J F
3 4
that music is familiar somehow cast on the wind of reeling city speak stopping, jarred and stirred sliding off from the languid humidity here fingers are gripping furrowed brows back home there are callouses on the landscape the tea lady gives different compliments to the same people every day and I can’t stop thinking about that man in China Town without fingers only palms
WKDW PXVLF LV IDPLOLDU VRPHKRZ FDVW RQ WKH ZLQG RI UHHOLQJ FLW\ VSHDN VWRSSLQJ MDUUHG DQG VWLUUHG VOLGLQJ RII IURP WKH ODQJXLG KXPLGLW\ KHUH ILQJHUV DUH JULSSLQJ IXUURZHG EURZV EDFN KRPH WKHUH DUH FDOORXVHV RQ WKH ODQGVFDSH WKH WHD ODG\ JLYHV GLIIHUHQW FRPSOLPHQWV WR WKH VDPH SHRSOH HYHU\ GD\ DQG , FDQ’W VWRS WKLQNLQJ DERXW WKDW PDQ LQ &KLQD 7RZQ ZLWKRXW ILQJHUV RQO\ SDOPV
The only Thai words a listed in order of m
Kop kuhn kah ( Sawatdee (h Hong nam Kar tod Mai a
and phrases I know, most used:
(thank you—formal) hello & goodbye) m tee nai? (where is the toilet?) d kah (excuse me or I’m sorry) i pen rai (Thai saying that means “no worries”, or “go with the flow”—used specifically amongst ourselves when something on the trip went awry) Prasethi (Thailand) Chan rak prasethi! (I love Thailand!—said primarily to cab drivers who wanted to strike up a conversation but the both of us struggled with the language barrier, so I offered this as collateral) Kah (yes) Wat (Buddhist temple) Dee mok (very good—learned from a cobbler on the street) Kop kuhn mok kah (thank you very much—learned from the tea vendor) 5555 (hahahaha—internet slang, learned from the Thai students. Phonetically, the number 5 in Thai is “ha”) Koh (island) Haad (beach) Chan rak kuhn (I love you—unused)
/
/
/
WKHUH’V D EUXLVH RQ P\ VROH ULJKW ZKHUH DQG ,’P JHWWLQJ GLUW RQ WKH VKHHWV
H WKH SDOP RI WKH IRRW VWDUWV
L TDV UH
HHO,Q*
N R K SK
DQ J DQ
STEPHANIE LANE GAGE 2014