MrBrad

I pass as a Thai on the phone, so I guess pretty fluent.

I like to talk, so being here for almost 20 yrs and not being able to talk to the vast majority of people would have driven me crazy by now.

Also speak Northern dialect.

Is there any place in Chiang Mai that teaches the northern dialect? How did you acquire it, Sally?

Two secretaries, a blonde and a brunette were riding down in the elevator from the top of their skyscraper when a handsome hunk gets on the elevator.

The ladies are checking him out when the brunette comments that he has dandruff. "Someone should give him some 'Head and Shoulders'."

The blonde looks at the brunette and asks "How do you give shoulders?"

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered; forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives; be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; be honest anyway.

What you spend years building, someone can destroy overnight; build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, it may never be enough;

You'll see, in the final analysis it is between you and yourself.

It was never between you and them anyway.

When I'm in Chiang Mai I often will get in an hour's worth of Tai Chi exercise with the old locals from 6-7 AM. It's fun and easy to do, and they don't mind having an outsider join in. You can find them at Thapae Gate, the Three Kings Monument, and at the Sanam Gila sports college to name three places; there no doubt are a few others around town.

A couple of days ago (Dec 26) the International Herald Tribune newspaper (iht) had an article on Chinese motorcycles: "Chinese goods transform life in Southeast Asia." It's on the web. It doesn't sound like the motorcycles are any good at all.

There is a difference between speaking English with your full vocabulary and speaking with Basic English. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_English

I try to use the most simplified vocabulary I can without breaking grammatical rules. Because I spend so much time with ESL people in an English speaking environment, I can almost always tell when the words are too complicated in a conversation. When I watch a movie with my wife I can tell which parts she will get lost on, and I often give her a more basic summary, if she is missing crucial dialogue.

There is no problem with speaking correctly, if you have an idea of what words people are most likely to understand. Figures of speech or colloquialisms are completely useless, but it takes years for people to stop using them.

Having a degree in English as a Foreign Language, I, too, would agree with refraining from using broken, ungrammatical English. Tarzan-talk only promotes more of the same. When communicating in English with Thai friends it's always Basic English.