Hi,
I won't bore you with the weather, it was about the same as yesterday. It was a day of adventures in grocery shopping, and lots of language insights.
'Zany Day' song has at least a couple of friends. Maybe the second verse will ring a bell. Remember maple syrple?
"Just sittin' 'round drinkin' with the rest of the guys, six rounds bought and I bought five. I spent the groceries and a half, the rent lack fourteen dollars, havin' twenty-seven cents. __ __, __ __, they oughta take a rope and hang me. High from the highest tree, woman would you weep for me? Hint: He's admitting guilt and cursing himself.
This morning we went to Makro with our new (apparently) road dogs, Cat and Pown. It was fun going through the store naming items and teaching Pown how to say them in English. In some cases Cat would tell us the Thai word. On the way to the vegetable market we were passed by a big tour bus. I said, 'Where y'all from?' and Cat cracked up. It struck something that set off great laughter. Further down the road, learning to pronounce the word 'Gallery' was an adventure in itself since there is such an interchange with Ls and Rs in the north. It was a good morning.
Living without the ocean nearby was an adjustment. Now we have the Mae Kok to keep us company. The river is a tributary of the Mae Kong and it runs through the northern part of Chiang Rai. We cross it many times in the course of a day. The part near us, that runs under the Pink Bridge, has been getting smaller since the rains stopped. Sand bars and little islands are popping up and it's at a new low. Today, crossing the Super Highway Bridge, the river farther downstream looked like a totally different river. It was huge. My guess is that it's deeper downstream because most of the silt is being trapped near us where the river is narrower. If the level has gone down, it sure doesn't show it. 'Our' shoreline was actually changed a few years ago to slow down the erosion of the northern bank, so there may be something to my theory. It remains a mystery. Hmm.
During dinner we had an interesting discussion of how some Thai words are written in Western spelling and end up being mispronounced. The conversation began while talking about the translation programs like Google and Bing and how they get it all wrong. If you ever get messages in another language and try to read them, you know what I'm talking about.
Today's photo is in response to requests to see the artwork birthday card I got from Cat's friend Fern. She took the images of me from posts on Facebook and used a drawing pencil. Not bad for a 10th grader. What a surprise to get such a gift from someone I hardly knew.
Have a Thrilling Thursday.
Peace,
Danny
"We cannot see our reflection
in running water. It is only in
still water that we can see."
~Taoist Proverb
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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