Thailand Non-Visa Topics

[Kang Lang 7]

mmm what would happen if I try bring a movie that is banned in Thaland over ? I know my wife want to see The King and I

i saw that movie in the theatre w/ some thai friends and they both got loud, angry and pretty vocal in the theatre ultimately walking out about 45 minutes in. (the remake w/ Chow Yun-Fat and Jodie Foster). they refused to watch the old one saying it was probably worse. i would imagine it wouldn't go over well if you're "caught".

I saw it and was so mad at it too. And I did some research about it and it comes out that Anna was actually problably have never even spoken to the King - so it's mostly her made up story. It's also funny how the 'king' danced around like a monkey have they ever actually seen our custom or Thai dance? I think I saw the original one.. The king was supposed to be King Rama VI...

it was pretty offensive in that the implication is that the monarch of thailand would have relied on a western woman as a confidante and that he seemed "simple" in the movie. my friends that i went with are very mild mannered guys but this really angered them. i have never even thought of asking my husband to watch it.

I think a smart and wise man can learn from both male and females. I think the movie over all shows King Rama VI to be a smart and wise King not bound by the way things where done in the past...

interesting take, it's always fun to hear how another views the exact material. i disagree but definitely wonder if my view was clouded by the my thai ex-pat friends i watched with. just as a qualifier though i definitely didn't mean to imply one cannot learn from the other gender.

[John & Nan 0]

mmm what would happen if I try bring a movie that is banned in Thaland over ? I know my wife want to see The King and I

i saw that movie in the theatre w/ some thai friends and they both got loud, angry and pretty vocal in the theatre ultimately walking out about 45 minutes in. (the remake w/ Chow Yun-Fat and Jodie Foster). they refused to watch the old one saying it was probably worse. i would imagine it wouldn't go over well if you're "caught".

I saw it and was so mad at it too. And I did some research about it and it comes out that Anna was actually problably have never even spoken to the King - so it's mostly her made up story. It's also funny how the 'king' danced around like a monkey have they ever actually seen our custom or Thai dance? I think I saw the original one.. The king was supposed to be King Rama VI...

it was pretty offensive in that the implication is that the monarch of thailand would have relied on a western woman as a confidante and that he seemed "simple" in the movie. my friends that i went with are very mild mannered guys but this really angered them. i have never even thought of asking my husband to watch it.

I think a smart and wise man can learn from both male and females. I think the movie over all shows King Rama VI to be a smart and wise King not bound by the way things where done in the past...

interesting take, it's always fun to hear how another views the exact material. i disagree but definitely wonder if my view was clouded by the my thai ex-pat friends i watched with. just as a qualifier though i definitely didn't mean to imply one cannot learn from the other gender.

well after I found out that the King and I was about the King of Thailand, never knew Siam was Thailand. I did read up on him. He was very into education, arts and Westernized Thailand.

Oh he did bring skirts to Thailand for the lady!! That make him a GREAT king haha !!!!

[thongd4me 69]

...well after I found out that the King and I was about the King of Thailand, never knew Siam was Thailand. I did read up on him. He was very into education, arts and Westernized Thailand.

Oh he did bring skirts to Thailand for the lady!! That make him a GREAT king haha !!!!

If you want to read some true Siam (Thailand) history, get a copy of Harold Stevens'

"For the Love Of Siam" - the true story of a Greek sailor who actually ended up as the

de facto foreign minister (his actual title was minister of trade) in the reign of King Narai.

http://www.wolfendenpublishing.com/cms/?page_id=191

"The author takes us back to Ayutthaya in the 17th century when it was the capitol of Siam,

and the greatest city in the world."

http://www.wolfendenpublishing.com/cms/?page_id=31

http://haroldstephens.wolfendenpublishing.com/?p=104

Harold Stevens is very much alive and well in Bangkok.

His most amazing books are the ones in which he starred in his own adventures,

"Who Needs A Road?" and "The Last Voyage" which are epics of land and sea travels.

For those with an interest in becoming a Thailand expat, read "At Home In Asia"

which portrays some of the most famous and successful farangs (he knows them all).

He has known all of the famous travel writers from Mitchener on down and he has

been the main travel writer for both the Bankgok Post and Thai Airways for many years.

He's not trying to sell hotel tickets, he actually enjoys travel (not particularly the

luxury variety either) and has also written a book on the legendary Jim Thompson.

[daboyz 36]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

[thongd4me 69]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

[daboyz 36]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

Laugh. That's this guy:

http://www.learningthai.com/thaikeyboard/index.html

I use his Thai keyboard all the time when trying to get through to the wife. My Thai writing sucks.

[thongd4me 69]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

Laugh. That's this guy:

http://www.learningthai.com/thaikeyboard/index.html

I use his Thai keyboard all the time when trying to get through to the wife. My Thai writing sucks.

That's way cool. I'm knee deep in the K-1 paperwork/documentation process.

I'm promising myself to spend more time learning Thai.

We're lucky there are lots of online resources for that,

especially with phonetic aids.

I remember years ago seeing a TV movie where a few WWII vets had reunited in France,

all of them having married French women who they took to the States. One of them was

loudly making jokes about French people and the others tried to get him to cool it. It turns

out this guy never learned French (as the others had) and he was the ONLY one who was

in the middle of a nasty divorce.

For the Americans who are bringing Thai citizens to the US it may be easy for you

to avoid learning Thai, especially for someone like myself whose brain cells are

somewhere between mush and hardened clay. You won't regret at least trying to

learn Thai and your spouse will love you all the more for it. It's even more important

that your children learn Thai, no matter that it's not a "world language" - it's the language

of your family and that makes it important enough.

When I married my Japanese wife I already spoke Japanese. She, however had a

chip on her shoulder and would only speak in Japanese curses. In the end, it takes

two to communicate, whether it's English or another language. My dream of retiring

in Japan kind of went up in smoke, but I'm in the process of building a new dream.

[nui 0]

Edited August 2, 2009 by nui

[daboyz 36]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

Laugh. That's this guy:

http://www.learningthai.com/thaikeyboard/index.html

I use his Thai keyboard all the time when trying to get through to the wife. My Thai writing sucks.

That's way cool. I'm knee deep in the K-1 paperwork/documentation process.

I'm promising myself to spend more time learning Thai.

We're lucky there are lots of online resources for that,

especially with phonetic aids.

I remember years ago seeing a TV movie where a few WWII vets had reunited in France,

all of them having married French women who they took to the States. One of them was

loudly making jokes about French people and the others tried to get him to cool it. It turns

out this guy never learned French (as the others had) and he was the ONLY one who was

in the middle of a nasty divorce.

For the Americans who are bringing Thai citizens to the US it may be easy for you

to avoid learning Thai, especially for someone like myself whose brain cells are

somewhere between mush and hardened clay. You won't regret at least trying to

learn Thai and your spouse will love you all the more for it. It's even more important

that your children learn Thai, no matter that it's not a "world language" - it's the language

of your family and that makes it important enough.

When I married my Japanese wife I already spoke Japanese. She, however had a

chip on her shoulder and would only speak in Japanese curses. In the end, it takes

two to communicate, whether it's English or another language. My dream of retiring

in Japan kind of went up in smoke, but I'm in the process of building a new dream.

Laugh, I didn't think Japanese ladies ever cursed.

[John & Nan 0]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

Laugh. That's this guy:

http://www.learningthai.com/thaikeyboard/index.html

I use his Thai keyboard all the time when trying to get through to the wife. My Thai writing sucks.

That's way cool. I'm knee deep in the K-1 paperwork/documentation process.

I'm promising myself to spend more time learning Thai.

We're lucky there are lots of online resources for that,

especially with phonetic aids.

I remember years ago seeing a TV movie where a few WWII vets had reunited in France,

all of them having married French women who they took to the States. One of them was

loudly making jokes about French people and the others tried to get him to cool it. It turns

out this guy never learned French (as the others had) and he was the ONLY one who was

in the middle of a nasty divorce.

For the Americans who are bringing Thai citizens to the US it may be easy for you

to avoid learning Thai, especially for someone like myself whose brain cells are

somewhere between mush and hardened clay. You won't regret at least trying to

learn Thai and your spouse will love you all the more for it. It's even more important

that your children learn Thai, no matter that it's not a "world language" - it's the language

of your family and that makes it important enough.

When I married my Japanese wife I already spoke Japanese. She, however had a

chip on her shoulder and would only speak in Japanese curses. In the end, it takes

two to communicate, whether it's English or another language. My dream of retiring

in Japan kind of went up in smoke, but I'm in the process of building a new dream.

Laugh, I didn't think Japanese ladies ever cursed.

I really think if you plan to marry someone from other country you need to learn their culture. You can not go into a relationship thinking that you spouse must change 100% and you children will only learn English and American culture. I think some go into a relationship thinking you are doing your spouse a favor and she should honor you for marring them!!

I love to learn about Thailand and try to read as much as I can about their history to better understand my wife and her family. My wife mother treats me as her son. Her grandfather treat me a grandson. I am part of her family as anyone else in there family. If you don't respect and understand their culture, you will never be close to the family.

Chase will learn both Thai and English. Go to both Thai and English schools to learn each county's history and culture.

I have fights with my sister all the time about raising Chase with both American and Thai culture. I tell her our son will swadee everyone even in America, she is tell me NO WAY he should not do that. My other sister and mother has not problem, My mom is very excited because she went though the same things as Nan is going though being a bride from different county. She chat and emails nan every day and treats her as a daughter in all ways. Trying to help here adjust to come to USA.

[thongd4me 69]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

Laugh. That's this guy:

http://www.learningthai.com/thaikeyboard/index.html

I use his Thai keyboard all the time when trying to get through to the wife. My Thai writing sucks.

That's way cool. I'm knee deep in the K-1 paperwork/documentation process.

I'm promising myself to spend more time learning Thai.

We're lucky there are lots of online resources for that,

especially with phonetic aids.

I remember years ago seeing a TV movie where a few WWII vets had reunited in France,

all of them having married French women who they took to the States. One of them was

loudly making jokes about French people and the others tried to get him to cool it. It turns

out this guy never learned French (as the others had) and he was the ONLY one who was

in the middle of a nasty divorce.

For the Americans who are bringing Thai citizens to the US it may be easy for you

to avoid learning Thai, especially for someone like myself whose brain cells are

somewhere between mush and hardened clay. You won't regret at least trying to

learn Thai and your spouse will love you all the more for it. It's even more important

that your children learn Thai, no matter that it's not a "world language" - it's the language

of your family and that makes it important enough.

When I married my Japanese wife I already spoke Japanese. She, however had a

chip on her shoulder and would only speak in Japanese curses. In the end, it takes

two to communicate, whether it's English or another language. My dream of retiring

in Japan kind of went up in smoke, but I'm in the process of building a new dream.

Laugh, I didn't think Japanese ladies ever cursed.

Oh yeah, this one did - BAKKA DARAAY! (Whose the idiot?)

Sometimes Japanese wasn't enough...

A~~hole! (universally recognized)

If you knew her mom, she was a chip off the old block.

My father in law is a saint!

That's the only part of that family I will actually miss.

He got me tickets to a sumo match but SHE didn't want to go.

So I went by myself.

She would fight with her mom a lot but they were actually 2 sides of the same coin.

[thongd4me 69]

For those interested in living in Thailand, read this:

http://books.google.com/books?id=EkPEu76Me...;q=&f=false

Stickman is also a good read.

http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/

Muchas gracias amigo

I had wanted to take a look at Private Dancer,

it has good ratings in Amazon

Also, for something else a little off the "beaten path"

http://www.thailandlife.com/interview.html

Nattuwud “Gor” Daoruang has been a novice monk, a drug addict, and, when he was 14, he pursued a young woman for months only to find out that she was a ladyboy. The Thai teenager relates all of these experiences in excellent English on his website, which is updated weekly. His memoirs are the definite highlight here and called “My Secret Diary.” (“Some secrets about me and know about me and my girlfriend. Please don’t tell my parents or teachers what you read.”) In a country where a popular saying is yah sao sai hai gaw gin (“Don’t pull out your intestines to feed the crows,” meaning, don’t air your dirty laundry in public), Gor’s brutal honesty is refreshing, and also goes to show that Thai teenagers are casting aside some traditions while they maintain other ones. After all, he did become a novice monk for a month after his grandfather died. And there are plenty of insights about Thai funeral rites, and photos of the family taking his grandfather’s ashes to scatter them in the Chao Phraya River. (“We are taught not to cry because it will make it harder for him to go to heaven because he will be worried.”) Gor’s little virtual home also contains heaps of information about Thai festivals, temples, his holidays in Sukothai, Kanchanaburi, and Ayuthaya, how Brahmin priests bless cars, and what it’s like to be a rice farmer. Image-wise, the website boasts more than 800 photos, including pics of the contents of his family’s fridge.

Laugh. That's this guy:

http://www.learningthai.com/thaikeyboard/index.html

I use his Thai keyboard all the time when trying to get through to the wife. My Thai writing sucks.

That's way cool. I'm knee deep in the K-1 paperwork/documentation process.

I'm promising myself to spend more time learning Thai.

We're lucky there are lots of online resources for that,

especially with phonetic aids.

I remember years ago seeing a TV movie where a few WWII vets had reunited in France,

all of them having married French women who they took to the States. One of them was

loudly making jokes about French people and the others tried to get him to cool it. It turns

out this guy never learned French (as the others had) and he was the ONLY one who was

in the middle of a nasty divorce.

For the Americans who are bringing Thai citizens to the US it may be easy for you

to avoid learning Thai, especially for someone like myself whose brain cells are

somewhere between mush and hardened clay. You won't regret at least trying to

learn Thai and your spouse will love you all the more for it. It's even more important

that your children learn Thai, no matter that it's not a "world language" - it's the language

of your family and that makes it important enough.

When I married my Japanese wife I already spoke Japanese. She, however had a

chip on her shoulder and would only speak in Japanese curses. In the end, it takes

two to communicate, whether it's English or another language. My dream of retiring

in Japan kind of went up in smoke, but I'm in the process of building a new dream.

Laugh, I didn't think Japanese ladies ever cursed.

I really think if you plan to marry someone from other country you need to learn their culture. You can not go into a relationship thinking that you spouse must change 100% and you children will only learn English and American culture. I think some go into a relationship thinking you are doing your spouse a favor and she should honor you for marring them!!

I love to learn about Thailand and try to read as much as I can about their history to better understand my wife and her family. My wife mother treats me as her son. Her grandfather treat me a grandson. I am part of her family as anyone else in there family. If you don't respect and understand their culture, you will never be close to the family.

Chase will learn both Thai and English. Go to both Thai and English schools to learn each county's history and culture.

I have fights with my sister all the time about raising Chase with both American and Thai culture. I tell her our son will swadee everyone even in America, she is tell me NO WAY he should not do that. My other sister and mother has not problem, My mom is very excited because she went though the same things as Nan is going though being a bride from different county. She chat and emails nan every day and treats her as a daughter in all ways. Trying to help here adjust to come to USA.

Forget the carping & criticism. Stick by your guns. Your wife will be 100% in agreement with that.

My Japanese ex wanted to burn her bridges with Japan, yet she couldn't escape her Japanese culture.

Unfortunately with 20-20 hindsight she dragged the kids (unwillingly, but with my 100% approval) to Japanese class.

Neither one of them really speaks Japanese well, but the older one sometimes thinks she'll get me angry by

declaring "I'm Japanese!" - yeah so what else is new. But could she really function in Japan if she had to?

Probably not.

You've got to start Chase very early with Thai (I'm sure you have already) and you won't be sorry.

When he sees YOU at the dinner table refusing to speak English, he'll get the idea, even if there is

a little resistance at first (practically all kids of foreign born parents try to avoid speaking the foreign

language if they are allowed to). It's the easy way out.

[Kang Lang 7]

brilliant to teach your child thai! nothing bad can come of a child learning a different language. i went to an international school by day but chinese school 6 days a week(lived in hong kong until i was 12) and my dad's side of the family still speaks to me exclusively in chinese, so nice to still have that language. my mom spoke spanish to me but i mostly only understand it now sadly.

if we have children definitely plan to have a multi-lingual househould. a shame they don't have more comprehensive thai language programs in communities where there are sizeable ex-pats.

[John & Nan 0]

My wife tell me she does not want me to learn Thai! She want to yell at me in Thai and not understand what she is saying hahaha. I guess I will learn from Chase

I do wish I can learn Thai, Just find it hard to pick up. my wife family try hard to talk to me, some can talk a little English. One of her aunt always try to teach me when she come around. haha I love that fact she call every old lady grandmother, every lady her moms age Aunt and every other girl her sister.

was so so confusing to figure out who is who.

[thongd4me 69]

brilliant to teach your child thai! nothing bad can come of a child learning a different language. i went to an international school by day but chinese school 6 days a week(lived in hong kong until i was 12) and my dad's side of the family still speaks to me exclusively in chinese, so nice to still have that language. my mom spoke spanish to me but i mostly only understand it now sadly.

if we have children definitely plan to have a multi-lingual househould. a shame they don't have more comprehensive thai language programs in communities where there are sizeable ex-pats.

My fiancée is a top award-winning Thai teacher but she hasn't had much success in teaching me Thai (mea culpa).

She promises to withhold sex until I start getting some Thai words firmly in my empty brain.

(Just kidding - at least I HOPE she is kidding)

She also has talked about teaching Thai on weekends to the ex-pats kids at the local wat.

She has the creds to start a school on her own if she wants to.

My wife tell me she does not want me to learn Thai! She want to yell at me in Thai and not understand what she is saying hahaha. I guess I will learn from Chase

I do wish I can learn Thai, Just find it hard to pick up. my wife family try hard to talk to me, some can talk a little English. One of her aunt always try to teach me when she come around. haha I love that fact she call every old lady grandmother, every lady her moms age Aunt and every other girl her sister.

was so so confusing to figure out who is who.

I would say just dedicate an hour a day to going online to free "learn Thai" sites and

eventually she should come around. My Japanese ex thwarted every attempt of mine

to improve my Japanese (I already spoke some when we married). Ultimately she will

have to help you and if your relationship is solid, so she should at least be willing to bend in that way.

The positive reinforcement should be you want your kid to learn Thai and Thai is an

integral part of your family, so as a member of your family you must learn Thai.

My philosophy about marriage now is pretty much "what you see is what you get" - don't

attempt to change each other too much or you will both end up in divorce land.

There are things that I might like to change about her but they aren't deal breakers

and there are things as well that she may want to change about me and I hope she

feels the same. Indications are that she does, as we have talked extensively about

what we expect from each other and from life. I didn't do that with Japanes ex and that

was MY fault for not doing so.

Edited August 4, 2009 by thongd4me