Na Rak?

Na Rak passaat Thai means “cute,” and is quite an important concept to grasp living here. However, cute in Thailand is not the same as cute in other places. Thailand takes it to the extreme—we’re talking grown men jumping around in pink bunny suits during a music video kind of cute, and there’s not even the tiniest hint of irony. I’ve been proud of how long I’ve maintained my American style sensibilities, but lately a little of the na rak Thai has surreptitiously found its way into my daily existence.

It all started with me wanting to learn Thai. Joe, in an attempt to encourage, bought me some Hamtaro exercise books meant for small children. I was already familiar with Hamtaro (a Japanese animated cartoon) since a few years ago Joe bought me a Hamtaro video game for my birthday (side note: the point of the video game was to help little hamster couples find their lost hamster loves, it was almost unbearably cute). I therefore didn’t worry about this first bit of cute, it was just because it was meant for small children, and after all I didn’t buy it myself.

My next moment of weakness was a cell phone charm. I don’t know if this concept exists at home yet, but everyone here has cell phone charms- just a way to make your phone cute and original. When Mara moved in, she bought the exact same cell phone I have, so I rationalized that I needed a cell phone charm in order to tell our phones apart. At least mine (a jade Chinese fish) is tasteful. Joe bought a crocheted little Doremon (another cartoon character—this one a cat like robot).

I can find no excuse for the next two acquisitions. They were cute, I gave in. And as an added Thai bonus, both contain English language errors.

The first is a t-shirt, two giraffes, a big one sharing its food with a small one. The lettering says Sharing and underneath, in small letters, Design by No Proplem. It’s cute and I like it. But would I like it if I was still living in the U.S?

The other is a bag, and this is the purchase that is starting to worry me. It’s a print, with various people and creatures including: a girl with pink hair dressed as a cactus, a smiling pink she-devil carrying a steaming pie, smiling flowers of various colors (some with fangs), a carton and a bottle of milk with legs, eyes, and cow horns, a monkey with an Italian flag helmet riding a blue Vespa-style scooter, a skull and cross-bones from what appears to have been a cute cartoon character, an orange faced boy dressed up in a cow suit carrying a machine gun…etc. Mixed in with the various characters are the phrases “Nice?” and “Flower’spring.” Is it Nice? I don’t know, I seem to be losing my judgment, but I do know that I really like it (with a healthy dose of irony, of course). But if anyone sees me in a pink bunny suit, it’s time to stage an intervention.

Whybrarian

After TFA I did a lot of thinking about what kind of job I wanted, what I would enjoy and what I could stand to do for 40 hours a week. After lots of thinking and research (which in itself should have been a hint), I decided I wanted to get my MSLIS (that's Master of Science in Library and Information Science, in case you were wondering- we like to sneak the word "science" in as much as possible). This week in the NYTimes there was an article that pretty much sums up why I made my choice. Here it is if you're interested.

A Hipper Crowd of Shushers by Kara Jesella

Thaiglish

Many things are amusing when living in a foreign country (dogs without owners waiting patiently at crosswalks immediately springs to mind), and one of my favorite sources of hilarity is the Thai adaptation of the English language. Living here it is necessary to learn these modifications, because otherwise you are not likely to be understood, even when speaking English.

Rule 1

When there is an “l” at the end of a word, it is pronounced “n”

Appun--Thai for apple

Check-Bin--Thai for I want the bill (get it, check-bill)

Footbun—Thai for Soccer (or Football, depending on your English country of origin)

And my favorite…

Exambun—This is how Thai people speaking English say “for example,” very funny in the middle of a conversation

Rule 2

Similar to Japanese English, “l” is substituted for “r”

Fright- Thai English for flight, as in “How was your fright?”

Crapped- Thai English for clapped,

Ree-ree- Thai English for really

Rule 3

There is no “v” in Thai English, just use a “w”

Wary- Thai English for very

Wiolin- Thai English for violin

In combination, the above can be down right hilarious.

Exampun: Was your fright wary rong?

Even better is when you’re at a restaurant and the live band sings English songs. The following is from a recent night on the town.

“Like a wirgin, touched for the wary (sometimes sounded like merry) first time….”

The namesake of this blog comes from just such and incident; although this is not one I witnessed myself. Joe heard a live band attempting Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence,” and what came out was Sound of Sirens. It was too good to pass up.