Language Learning!

Today we did an our first Intro to Thai class. I must demonstrate intermediate language proficiency by the end of training in order to qualify for service. Sometimes I doubt my language acquisition skills, especially when I consider that I've had Spanish speaking neighbors my whole life, I took Spanish in high school and college (aced it each time!), I lived in Little Havana in Miami (even the street signs are in Spanish -- Calle Ocho anyone?), and I still can't speak the language! I can understand a little bit of it and I've managed to muster up enough Spanglish to get through sticky situations, but I cannot confidently say that I know the language at all! 

I am slightly anxious about this whole aspect of training, but the first class went well. We went over basic greetings and introductions, which I have already been reviewing, so we're off to a good start. The dialogue below demonstrates some of what I have learned so far.

Miss: Sa-wat-dee-ka! (Hello - female speaker)
Mstr: Sa-wat-dee-krap! (Hello - male speaker)

Miss: Kun sabaii di mai ka? (How are you?)
Mstr: Pom sabaii di krap. (I am well)

Mstr: Kun sabaii di mai krap? (How are you?)
Miss: Di chan mai sabaii ka. (I am not very well)

Miss: Kun chuu arai ka? (What is your name?)
Mstr: Pom chuu Mister krap (My name is Mister)

Mstr: Kun nam-sakun arai krap? (What is your last name?)
Miss: Di chan nam-sakun Swan ka. (My last name is Swan)

Miss: Kun muaang arai ka? (What city are you from?)
Mstr: Pom madja muaang Bankok krap. (I traveled from the city of Bankok) 

Miss: Kaou bpra-ted arai ka? (What country is she from?)
Mstr: Kaou bpra-ted Yii-pun krap. (She is from Japan)

Kop kun mak ka (Thank you very much - female speaker)
Kop kun krap (Thank You - male speaker)

Chui duiy (Help!)


So I did that without peeking in my book, I double checked after, and it's all correct, so yay me! The Thai alphabet consists of symbols that are very different from the alphabet that we use, so I tried my best to spell the words phonetically, and spellings may vary across sources. So far, we haven't been introduced to reading and writing, but that should be interesting.

You may have noticed the sentences end in Ka and Krap. Ka is how a female speaker would formally end her statements and Krap is the equivalent for males. Di-Chan is how a female would refer to herself while Pom is the equivalent for a male. Kun refers to you (second person) and Kaou is how one would refer to a third person (him/her, she/he). We will be doing a lot more language development over the next few weeks. Should be interesting!

In other news, my body is slowly recovering from the recent travels. I'm not feeling too great over all and my sleeping and digestive patterns are all screwed up. I also received vaccines yesterday and today, but I'm not sure if that has anything to do with anything, so I blame all of my ills and discomforts on jet-lag. Aside from feeling slightly irritable and miserable on the inside, the day was okay. I got up this around 6:30 am and saw that my mom was online. I greeted her "Good morning, how was your day?" as it was 7:30 pm her time. This time difference is really something. When my day is starting, hers is ending, and the opposite is true as well. It will definitely take some getting used to. We ended the day with a beautiful welcome ceremony - traditional Thai style, and a lovely dinner. 

We have a big day ahead of us, we get to meet the governor, so I'm off to bed now to minimize the effects of jet lag tomorrow!