simon43

Hurrah! My updated learning app is on the Playstore. Now to make people in Myanmar aware of it! I've mentioned many times about my visits to orphanages/monastery schools. A colleague (not a forum member) raised a valid question concerning child safeguarding issues and also orphanages using the poverty of their kids to attract donations etc. Concerning the safeguarding issues, I do have background clearance for working with kids. But to be honest, I usually don't see the orphans or children who stay at the orphanages. They are often attending the government school during my visit time. It's the local teachers who are important for me to interact with, either to find out what resources are needed, to donate those resources, or to install my app on their phones, (if they are unsure about how to do this). So for this reason, I rarely actually take English classes at the orphanages, 'cos the kids aren't there 🙂 On the second point, I think poverty tourism is more of a problem in countries like Cambodia, where some orphanage directors deliberately keep the kids looking poverty-stricken etc, to garner sympathy and financial donations from foreign tourists. In Myanmar, they don't need to pretend to be poverty-stricken! and there ain't any foreign tourists!😞 The majority of children in these orphanages and monasteries are not actually orphans. Rather, their parents are unable to care for them at home. By placing them in a monastery or orphanage, the children are assured of a safe place to live with their young friends, basic, food, accommodation, clothing and hopefully education. It's probably the most realistic option for their future.

Actually I provided the link in a post some months ago. I'll try to dig out the link. The Thai government requested an agreement similar to that which the Philippines has and their request was ignored by the UK government at the time..... 100% blame for this situation lies with the UK government. (Of course, it's not just Thailand with this frozen pension issue - most countries outside the EU don't have such agreements either. The list of countries that do is short!

I teach my Burmese students that the reason why Americans say 'pants', when they actually mean 'trousers' is because they get easily-confused over English vocabulary, since only about 20% of Americans stem from English stock 🙂

This war would never had happened if NATO hadn't endlessly pushed east, (despite promising never to do so). Additionally, simply for geographical and defence reasons, the 'west' should acknowledge that Russia must annex Crimea, so that it controls its naval entry into the Black Sea. Give Russia Crimea, pull back NATO's eastern border, and the Russian bear will go back to sleep.

Of course, many plants and natural substances can be toxic, if taken in excess, as is true of probably most prescribed medications. I carefully checked the research into human toxicity and noted cases of poisoning where persons had ingested more than 100 grams of the substance - I'm following the recommended daily dosage of 1 gram. The LD50 is about 500 mg/kg of body weight, or 75*0.5g = 37g in my case. A safe dose is considered no more than 100mg/kg body weight = 0.1*75 = 7.5 grams in my case. I also note the side-effects that have been observed in overdoses, and report that I have experienced no negative side-effects at all. In fact, I have only observed positive side-effects, ie - a stronger urine stream, no urge to pee in the night etc etc - positives that were observed far less for me when taking alfuzosin or tamsulosin. The available research into this plant does recommend further medical studies be carried out to investigate its apparent beneficial effects on those with BPH. In my original post, I mentioned that my reason for initially taking this herbal medicine was to try to eliminate the ESBL E.Coli UTI that is ever-present in my prostate/bladder. Recent urine culture tests show that the E.Coli UTI is still present, but the symptoms of that UTI have significantly reduced. The improvement in my BPH symptoms was a surprise. Anyway, I would suggest to others that they do not ingest these plant seeds unless they have read the scant research into its medical properties and made their own individual decision.

[quote] The correct link would help! [/quote] Actually, the correct link won't help at all.... This situation is not unique to Thailand, it is actually the norm that UK state pensions are frozen, unless certain non-EU countries have signed an agreement with the UK authorities to unfreeze the pension, such as has been done by The Philippines. Many years ago, the Thai authorities did request a similar agreement with the UK, but their request was not even acknowledged.... So you are wasting your time with that particular petition - it's going nowhere, (even if 50 million Brits signed it!)

[quote] ... Tourists relaxing on the beach were left stunned as a foreign couple engaged in sexual activity in full view of onlookers. [/quote] Yonks ago, a young Dutch couple stayed at my small hotel in Phuket. Each guestroom faces the others, with sliding glass doors. This couple went into their room and proceeded to have sex in full view of the other guests at the hotel bar. Thinking that the couple had forgotten to close their curtains, I was on my way to discretely tell them, but they then opened the curtains even more and slid open the glass door to ensure that everyone could get an unimpeded view. I spent the rest of the evening selling tickets for the show!!

I got caught in the downpour yesterday evening as I made my way back to my hotel. Tourists running in all directions trying to keep dry. As for me, it's only rain and warm rain at that. So I walked home at my normal pace, totally soaked but zero-stressed 🙂 No problems at all, better than UK rain!

Yes, but that rule is only for 'real' members...

Do you need a lift to Swampy airport? I'm available tomorrow.....

Jeez! You went into 7/11 bare-chested?! (Shakes head in despair...) And when walking bare-chested, I hope that was only down on the beach. I haven't added a 'joking' smiley because I'm not joking.....

Yet having taken the 1 gram recommended dose of Harmala for about 5 weeks: - I no longer need to take any Alfusolin or Tamasulin at all (I had previously needed this daily drug for the past 5+ years or more). - My urine stream is stronger and no dribbling - I no longer have to get up 4-5 times/night to pee - Although the bacteria is still present (according to the tests), I no longer have any fishy smell or stinging when peeing Hmm, placebo effect? 🙂

Regardless of how hot the weather is, and unless I'm jogging, I always wear long trousers and a buttoned shirt with collar. I don't even possess a pair of shorts, flip-flops etc. I have several ties, but I reserve those for when I'm teaching in the classroom. It's interesting to see how Thais treat a Westerner who dresses reasonably well, as opposed to a slob. In my regular 7/11s, I'm always addressed as 'Ajarn', (or 'Saya' in Myanmar shops). There's definitely a note of respect 🙂 BTW, wearing long trousers and a collared shirt is hardly hi-so fashion 🙂

I'm almost doing that now! 🙂

Apparently it is the most boring country in Europe to visit.