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Diary of a farang in Isaan


owl sees all

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18 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

We have 40 fruit trees at our house in Florida. My wife has found just about every fruit tree from Thailand she could. Papaya, Nom Doc Mai Mangoes and a few others, Rose Apple, Litches, Longan, Star Fruit, Jackfruit and all kinds of other fruits. These trees grow very well in Florida. 

Where in Florida are you, We are in Palm Coast. 

So far we have Kaffir lime , Papaya,and bananas  along with our oranges and lemons. Last night it got a little cold (30F) and I covered the  lime tree with a bedsheet. Are you further south, How do you deal with the cold days in the winter and frost (we get ir a couple of times a year)? I like to find a Dragon tree (plant realy) I wonder if it will do good in FL.

Edited by sirineou
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6 hours ago, sirineou said:

Where in Florida are you, We are in Palm Coast. 

So far we have Kaffir lime , Papaya,and bananas  along with our oranges and lemons. Last night it got a little cold (30F) and I covered the  lime tree with a bedsheet. Are you further south, How do you deal with the cold days in the winter and frost (we get ir a couple of times a year)? I like to find a Dragon tree (plant realy) I wonder if it will do good in FL.

Palm Bay. We have Kaffir lime as well, Navel Orange, Pink Grapefruit, Peaches, Guava, Dragon Fruit, Cherries, Lychees, Fig, and Some others

 

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On 12/3/2019 at 4:30 PM, IraqRon said:

If you can't understand what he is getting at then you have not experienced the Issan culture.  I live in far northern Thai and the village is of Issan extraction/culture and what he says about the tools I and all my friends, even one of Chinese heritage, have told me the same experience.   Now the food thing might be a tad overstated, but not by much....

Thank you sir..., for using your special skill......,

 and stating the blindingly obvious.????

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20 minutes ago, FarangULong said:

Well his username is Finnishmen [sic].. Not everyone is a fluent English speaker, let alone can write with correct grammar and spelling. I am sure, that if those talking c.rap about him had to write a post in Finnish (or Thai or whatever), it would be far less intelligible. While his English isn't great, I understood his point... but I find that often the native speakers seem to struggle far more(*) with a) foreigners speaking not correctly and b) other native English speakers having a different accent, esp. if it's a thick one... i.e. Americans needing subtitles for certain English or Scottish people on TV...

 

And more often than not, native English speakers cannot speak a 2nd (let alone a 3rd) language, so they should be the very last ones to mock anyone, for not having great English language skills.

 

(*) Far more compared to non native English speakers, such as myself.

All that you said is is fine and makes good sense but it does not excuse anyone from calling other people "Monkeys" unless he is willing to be called one himself. 

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2 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:


A few months ago we visited my gf’s hometown ( Lat Yao , Nakhonsawan ) and it was her nieces sports day at school.

The gf helped her with her makeup as she was , as she told me, Drum Major ( not sure if correct term, at the front twirling the baton. )


As she was in the yellow team afterwards she and her colleague changed into yellow football shirts and shorts .

 

8A23BB80-FADF-493D-8AD8-594C928EFD79.thumb.jpeg.3ed72a3898d56b300c24934a6c9adfc5.jpeg
 

Unfortunately the shirt had the sponsor Pornhub written across the front !!

I kept it to myself but thought it wasn’t very fitting for a couple of 14 year old girls to be wearing !!

A bar girl told me - as I couldn't possibly have found out - that Pornhub will launch an International crypto very soon.

 

I too, have seen Pornhub avertised on girl's T-shirts. What could we say; even if we wanted to?

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3 hours ago, sirineou said:

All that you said is is fine and makes good sense but it does not excuse anyone from calling other people "Monkeys" unless he is willing to be called one himself. 

 No, it doesn't. I was merely refering to the fact, that some people pretend that they didn't understand what he was saying. I can understand his anger towards his neighbours and other locals in his area though. If people were stealing my tools, or breaking them, I'd get upset too. Especially if you make a somewhat meagre living farming.

 

All that being said, not in every culture (esp. mainland Europe, but even with some UK people) does the word "monkey" have racist connotations. I.e. the southern English call the northern English "northern monkeys", Germans (some anyway, like me haha) call the English "Inselaffen" aka "Island Apes" or "Island Monkeys", and the term can be used generally to refer to idiots with somewhat primitive demeanor and/or no respect for others and their property, but it can also be a term of endearment, especially towards a child...

 

Obviously he wasn't using it as a term of endearment, but it wasn't necessarily racist either. I don't know enough about the Finnish language and their use of certain words, to make a judgment call. And neither do you, most likely.

Edited by FarangULong
added a couple sentences
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  On 12/3/2019 at 9:37 PM, sirineou said:

Where in Florida are you, We are in Palm Coast. 

So far we have Kaffir lime , Papaya,and bananas  along with our oranges and lemons. Last night it got a little cold (30F) and I covered the  lime tree with a bedsheet. Are you further south, How do you deal with the cold days in the winter and frost (we get ir a couple of times a year)? I like to find a Dragon tree (plant realy) I wonder if it will do good in FL.

Palm Bay. We have Kaffir lime as well, Navel Orange, Pink Grapefruit, Peaches, Guava, Dragon Fruit, Cherries, Lychees, Fig, and Some others

 

 

Rumak here.  Whattaya know, learn something new (almost) every day .  Two guys with Thai wives

living in Florida and posting on TV.  And farmers to boot.   My significant other also from KhonKaen.   Planted our 100 Mango trees 4 years ago.  Expecting a nice crop this year.

We have various other things but the lady has to do almost all the hard work now.  My back is kapoot.   Sorry to disrupt the thread.  Enjoying it.     over and out

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On 11/29/2019 at 8:17 PM, owl sees all said:

Regarding the daughter-in-law; it was the school attitude to the students, rather than the actual teaching. A couple of instances spring to mind, but there were many.

 

We were at the farm one morning at 11-00, and a lady rode by on her m/c to say that 'Nan' was not at school. The wife went back to the village, and sure enough, her daughter was there. It turned out that she had been sent home to have a haircut. i went up the school and spoke to the one person that could speak English. It turned out that the whole class (43 of them) has been dismissed for the day at 10 in the morning. The lady teacher had also left the school.

When she was 16 or so, we went to the school to ask if Nan could go on a m/c. (She had been nagging about it to her mum). We saw the head teacher and he informed us that the daughter had not been to school for weeks. (No wonder she wanted to go by m/c). I asked to see the register, to check attendance, I was told they did not keep formal records. Each teacher took a mental note.

That first 5/6 years at the village were full of frustrations. All concerned, Mrs Owl, Nan, myself and the school, could have, and should have done better. (The topic 'Poisonous B in L' showed that i was not alone; frustration quite common in Isaan.)

I want Mildred to be able to compete in whatever field she journeys to. Along the way she has simply to enjoy life. 

I think I did my best to enjoy my school days, but I learned little and obtained zero qualifications. Didn't stop me becoming a nurse and travelling the world. Probably have to go to uni even in LOS to become a nurse, so only need enough to be able to get into uni, not that I'm suggesting she becomes a member of that abused and bullied occupation.

 

"could have and should have done better" should be tattooed on everyone's forehead. Every human being on the planet could have and should have done better. When I think of my lost opportunities, it makes me sad.

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19 hours ago, owl sees all said:

I hated school. Mr Sergent, the Science teacher, was the only one I actually got on with.

In later life (27) I read for a degree in Civil Engineering. Did very well in the maths, and did a post grad on the history of maths and civil engineering. Became a lecturer to civil engineering students for a few years after.

The "could have and should have done better" was regarding the wife's daughter. I agree that we can all live and learn, but the spell from when she was 14 to when she went off to live with her dad at 18, rated as one of the low periods of my life.

But!!!! I'm blessed with the most wonderful daughter. The journey of life certainly can be mysterious.

 

I learned nothing from my teachers except that adults are not all good people.

Whenever I see teachers demanding more money I curse all their ilk as they were rubbish at my schools and don't deserve respect. Now all they do is i ndoctrinate their students in stupid things, such as the new religion that we all know about on here.

I did have one decent teacher, because he helped us make kites, but he didn't teach me anything that I remember. Most I remember because they were horrible, or useless.

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Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

The "could have and should have done better" was regarding the wife's daughter. I agree that we can all live and learn, but the spell from when she was 14 to when she went off to live with her dad at 18, rated as one of the low periods of my life.

My first partner had a daughter age 9 to 14 while I lived with them. OMG. The trials and tribulations of a young  girl are unbelievable, and the boy thing was just awful. Her mother got her on the pill, which saved her till she was 18, at least. Ended up with a kid and a ruined life.

I gave up after 5 years of it, and was a million % better off for leaving them. I'd never have even contemplated another woman with offspring.

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2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

My first partner had a daughter age 9 to 14 while I lived with them. OMG. The trials and tribulations of a young  girl are unbelievable, and the boy thing was just awful. Her mother got her on the pill, which saved her till she was 18, at least. Ended up with a kid and a ruined life.

I gave up after 5 years of it, and was a million % better off for leaving them. I'd never have even contemplated another woman with offspring.

The wife's daughter was 14 when I moved to the village. The problems were mostly because the wife could not see what was staring her in the face. When she wanted to ride the m/c to school; I reluctently agreed (for want of a quiet life), only to find that the m/c helmet (that I insisted she wore) was being dropped off at Grandma's, before she left the village. When I found out, quite by accident, the wife took her side. There were many, many similar instances. Very stressful time for all.

 

Now she has two children from differnet fathers in different parts of the country and doesn't live with either.

 

 

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18 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I learned nothing from my teachers except that adults are not all good people.

Whenever I see teachers demanding more money I curse all their ilk as they were rubbish at my schools and don't deserve respect. Now all they do is i ndoctrinate their students in stupid things, such as the new religion that we all know about on here.

I did have one decent teacher, because he helped us make kites, but he didn't teach me anything that I remember. Most I remember because they were horrible, or useless.

There are teachers who just do it by the numbers, rote fashion. And there are teachers who can actually get their students enthused with the subject matter.

If you are referring to climate change as the new religion, I am surprised someone with your Antarctic experience would take the denialist view, given what is happening there with the Larsen Ice Shelf. I was fortunate enough to get a good grounding in the sciences by a succession of teachers at the secondary and tertiary level. The laws of thermodynamics are not religious dogma, and they are what is in operation.

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1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not sure how to respond to that. I guess that I just don't believe that we can change climate no matter how many bird killing windmills they build or how rich car makers get selling electric cars. Just too many people on the planet and we are doomed anyway because humanity is going to pollute itself into extinction whatever happens with the climate. The seas are already dying.

Have you set the date yet to slash your wrists?

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3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Reminded me of an exam when I was at school; scored just 2 out of 100.

LOL. I got 14 in an exam subject for university entrance. That's what happens when the school forces students to take subjects they don't want to study, and the teacher not only hates the pupils, but hates teaching. If he had any enthusiasm for the subject, or love for the pupils he kept it well hidden.

Needless to say, I didn't go to university, but back then jobs were done on ability and not by virtue of a piece of paper.

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12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not sure how to respond to that. I guess that I just don't believe that we can change climate no matter how many bird killing windmills they build or how rich car makers get selling electric cars. Just too many people on the planet and we are doomed anyway because humanity is going to pollute itself into extinction whatever happens with the climate. The seas are already dying.

They can't even get the car thing right. Electric batteries are a dead end, as just not enough raw material on the planet for billions of vehicles. They should be pursuing hydrogen, whether as fuel cells, or as the motive power. While the alarmists are saying we must change, governments all over the planet are encouraging expanded air travel- such hypocrites. When the last human dies, it will be because of what people did to destroy the environment, not because it got a couple of degrees hotter.

 

RE Antarctica, Larsen or not, it is changing. Scott Base can be completely snow free in summer, and the sea ice in front can all disappear, which never happened when I was there. That does not mean that we can change it back by riding bicycles.

What Antarctica taught me is that humans are nothing. Nature wins every time and we either work with nature, or we die. Even dressed in all the warm gear, I couldn't look into the wind or I'd have lost my nose.

Scott and his party died because he hated the place and thought nature was an enemy to be conquered through determination and human en devour, Amundsen went to the pole and back like it was an adventure, working with nature. No one died, except his dogs. Cherry Garrard and the others going to Crozier in the winter almost died because they did not respect nature.

Some guys went down there to make money- they hated the place and hid in the buildings, afraid to go out in a blizzard. I loved going out in a blizzard. I'd sit in the lea of a building and experience the raw power of nature. The idea that mere humans can tame nature is pathetic, and dreamed of by people that have never experienced real nature in the raw. I've been lucky in my life to experience real nature, as opposed to the insipid version that townies see. They know nothing.

You're taking a more gloomy view than me; however, we can't all be optimists.

Hydrogen is not the answer to the heat problem. It is the answer to the carbon problem. Electricity from solar and wind power is starting to make inroads. Efficient battery storage is the next frontier. A smartphone nowadays has more computing power than a mainframe of 30 years ago.

I'd like to think science could put us back on a better path. It's politicians and economists that are getting in the way, plus vested interests.

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You're taking a more gloomy view than me; however, we can't all be optimists.

Hydrogen is not the answer to the heat problem. It is the answer to the carbon problem. Electricity from solar and wind power is starting to make inroads. Efficient battery storage is the next frontier. A smartphone nowadays has more computing power than a mainframe of 30 years ago.

I'd like to think science could put us back on a better path. It's politicians and economists that are getting in the way, plus vested interests.

 

 

Are you aware of the amount of rare earth material that goes into a smart phone, and how much pollution rare earth refining causes? Not for nothing do most nations refuse to process it.

People have become so obsessed with "computing power", that they disregard the destruction and misery that is caused by the making of the things. We don't NEED more computing power. They went to the moon with a computer having the power of a modern toaster, and slide rules. Perhaps humans need to consider the life of poor people before they think 5G is important so they can play games faster.

 

Humanity had a golden opportunity to advance the human condition between WW2 and the Vietnam war, and greed won, people lost. NB, there were no personal computers or mobile phones back then and we were better off for it as human beings. We had real friends, as opposed to fake ones on social media. Families talked to each other at meal times etc.

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31 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You're taking a more gloomy view than me; however, we can't all be optimists.

Hydrogen is not the answer to the heat problem. It is the answer to the carbon problem. Electricity from solar and wind power is starting to make inroads. Efficient battery storage is the next frontier. A smartphone nowadays has more computing power than a mainframe of 30 years ago.

I'd like to think science could put us back on a better path. It's politicians and economists that are getting in the way, plus vested interests.

 

 

Bang on the money.
 
There is 10,000 times more natural energy, than mankind requires at any time. If Spain was fully covered in solar cells, that would be enough to power the earth.
 
Personally, I think transport, needs to utilize the sun. Airships can carry massive loads, and be powered by solar cells. Trains can be directly powered by the sun. Cars, trucks, pick-ups, busses etc, can all be powered by natural energy.

Edited by owl sees all
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