22 April 2010

Update: Language learning

News Update: Folks, I am safe. Those of you with mutual friends, we are all safe. It is indeed getting tense and scary at times and the action feels like it is often too close for comfort but we are all safe and sound and very alert of what's going on around us. (2300 hrs, 22 April 2010 local time)


I am happy to report I made great progress in my Thai. In addition to having mastered "Taxi Thai" I now can say:
- Red Shirts,
- pink,
- black,
- yellow,
- protest,
- Suvarnabhumi airport,
- Ratchaparasong intersection,
- closed
 
flawlessly, to the point of almost perfecting the tonal nuances enough for people to think I'm Thai.


In all seriousnes, I do not make light of the events going on in Bangkok. There's little I can say that you won't already read in the news. Like many Bangkok residents, I, we, are attempting to maintain some semblance of routine life, only in areas away from the protest and conflict activities. It's easy to get sucked into the sense of frustration but I find maintaining a sense of humor, a healthy Thai dosage of mai pen rai, and resisting the urge to judge is crucial to remain calm and objective as a non-participant. As I am no professional reporter or international affairs analyst, there's little I can contribute on this blog about the events surrounding me. I offer instead to continue catching up sharing observations, experiences from my time in this region.

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