Happy Birthday Kru June! (that's happy birthday teacher June in thai) I've been taking thai lessons from June for a little over a month. I absolutely love thai lessons because my teacher doesn't just help me speak the language (and let's be real I need a lot of help with that-- did you know that there are 5 different tones so saying the word maa in rising as opposed to falling as opposed to flat changes the meaning from horse to dog to come?) but she also educates me on thai culture (the older generations of men believe that your head is the highest part of your body so it's held in the highest regard-- it's definitely not ok to touch up here) AND takes me to really awesome places in Bangkok (I especially love going to "the street" because it's the same in thai and in english!) Mangoes are currently in season so June suggested we try her favorite type of mango ice cream from Swensen's. The ice cream comes with green sticky rice and a strangely textured "sweet" bean on top (kind of like the cherry in America) with a side of milk (milk in thailand is incredibly sweet). First you're supposed to eat the bean, then pour the milk all over the top of the ice cream. Once you're ready, scoop the ice cream and rice out together-- this combo will tantalize your taste buds!
June not only brought me to Swensen's, but she brought me to the grocery store and pointed out different kinds of fruits and vegetables, as well as suggested things I try (mango sheet was on the list- it's like really thin, flat, sweet, candied mango). I had to repay the favor, so I decided to take her for mexican for her birthday. June got to try nachos for the first time! She initially asked if we could get all of the toppings on the side, including the cheese, but the thai waitress told her it wouldn't taste any good that way so she jumped all in and went for it! She not only enjoyed the nachos, but liked her first margarita as well.
I love working with June because we both teach each other fun "slang" phrases. When I get asked if I have a boyfriend (this happens quite often because everyone in Thailand believes you should be married young!) I can now respond with 'suwaii luak dai' which means I'm selective ;)
When June is sarcastic, (which happens all of the time) she now knows that she's "giving me shit", and when June's awesome, (which happens all of the time) she now knows that she's "da bomb".
Sounds like a great partnership! How lucky are you?!
ReplyDelete