helped answer a lot of questions for me and entertained with colorful members on a number of posts. Happy to have found you and know you will be of help in the future with my return "home". Hope to have something to say in the future here.

Thanks

Deesurin

I don't see the problem....we have terrorist broadcasts nightly here in the usa...it's called the nightly news

Another point that's been looking in the back of my mind:

Thais view their "real" names as rather formal, used only for official purposes such as work or legal matters. Many identify more with their nicknames (Nok, Ying, Pui. etc.) and some might find it a bit funny to see their formal name used in a tattoo. Which name do you use when talking with her?

Another good point Her "nickname" and the name I ( we)call her is "Noi" and just thought her official name would have more meaning......better rethink this whole thing...she's not a fan of tatoos anyway, but I thought this would "prove" my love for her I'm in the states working $$ and thought this would be a great surprise when I first take off my shirt when I come home later this year...now I'm wondering ( first tatoo if I do it )

Dee

You may also want to consult your wife on where on your body you will be having the tattoo done. It could be considered disrespectful to have it too low down on your body.

Thanks for that point. I was looking to have her picture ( if can find a great artist) and her name around my heart.Wanted it a surprise,but best get the name right and placement as this will be on for life.

Thanks

Dee