Diary of a farang in Isaan

[Odysseus123]

Far from home.

I envy you guys having land.This is my wife's modest Thai herb garden at the side of our villa..and some little friends.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Even the music with the dancing girls has died out.

That's a shame. I went to one in Krabi a long time ago. Interesting, and a waitress made me an origami bird which I still have. I was the only farang there and I think they rarely had one visit.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

and some little friends.

Are they in a cage or do they just like your garden/ food?

[Assurancetourix]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Are they in a cage or do they just like your garden/ food?

To see the photo these pretty birds seem to me free

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

In high school, I learned Latin, German and English; the only language that survived ( in my mind ) is English;

It was Latin, French and English for me. I remember little French and less Latin. Didn't matter that it was pointless learning French and Latin as I learned almost nothing during my school years- not a single decent teacher tried to encourage me to learn. Everything I learned I learned after.

I did develop a love of reading though, so not entirely wasted 13 years.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, owl sees all said:

All the pipework in LOS is confusing. Some pipes are 25mm whilst others are 1 inch. Some 1 1/2 inches others 40mm. Anything to do with water seems bazaar.

 

Today, during our home-teach, Milly asked what the calibrations on the metal ruler opposite metric were. I told her inches and parts of. It's a difficult world out there.

LOL. The Saudi hospital I worked in had been built by the French and the Americans. We had both US 110v and 240v electrical. Made it really difficult when the IV pump was 240 and the only plug was 110. We had trolley loads of transformers. Far as I remember we used metric.

[Assurancetourix]

I, who am French, realize how extremely difficult this language is when I answer in English;
I'm not saying that English is an easy language but French is very high in terms of difficulty;
the number of words which are pronounced in the same way but which are neither written nor have the same meaning ...
eg le foie (liver) which ends with an "e" but which is masculine
la foi  which has no final "e" but which is feminine;
une fois  (once) which ends with an "s" but which is a singular ..
the pronunciation is exactly the same ...

[Assurancetourix]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

LOL. The Saudi hospital I worked in had been built by the French and the Americans. We had both US 110v and 240v electrical. Made it really difficult when the IV pump was 240 and the only plug was 110. We had trolley loads of transformers. Far as I remember we used metric.

This is another problem; when I was a kid the current was also 110/120 volts in France; but it was changed to 220/240 volts because the intensity is two times less

therefore in fact more important but less dangerous voltage.

[Bredbury Blue]

55 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

I, who am French, realize how extremely difficult this language is when I answer in English;
I'm not saying that English is an easy language but French is very high in terms of difficulty;
the number of words which are pronounced in the same way but which are neither written nor have the same meaning ...
eg le foie (liver) which ends with an "e" but which is masculine
la foi  which has no final "e" but which is feminine;
une fois  (once) which ends with an "s" but which is a singular ..
the pronunciation is exactly the same ...

English is famous for words written the same but pronounced differently, example, heard and bird. One plus english has on other languages is it ceased with gender centuries ago, so no masculine, feminine or neutral words, which to anglophiles seems a rather weird concept.

[Bredbury Blue]

You guys keep your eyes open for those escaped convicts from sawang daen din prison.

 

Reminds me of the Steptoe and Son episode with the escaped convict (Leonard Rossitter).

 

[pineapple01]

Oh dear, after watching those creatures for 5mins i feel the need to Shower.  Ello Ello and Faulty Towers and Dads Army are good English humour to me.

[Odysseus123]

Now Asterix...your problem with your non-photogenic bike (according to some troll or another) is not unsolveable as the boys in the village have put their heads together and come with this one,what do you think?

 

 

[HighPriority]

On 5/1/2020 at 3:02 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

...or you can put your wife's bikini panties over you face for an effective mask.

My wife prefers “grannies bloomer” style ????????‍♂️
she ain’t fashionable but she’s amazing ????

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, HighPriority said:

On 5/1/2020 at 12:32 PM, Bredbury Blue said:

...or you can put your wife's bikini panties over you face for an effective mask.

My wife prefers “grannies bloomer” style ????????‍♂️
she ain’t fashionable but she’s amazing

In that case, you will surely be safe from Covid if you wear something like those on your head.

[HighPriority]

On 5/1/2020 at 3:25 PM, bluesofa said:

Thanks.

It never occurred to me about it being spoken in Vientiane & Laos. I had always assumed it was only used in Thailand.

Although having said that, nearly all of Issan was part of Laos originally - so that must be Phutai's origin.

When I first met my wife and she told me that Lao was her 1st language, I then assumed that her part of Isaan was a bit like Alsace and Lorraine that were border towns which had been controlled by France/Germany/France/Germany rinse repeat... “Ohh, no ! Always Thai”

I’ll need to question her more on this...

[HighPriority]

8 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

English is famous for words written the same but pronounced differently, example, heard and bird. One plus english has on other languages is it ceased with gender centuries ago, so no masculine, feminine or neutral words, which to anglophiles seems a rather weird concept.

My wife comes home from English classes totally distraught, things like past, present and future tenses, male and female adjectives...

“Why not call lady horse “lady horse” she asks, I reply “If it’s an old lady rose it’s a mare, if it’s a young lady horse it’s a filly” it really does her head in ! ????

 

I explained to her about “young chicks” and “old boilers” this morning ????????????

[HighPriority]

4 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Now Asterix...your problem with your non-photogenic bike (according to some troll or another) is not unsolveable as the boys in the village have put their heads together and come with this one,what do you think?

 

 

Hard to have street cred on a pink bike... ????????

[bluesofa]

17 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

When I first met my wife and she told me that Lao was her 1st language, I then assumed that her part of Isaan was a bit like Alsace and Lorraine that were border towns which had been controlled by France/Germany/France/Germany rinse repeat... “Ohh, no ! Always Thai”

I’ll need to question her more on this...

That wiki page I provided a link to earlier to about the history of Issan appears to be only available in English from what I can see. Even so I'm sure your wife will still insist it's always been Thai.

I see it as two reasons. Blatant Thai nationalism. The other reason is they were never taught unbiased history at school.

As people often say, 'history is written by the victors' and in this case is no exception.

They are still taught at school to hate the Burmese who they fought with centuries ago and only remember the battles won. I'm not quite so sure why they don't trust the Khymers, but they often still look down on the Laos people.

 

If you ask most Thais about the land they lost to Burma and Malaya, they'll deny it (a bit like pushing string uphill) as they've never been taught about it:

 

 "the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 or the Bangkok Treaty of 1909 was signed between the two powers. In the new agreement, Siam agreed to give up its claim over Kedah, Perlis, Terengganu and Kelantan,"

 

"Earlier in 1893, Siam had lost the Shan region of north-eastern Burma to the British. This demarcation as stated in the agreement remains today the Malaysia-Thailand Border."

 

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Malaya#Northern_Malay_states_and_Siam   

 

Apologies yet again for waffling on about the unpalatable side of history for most Thais.

 

[owl sees all]

Owl Log - 02-05-2020

 

The weather forecast said a five in one chance of rain for the next few days. I'll take a gamble that there will be some. The water in number five pond is at half metre (deepest). Found a dead carp yesterday. Not one of the biggies; about 2 kilos. Still distressing though.

 

Mother-in-law's TV went funny yesterday. I said I'd pay for the repair. Got the bill just now; 500 Baht. More than I'd expected. Nice picture.

 

The super-highway is well underway. The Buddha end.

 

 

Other end. Mother-in-law's property on the left.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Did some road repairs a couple of days ago. All the children helped. Milly running in the stone.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Planted new cuttings. They are looking good. Cut them from the same tree as last time.

 

 

In the pink bowl I've got 15 mangoes. I've not de-shelled them. Just covered then in a layer of rice-hulls. Soon see if my latest method is any good.

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

The lady opposite the MinL's house was doing some outside work. They bought our tractor a couple of years back (one in pic). It's been getting a fair bit of work recently; but unless there is a government contract, it's hard to make tractors pay their way in our parts.

 

 

She knew she would be on TVForum, so a nice smile!

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Watering time for the road eucas this afternoon. We had a good system going. Wow was filling up and both Milly and Boyz were collecting the empties. Mrs Owl was watering; giving about 4 litres a tree.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

The family opposite have moved back to the village. I reckon they feel that the C-19 virus has run it's course, and it's OK to normalise.

 

Mrs Owl asked me if I'd pay her outstanding lottery bill; 470 Baht. And just now she made me a cuppa. She is trying - in her way - to say "let's get back to normal." No mention of the heart-attack that she promised she would be inflicted on me; yet! I've been reading up on Dr. Steven Gundry. He reckons that drinking a litre of olive oil a day stops heart malfunction (and other stuff). Next time in Big C I'll get a crate or two. Got to look after yourself in LOS.

 

Girly, our latest little cat addition, has left home and gone to live with the MinL. It's only 20 metres or so but there are always dogs congregating. Milly takes her (the cat) food twice a day; so no saving there. The Mrs looks after her mum's grub.

 

The big number four market (4th of each month) should be on in Ban Dung come this coming Monday, so I'd better get some money ready for trees. Hope the koi-carp stand is there.

 

It's a laugh a minute, in the household, at the mo'.

 

Bye y'all.

 

As an addendum; thank you, the TVForum members, that have tried to cheer me up with PMs.

 

 

[bluesofa]

 

29 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I've been reading up on Dr. Steven Gundry. He reckons that drinking a litre of olive oil a day stops heart malfunction (and other stuff). Next time in Big C I'll get a crate or two. Got to look after yourself in LOS.

If you have trouble finding of olive oil, I've printed it in Thai, just show them this in Big C -  ลีโอ 

 

[owl sees all]

2 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

 

If you have trouble finding of olive oil, I've printed it in Thai, just show them this in Big C -  ลีโอ 

 

Right you are then bluesofa. I'll take my computer on Monday!

[samsensam]

On 4/30/2020 at 3:00 PM, GarryP said:

I will join you on the language waffle. One of my biggest regrets is in relation to Thai language. My wife did not speak English so we only spoke Thai with each other. When my son was born I continued to only use Thai even when speaking to my son. I felt it was easier than speaking English to him and then translating to his mother. As a result, while his English is not bad, he is far from bilingual. I have apologized to him several times about this as it could have opened many more doors for him, but he has always said that I have nothing to apologize for.  I still feel that I was wrong, though.

 

My then wife's family were from Ubol and as a result, I understand spoken Issan well, or at least as spoken in Ubon (there are a multitude of variations across the North East), but do not speak it myself. This has never been a problem as they all understand Thai, although not all speak it. However, being married to a North Easterner for so long, people at work notice that some of my pronunciation and phrasing has a decidedly Issan flavor. That comes with learning by total immersion.

 

Moving on, my wife died and I remarried to a woman from Kalasin and am able to communicate fine with her parents and sisters, as we each understand what the other is saying. I have noted some big differences in the Kalasin dialect though. Also a reasonably large community in my wife's area speak Puthai, which I do not understand at all. However, most can also speak Thai and Issan too.  

As a result, while his English is not bad, he is far from bilingual. I have apologized to him several times about this as it could have opened many more doors for him,

 

yea it's a pity. one of my thai friends has spoken only english to his daughter since birth, his wife uses thai with her, consequently the girl is a confident speaker of english and has excellent listening skills, her grammar needs some work due to her dad's grammar not being great but i've been helping her and while she's not bilingual at 13 years she has better english than many english university major students i know!

[bluesofa]

12 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Right you are then bluesofa. I'll take my computer on Monday!

OK. Better show them this one really:  น้ำมันมะกอก

Show them the other one, you'll end up with a hangover.

[samsensam]

On 5/1/2020 at 6:28 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

If you are that exercised about masks you can make one from cloth. The ones most wear don't prevent a virus, just stop YOUR saliva droplets or sneezes traveling through the air ( if sneezing one shouldn't be out anyway ).

Otherwise, if you can find a dust mask use that.

 

Frankly I don't understand the agro about it. Use a scarf or anything. The masks ordinary folk get are not much use anyway. I laugh when I see Thais using them for pollution as completely useless for that.

 

yea people seem to get het up about masks as if they are some silver bullet, i'm sure they add some benefit, though not scientifically proven, but there are downsides; people tent to touch their faces more fiddling with masks - face touching is something that should be avoided, and there is an argument that using masks gives people a false sense of security resulting in thinking they dont have to keep the 2m rule, which i've seen a lot, and not paying attention to washing hands for at least 20 seconds - which i see all the time.

 

and for pollution protection masks have to be air tight with a good quality filter. many people, western and thai, dont seem to get this...

[Kadilo]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

Owl Log - 02-05-2020

 

The weather forecast said a five in one chance of rain for the next few days. I'll take a gamble that there will be some. The water in number five pond is at half metre (deepest). Found a dead carp yesterday. Not one of the biggies; about 2 kilos. Still distressing though.

 

Mother-in-law's TV went funny yesterday. I said I'd pay for the repair. Got the bill just now; 500 Baht. More than I'd expected. Nice picture.

 

The super-highway is well underway. The Buddha end.

 

 

Other end. Mother-in-law's property on the left.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Did some road repairs a couple of days ago. All the children helped. Milly running in the stone.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Planted new cuttings. They are looking good. Cut them from the same tree as last time.

 

 

In the pink bowl I've got 15 mangoes. I've not de-shelled them. Just covered then in a layer of rice-hulls. Soon see if my latest method is any good.

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

The lady opposite the MinL's house was doing some outside work. They bought our tractor a couple of years back (one in pic). It's been getting a fair bit of work recently; but unless there is a government contract, it's hard to make tractors pay their way in our parts.

 

 

She knew she would be on TVForum, so a nice smile!

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Watering time for the road eucas this afternoon. We had a good system going. Wow was filling up and both Milly and Boyz were collecting the empties. Mrs Owl was watering; giving about 4 litres a tree.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

The family opposite have moved back to the village. I reckon they feel that the C-19 virus has run it's course, and it's OK to normalise.

 

Mrs Owl asked me if I'd pay her outstanding lottery bill; 470 Baht. And just now she made me a cuppa. She is trying - in her way - to say "let's get back to normal." No mention of the heart-attack that she promised she would be inflicted on me; yet! I've been reading up on Dr. Steven Gundry. He reckons that drinking a litre of olive oil a day stops heart malfunction (and other stuff). Next time in Big C I'll get a crate or two. Got to look after yourself in LOS.

 

Girly, our latest little cat addition, has left home and gone to live with the MinL. It's only 20 metres or so but there are always dogs congregating. Milly takes her (the cat) food twice a day; so no saving there. The Mrs looks after her mum's grub.

 

The big number four market (4th of each month) should be on in Ban Dung come this coming Monday, so I'd better get some money ready for trees. Hope the koi-carp stand is there.

 

It's a laugh a minute, in the household, at the mo'.

 

Bye y'all.

 

As an addendum; thank you, the TVForum members, that have tried to cheer me up with PMs.

 

 

Spooky. This was the photo that my gf sent this afternoon of the concreting outside their home. Excuse the darkness. She took them early evening and I should try some lighting magic but can’t be arsed. 

 

You mentioned your wife asked about paying the neighbour 470  baht lottery debt. Be interested to know your response. The MIL tv seems a nice gesture. I was wondering if you’re tempted to keep the goodwill going. I know what I would do. 

 

Seems you have a lovely rapport with the local children always mucking in to help. 

 

Good to see your your heart holding up. Don’t drink it too quick. My experience of drinking it post fasting is that one may not keep it down too long if it’s rushed. 

 

Take care. 

 

 

[RickG16]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Owl Log - 02-05-2020

 

The weather forecast said a five in one chance of rain for the next few days. I'll take a gamble that there will be some. The water in number five pond is at half metre (deepest). Found a dead carp yesterday. Not one of the biggies; about 2 kilos. Still distressing though.

 

Mother-in-law's TV went funny yesterday. I said I'd pay for the repair. Got the bill just now; 500 Baht. More than I'd expected. Nice picture.

 

The super-highway is well underway. The Buddha end.

 

 

Other end. Mother-in-law's property on the left.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Did some road repairs a couple of days ago. All the children helped. Milly running in the stone.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Planted new cuttings. They are looking good. Cut them from the same tree as last time.

 

 

In the pink bowl I've got 15 mangoes. I've not de-shelled them. Just covered then in a layer of rice-hulls. Soon see if my latest method is any good.

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

The lady opposite the MinL's house was doing some outside work. They bought our tractor a couple of years back (one in pic). It's been getting a fair bit of work recently; but unless there is a government contract, it's hard to make tractors pay their way in our parts.

 

 

She knew she would be on TVForum, so a nice smile!

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

Watering time for the road eucas this afternoon. We had a good system going. Wow was filling up and both Milly and Boyz were collecting the empties. Mrs Owl was watering; giving about 4 litres a tree.

 

 

#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#

 

The family opposite have moved back to the village. I reckon they feel that the C-19 virus has run it's course, and it's OK to normalise.

 

Mrs Owl asked me if I'd pay her outstanding lottery bill; 470 Baht. And just now she made me a cuppa. She is trying - in her way - to say "let's get back to normal." No mention of the heart-attack that she promised she would be inflicted on me; yet! I've been reading up on Dr. Steven Gundry. He reckons that drinking a litre of olive oil a day stops heart malfunction (and other stuff). Next time in Big C I'll get a crate or two. Got to look after yourself in LOS.

 

Girly, our latest little cat addition, has left home and gone to live with the MinL. It's only 20 metres or so but there are always dogs congregating. Milly takes her (the cat) food twice a day; so no saving there. The Mrs looks after her mum's grub.

 

The big number four market (4th of each month) should be on in Ban Dung come this coming Monday, so I'd better get some money ready for trees. Hope the koi-carp stand is there.

 

It's a laugh a minute, in the household, at the mo'.

 

Bye y'all.

 

As an addendum; thank you, the TVForum members, that have tried to cheer me up with PMs.

 

 

Nice update. I hope you had something to do with the United shirt I see there!

[Damrongsak]

Did the French start up the 'metric' system, which the world uses (except US)? I did read once that there was some reluctance to fully adopt the system in Paris. Led to a few riots.

 

At least we English can take credit for the yearly calendar that the world mostly uses (not Thailand).

 

Thailand has been using the metric system for some time. Fair play to them.

 

I believe so, back in the 1790s.  I heard from a collector of old measuring tools that the previous French system was a mess.  Actual dimensions varied from region to region, as he found when comparing instruments. 

[Damrongsak]

On 5/1/2020 at 2:33 AM, owl sees all said:

All the pipework in LOS is confusing. Some pipes are 25mm whilst others are 1 inch. Some 1 1/2 inches others 40mm. Anything to do with water seems bazaar.

 

Today, during our home-teach, Milly asked what the calibrations on the metal ruler opposite metric were. I told her inches and parts of. It's a difficult world out there.

My wife was a seamstress when we met in the late 70's.  I think she's always used inch measurements when making patterns. She has a funky old curved wooden ruler and it only has inch markings, as do most of her "yard" sticks.

[Odysseus123]

4 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Mrs Owl asked me if I'd pay her outstanding lottery bill; 470 Baht. And just now she made me a cuppa. She is trying - in her way - to say "let's get back to normal." 

Hi Owl,

 

I am glad to see that things may be returning to normal for you..

 

Best of luck and may the rains come for you and the other farmers sometime soon.Hang in there!

[Odysseus123]

16 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

To see the photo these pretty birds seem to me free

They are certainly free...they are called "rainbow lorikeets" and are cheeky little fellows..