The view of Christmas trees and speaking clearly

As a five year old, I never got to wake up to views like this… 

Nor did I get to go to sleep with views like this….

What a wonderfully colorful palate of life she gets.

She gets to drift out and then drift back into life with a wonderful view, so many colors, so many things to see.  The rainy season is ending and by next weekend, we are forecasted to get weather and temps that are in the low 80s to high 70s during the day with lows in the 60s in some cases.  That would be highs near 27 with lows near 20 for my Euros.  Nice weather.

Kiddo, however, got a good long time to sleep at night with her window curtains opened so she could fall asleep watching the lightening and rain.  If you are a regular and constant reader, you will have seen the Vlog that Kiddo did, and in that, one of her core memories is sitting with J and myself in Quarantine and we all would just sit and cuddle on this overly large bed and eat jelly beans or other little treats we squirreled away for those two weeks and just watching the lightening and rain and cuddling and loving.  

She will, we think, always love to watch storms and lightening.  And good for her.  We are glad we can give her that.  Not only for a love of nature and storms and the coolness of that, but also because she’s not scared of storms.  She’s respectful of them.  Curious to see them move and how the lightening and thunder play, but she doesn’t come running each time it rains.

Just imagine, being 5 and having this as your first and last view.  Or waking and being lazy in bed and just watching the market in the mornings.  That’s a pretty cool thing to have at such an age.  At least, in my opinion.

Otherwise, it’s Giftmas season.  Since that is ramping up, so is Kiddo.  Each and every time we come across a tree, she wants to stop and get pics.  In our latest case, Domino Dog wanted to see it and so Kiddo (graciously) posed with him.  LOL

The other day, Kiddo and I were at the Mall and getting a few things.  One of the things we needed was more allergy medication for her.  A simple enough errand, but we got a surprise this day.  First, was at the pharmacy, where, in trying my best Thai.  Sawadee Krup.  Loratadine Dek, song.  Khxbkhun, krup.   Hi.  Children Loratadine (Claritin).  Two of them.  Thank you.

It’s a pretty basic thing to say.  Far from correct, but understandable.  The pharmacist had great English, but she stopped and complimented me on my Thai.  I was floored by how good her English was and when I brushed the compliment off, she stopped me.  “No.  You speak good Thai.  Clear.  How long have you been in Thailand?”  I explained that Kiddo is better and a year and a half.  First, when prompted, Kiddo gave them a Sawadee and melted hearts.  Secondly, the RPh complimented Kiddo and tossed a simple phrase at her and Kiddo replied.  To me, though, she was awed that we’d only been here 1.5 years.  “You are good Thai Speaker.  You sound like you are speaking for a decade.  Very clear.  Vert Good.  You should learn Thai.”

I’m 45.  This old dog has enough tricks.  I’ll continue to learn and do my best, but I’m not about to head into a classroom and study.  Maybe I could learn the language and become something like conversational, but we may be moving on from BKK or Thailand in the next 1.5 years.  I’ll take my chances that I can become good enough, but also that my speaking is good.  Clear.  That I don’t sound like I’m chopping my way through the language, but that I control and command the language I have.  Besides, if next is Korea or Vietnam or Cambodia or Japan or who knows where, I will pick it up and learn to mimic it as well.  

It’s an odd gift.   J has mentioned it to me in other avenues as well, especially when I am story telling and it involves the people in my life that I am close to, being a mimic or putting on their speech patterns and quirks.  But, I also mimic languages.  We counted one time, languages that I could say hello, goodbye, count to ten, and ask for food or restroom, kind of the basics that you would need in the first week in a country if traveling.  English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean (thanks JY), Hindi and Gujarati (thanks Bena), Cantonese, Mandarin, and now Thai.  So, hopefully I can add or expand on some of this in the future, but I think it would be folly for me to try to learn the language in full.  Partly because we will be moving every few years, so by the time I’m mastering or really getting some control, it will be time to move on.  Partly because I don’t have the bandwidth to take on languages, at least, not in full.

I guess I’d rather have 100-500 words that sound native and clear that a full vocabulary that sounds choppy or isn’t understood anyway.  Hoe-La, como-Es-tass.  Be-ennn.  EEE-too?  Or, I could have just that and a few other things and sound native.  

J has more than I do and is, IMO, just as clear, but she is around a Thai staff and children all day and so that (I’m sure) helps her acquire more and quicker than I do.  Kiddo gets Thai in school and can even write her name and a few other basic things.  

So, it’s been a fun little adventure.  Filled with so so much.  And it’s nice getting the little compliments from locals.  That, even if I don’t know, or we don’t know, we can use clues and context, also using other little words and things we know to piece together sentences.  We are, I’m comfortable saying, getting the hang of this.  Of putting it together.  Of making a life of it, even if it’s just a temporary short term (3 year) stay.  Maybe we’ll be here a decade.  I can’t say.  If I could, trust me, I would have had Schmittah buy a Powerball when it was at 2 billion and split that with him, but alas, I can’t see into the future.  So, I can only do my best.  

After that, I can only do my best again.  And then again.  We all can.  And we are.  With Kiddo leading that charge.  And what’s next?  A house in BKK?  A new Condo on a higher floor with different views?  A whole new city?  In Thailand or somewhere else?  

Who knows!  Not us.  We will let this life unfurl before us.  We will do our best to make our best choices.  Then we will do our best to fit in, learn the language we need to be able to be respectful and not just bark English at everyone expecting them to understand us.  Because we still know plenty of people who act like that.  Even after 1.5 years here.  

We want to be painted with the colors of the world.  We want the dust from every corner of the globe on our shoes.  We want to sand of every beach on our toes.  We want to tell the world hello, in all the languages.  We want the adventures and experiences.  We want people to be surprised that we can speak and be clear.  We want to see what the world has to offer.  So far, it’s offered us so so much.

Let’s go, Kiddo… Life is an adventure and today may be filled with allergy sneezes and runny eyes, but you got that from me and sorry about that.  But don’t let it slow you down from experiencing, exploring, and embracing this would world and life we give you; Even if that’s just being five and looking out the windows at the night rains, morning market, or just to see the world in front of you.  We love you!