Archive for 'Intermediate'
Ghosts in Thailand, part 3 Posted by palmisano on Jul 10, 2011
continuing with the short list of the more popular ghosts . . . pee5 bawb1 ผีปอบ – The word bawb2 ปอบ means ‘evil’. Any ghost can be evil. Remember the movie The Ring? Yeap, that’s a pee bawb. And the spirit inside of the little girl in the Exorcist? Also a pee bawb. Or the…
Ghosts in Thailand, part 2 Posted by palmisano on Jul 8, 2011
In part 1 I spoke of the four general categories of Thai ghosts. In part 2 I’ll talk about the types of ghosts, and many of these types can fit into any of the part 1 categories. Keep in mind that this will be a short-list of the most famous types, as there are plenty…
Ghosts in Thailand, part 1 Posted by palmisano on Jul 5, 2011
As evident by their many ghost movies, Thais are very superstitious. They definitely believe in ghosts. Just like in the west, Thais also have many different types of ghosts. I won’t go over them all, but I’ll go over the main types.
Poo yai Posted by palmisano on Jun 16, 2011
Today I’m going to talk about Poo3 Yai2 ผู้ใหญ่. Poo3 means ‘person’ and Yai2 means ‘big’. Generally, ‘poo yai’ means ‘adult’. You start off as a child (dek1 เด็ก), work your way up to teenager (wai1 run3 วัยรุ่น), and after a few more years you’ve made it.
The real way to say something tastes good in Thai Posted by palmisano on Jun 13, 2011
When we go out to eat, or eat over at a friend’s place, often times we’ll be asked ‘how is the food?’ If the food tastes good, the answer is easy. But what if it doesn’t and you find yourself in a moral battle between honesty and politeness? How do you respond to this question…
Losing Face Posted by palmisano on Jun 11, 2011
The concept of ‘losing face’ and ‘saving face’ (เสียหน้า sia5 naa3) will take you years to get used to, particular because western culture frowns upon it. But if you are going to keep your mental sanity from the constant attacks of cultural shock, and wish to truly integrate yourself into Thai society, you must both…
The Way of the Wai Posted by palmisano on Jun 2, 2011
I’m will assume that my readers know what the Wai is, the motion where you clasp your hands in a praying motion to say ‘hello’. At least, that’s what you are told when you first come to Thailand. However that’s very much an oversimplification, to the point of being almost completely wrong. It’s actual a…