O.k. my title can mean many things. The obvious being that everyone here speaks Thai and I struggle to understand them. However, my language is getting better (not good but better). I understand a lot more Thai and now I am not sure that it is a good thing. Sometimes I hear my Thai friends talking about me or a situation and I wonder if I understood correctly what they said and if I did my feelings might be hurt a little. Now here is the tricky part--enter in cultural differences.
Example #1--Last Friday I went to ULS (Union Language School) to visit and have lunch with some of the Thai teachers and an American friend. One of the first things the Thai teacher said to me in Thai was how I was skinnier now but I used to be fat. I hadn't seen them since May when I finished language school. I guess it is better than the other way around. The Cultural thing is that Thai people call each other fat all the time and there definition of fat is not quite the same as the American definition. I am glad to look skinnier but I would like to think that I have never been fat.
I don't know if I will ever be able to understand the language fully but I am pretty sure that I will never be able to totally understand the culture. I have learned a lot of things and know most of the do's and don'ts in Thai culture which helps a lot. Will I ever really understand what people are saying to me?? The first step is to understand Thai but then the next step is to understand culture.
All in a days work!
No comments:
Post a Comment