Playing in Pattaya

We started our Thai language and culture class this week in Pattaya, Thailand. Thai is a tonal language so on our first day we learned that the word maa has 5 different meanings, depending upon the tone you say it in. Hopefully I don't mix up my tones, because instead of telling my students to "come" I could be calling them "dogs". That would definitely be a faux pas for teacher chocolate. Our Thai teacher told us about a great market that gets set up in the middle of Pattaya on Tuesdays and Fridays so yesterday we explored it during our lunch break. The market is huge! I tried three different types of rangoons with pineapple, green curry and cornmeal in the middle-- they were delicious. I also managed to get some pretty cute clothes for cheap! Thais are very straightforward so the woman who was selling to me said "this look good on you, you no fat" thank you for that self esteem boost! Tuesday night we went to an Aussie bar that served complimentary wings with their beer. The bar owner also let the waitresses bring their kids to work, so the men in the bar thought it would be funny to teach this 6 year old girl the finger. #onlyinthailand