meadish_sweetball
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Posts posted by meadish_sweetball
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<br /><br /><br /><br />It was definitely 'sing', not 'saeng'.<br /><br />DavidHouston, who has a propensity to send IMs more often than forum replies, sent me:<br /><font color="#1C2837"><font size="2">
</font></font><br /> <br /><font color="#1C2837"><font size="2">Although, the lady isn't the type to say anything negative/diminutive, so maybe that definition isn't quite right . . . plus, I'm already far into my 20's, and don't act like a เด็กเวน </font></font><img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif" /><br />See <a href='http://www.thai-language.com/id/141749' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>http://www.thai-language.com/id/141749</a> , second definition. The word is a diminutive of the English word "racing" and is used to describe Thai teen illegal street racing.I am sure David's explanation is right, it is a very common expression for driving fast and recklessly. You may have missed the rest of what she said, perhaps she was just suggesting that you be careful, or she was not talking about you at all, but about somebody else, or the Thai traffic in general?
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For what it's worth, I got through to them fine yesterday evening, on their regular number. Probably just a temporary glitch. There are contact details on this page if you want to email them and ask: http://www.mealsonwheels4u.com/contact_form.php Did you try both numbers (one has a 1 at the end, the other is identical except for a 2 at the end).
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I don't know what is meant exactly, but I assume 'adapted to Western tastes', the same as most Thai restaurants abroad adapt to their respective clientele, mostly for the worse, but with exceptions in larger Western cities. I haven't had Chinese in any other countries than Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia (and too few times outside of Thailand and Sweden to really have a fact-based opinion on those).
The Chinese food I've had here in Thailand tends to be tastier than that of your average Chinese restaurant in Sweden. The only thing that leaves something to be desired is the atmosphere. If the run-of-the-mill Chinese restaurants in Sweden are anything to go by, the OP means rather mild food, and no fried insects, intestines or organs, etc. as you would otherwise find. There are a couple of upscale Chinese places in Sweden though, I used to frequent one in Malmö when I could afford it, and it was nothing short of amazing in terms of both taste and presentation.
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Lenovo (not the cheapest series Lenovos, they are so-so, but mid-range and up) or Toshiba for build quality. ASUS for specs for money (but from experience, some of their models have a build quality problem, don't order a model you havent had a chance to test hands on). You don't want something with flimsy plastic. Acer/Dell I would not personally buy even though they also have individual models that aren't bad.
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<br /><br />Haha, yes, that...but the females that want to go with bar-boys seem to be flocking to West-Africa...and there are really not that many boy-bars here - apart from the gay kind. <br />
<br /><br /><br />A large proportion of the guys who work as bar-boys in gay places are actually straight.<br />
<br /><br />Straight farang women are welcome in most gay gogo bars and will soon have a crowd of bar-boys buzzing round them. What happens after that is up to them.<br /><br />I know - but that fact doesn't alter their clientele.<br />A couple of English teaching girls I knew in Bangkok would do just that. I don't imagine they were the only ones.
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Good suggestions so far.
Shortly these things will help you progress:
- Listening to Thai native speakers in conversations, and emulate them. Tgeezer's suggestion is good: learning dialogues by heart from phrase books, for the type of situations you want to be able to handle. Cram until you know the entire conversations by heart. Focus on the listening part, do not focus on the text to go along. You are learning how to speak, and the karaoke will not be much use in real life. If you need to read menus, learn to read and write. Combining reading and writing practice with pronunciation practice can be a good idea, since it is easier for your brain to accept that a new sound belongs with a new letter, than to assign a new sound to a letter you already have assigned a sound to.
- Pronunciation practice - becoming aware of what Thai sounds should actually be like. This involves some theory. Some people hate theory and would prefer to skip this part. For me personally, I would not have progressed to the point I am now without getting a solid foundation in phonetics, actually working actively with pronouncing individual sounds, and understanding which part of the sounds are important for a Thai who is listening.
-- Learning to pronounce the new, specific vowel and consonant sounds in Thai that you do not have in your native language. This will require a native speaker of Thai or highly proficient foreigner who can correct you. Your brain can not be trusted in this, as it is likely to try to take shortcuts using sounds that you already know. This will produce an accent that is difficult to understand for all Thais who are not used to your way of speaking.
-- Learning which sounds are identical or close to sounds you already know.
-- Tones (drilling with a tape, then with a native speaker who corrects you). Listen, repeat, listen repeat. Unless you are truly tone deaf this will pay off, as boring as some may find it.
-- Understanding and paying attention to vowel length. This is crucial info in Thai, and most Thai written in Latin letters does not show vowel length consistently and properly. If you are not going to learn reading and writing Thai, you should at least learn a transcription system that is clear and unambiguous.
- Lastly, and most importantly - speak as much as you can. Speak as much as you can, in all situations. Learn to laugh at your mistakes because there will be many, and each one can teach you something if you pay attention.
In fact, only speaking and listening without any formal training can also yield desired results. It will just be (much) more confusing at first, and requires more patience.
When I was at the beginner stage, I would strike up conversations with lots of people. I found that using the method tgeezer suggested is good - if you know proper grammatical sentences many Thais will inevitably compliment you on your Thai (even if it is not very good yet, but they appreciate the effort). You should focus on people who have the time to do this. For example, many restaurants and coffee shops, etc. have quiet periods in the afternoon. Make a point of finding such places and go there during off hours. Be friendly and relaxed, give a bit of a tip and don't forget to give compliments on various things (just don't get creepy) like the Thais do so well themselves.
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<br />You can renew your license if it is less than one year expired. You need a house paper to prove where you live and a medical certificate less than 30 days old. You do NOT need proof of residency from your embassy or consulate. It has changed several times in the years I have been here but you MAY need either a retirement visa or a valid work permit.
I did my renewal one and a half months ago. I called the Dep of Land Transport in CM and asked in advance. They listed these things as required:
1. Proof of residence from consulate, OR a valid work permit. (i.e. if you have one you do not require the other). I don't know about retirement visa as I never asked.
2. Medical certificate (just state the correct purpose at any hospital).
3. Photo copies of passport photo page, visa page and latest entry stamp page in passport. (The person who recieved my call actually did not mention a copy of the visa and stamp pages were necessary, but when I got there they asked for it, so come prepared). The photo copying service on the premises closes in mid afternoon.
On a Non-O Multiple I got 5 years. Interesting to hear that others seem to have only got 1 year.
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Funny this topic should come up now. For what it's worth, I occasionally get blisters on my gums and/or under my tongue, and a few weeks ago, one of these seemed to be expanding and I felt something resembling a throat infection coming on. In the past, to treat these blisters, Thai pharmacies would recommend a type of antibiotic cream, but last time I went to the pharmacy at Rim Ping Nawarat, i.e. the one by the river, they recommended that I should try a propolis based spray instead, which I did. After 2 days, the blister went away. It cost 160 baht, so more expensive than the usual cream. But also more pleasant, and apparently it does not contain any actual antibiotics except for what is naturally occurring in the propolis.
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You apply English 'reading intonation' to all your sentences, with the effect that the final word of each sentence or statement is always lower than the preceding one. You seem to have correctly identified that the problem you have is related to the interference of intonation on your tones. You seem to have worked hard on learning how to distinguish and produce the tones. The best advice I can give right now is to keep listening carefully to exactly what Thai speakers say in a given situation, and memorize the entire sentences. Watch Thai talk shows every day. You won't understand at first, but you will get better at it with time if you keep at it. Even if you can not produce the right tones, you may be better at mimicking facial expressions and body postures - these are also important parts of communication so if you can master that side and produce grammatically correct sentences, you stand a much greater chance at being understood. Don't be afraid to use body language to help you along. When asking for water, do the old 'pretending to raise a bottle to your mouth and take a swig' movement, and I am sure you'll be helped along. Obviously this wont always work but it could help in concrete situations. I still tend to do these things even though I know they may make me look a bit silly. When you produce complete grammatical and idiomatic sentences with the expected body language, you are much more likely to be understood. It is a way of working around the tones, so to speak. Another idea, not sure if it will work but perhaps worth a go: Try to memorize authentic sentences as entire units (maybe if you treat the tones as points in an intonation pattern rather than absolutes applied to each syllable, it will make things easier for you?).
Also, to make a complete sentence beginning with "mai saap waa" (not necessary but certainly polite just as your wife says) you need to end with a 'rue plao' or 'mai'. Otherwise you are saying "I do not know if you have water" (which is a statement rather than a question). I bet your wife adds the question particle 'mai' or 'rue plao' (most often abbreviated to a 'bpao' or even just a short 'bpa' in colloquial Thai). Also tag on the 'khap' at the end so
mai saap waa mii naam khuad mai khap ?
mai saap waa mii naam khuad rue plao khap?
Or just do
mii naam khuad rue plao khap?
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Where To Go In March/April ?
in Chiang Mai
New Zealand.