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Published: February 19th 2019
I have only been studying the Thai language for a few weeks, but already the rewards are huge. For example, during our short stay in Bangkok, we had great fun engaging with the two non-English speaking taxi drivers we met. They were both delightful, but the last experience was exceptionally good!
En route to the airport earlier today, our hip young driver uses Siri to translate his Thai questions to English, which I then try answer in Thai, with much assistance from him. This actually is very effective. Then he hands me his phone and asks me to find a Canadian artist on YouTube. Of course I could not resist bringing up my own music, so the next thing we know we are cruising down a freeway in Bangkok listening to Bev Zizzy Woman in Black tracks. He is so excited he immediately makes a Face Time call to his young wife, who is now smiling and waving greetings to us.
We left him at the airport no longer a stranger, but a new friend, and are now going to be connected on Facebook as well. How awesome is that?
The joys of learning a new language are
endless. Many thanks to my teachers Kru Cherry and Kru Duang at the C & M Cultural College in Koh Phangan, Thailand, for this wonderful start on this journey. I very much look forward to continuing the process.
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Brenda Robertson
non-member comment
what an adventure...
You are fearless, Bev! I can't imagine learning a language so different from English, but your story sure illustrates the benefits of doing so. My friend and neighbour Betty Ann Donison was over when I opened up your email and she was so happy to see pics of you both - she and Stan grew up together! Meanwhile, I have a totally unrelated question: I can't open the poppyseed cake recipe you sent me for the community cookbook. Dang I wish I'd of tried before you left. I guess it's not likely on your laptop, but if it is maybe try sending again. If it's not, I'll hope you can resend once you're back. I think we'll still have time. Happy travels!