Ja pai nai, krap?

Where are you going?

Regardless of time and location, if you're in Thailand, you're bound to be asked this questions at least once a day. The phrase in Thai, "Ja pai nai, krap?", is similar to "What's up?" or "How's it going?" in English. It's a standard way to greet someone and rarely does the person care what the answer is. The only time it really matters is if you're both going the same place.

In learning English, Thais have simply carried this phrase over and nothing could be more frustrating. Even after learning why Thais always asked where you were going, it took weeks to get used to it. Someone I'd run into would ask "Where are you going" and I'd stop, think about it, and then start to explain, only to be cut off by a blank smile and the realization that they didn't actually want to know where is was going. I could be on my way to surgery or to rob a bank and they couldn't care less.

It isn't anything personal. It isn't that they don't care about you. It's just a Thai phrase that takes some getting used to. Everytime it happens I feel like I'm in this Budweiser commercial.

I've since grown somewhat accustomed to the question and in doing so, learned to fight fire with fire. The two prongs of my attack: (1) Ask where they are going first. (2) Tell them I'm going to do work. This later response is one you'll get from the Thai's about 90% of the time. When in Rome. . .

But wherever I do end up going, I do so in style:

Look Who's Blogging Now

Well, for those of you who haven't been reading the signature line, there are two people registered to this blog account, and I am number two. If you haven't deduced my identity from the first line of this entry, I'm Dan, of the Dan and Brock signature. Initially when the idea of a blog was presented, I was apprehensive. As someone who is more than familiar with the internet, I knew all to well that bloggers are not only not taken seriously, but they are the brunt of many an easy, and often truthfully painful joke (pictured). I'll admit that I've mocked bloggers, and not without justification. I believe that Maddox best described "blogger" as a "[t]erm used to describe anyone with enough time or narcissism to document every tedious bit of minutia filling their uneventful lives. Possibly the most annoying thing about bloggers is the sense of self-importance they get after even the most modest of publicity."

After a lot of soul searching I have decided that, despite my better judgment, I will begin adding to this blog my own blow-by-blow commentary of our trip to Thailand. This is not to say that I think that Brock has been doing anything but a stellar job, but now that I represent 50% of the UNC contingent remaining in the KMUTT dormitories, I feel it is my job to also try to contribute to this effort, since I maintain sheltered from true Thai society.

So it is with bruised pride and a heavy heart that I concede defeat to the allures of blogging. For reference, Livejournal is a blog, only under a different name. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Livejournals and Blogs are one in the same.

Movin' on up

After a few days deliberation, it's official. 60% of the UNC contingent here is movin' on up. Don't get me wrong, the dorms have been above average here, with a bathroom in our room, filtered water just down the hall, and fresh sheets every few days. But I never really felt like I was in Thailand. The main interactions with people outside the university took place during trips to get food and traveling. When you're school and classes are only 2 minutes away, it's pretty easy to confine yourself to that small area.

Everyone living in the house had their own reasons for moving. Me? I had only one: to become more of a part of Thai culture or at least become more exposed to it. Although it didn't hurt that the house has a urinal in it, on the first floor no less.

The new digs aren't anything spectacular, but what can you expect when you're six farang looking for a place to stay in Thailand for only 4 months. Unfortunately we couldn't find a place that was furnished, but we'll manage. I mean, I have yet to see a Thai household with more than one chair in the main floor. Sure, there's a big screen TV, but apparently the comfort of the floor is something they aren't will to give up.

The most difficult part is trying to figure out what to call it. It's a three-storey structure wedged between other similar "houses", with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a living room area. An apartment? More than that. A townhouse? It's not in the Hamptons. I guess I'll just settle on calling it a house. The picture on the right is one I expertly nabbed from the internet, but it is quite similar to what the front of our pad looks like.

By no means is it perfect, but we weren't expecting that. The neighborhood is exactly what I wanted though. As I walked back to university the other day dodging bikes who's capacities were exceeded by two kids, receiving curious looks from old women chatting on the stoop, and losing pounds by the minute in the heat and humidity of Thailand, I realized that this was Thailand. Living in the dorm here gives about as much information about Thailand as living in Hinton James reveals life in Chapel Hill. So as we navigate the intracacies of the house, from the remaining cockroaches to water pressure on the third floor, it'll be interesting to see what the real Thailand has to teach us.

So if you're ever in Thonburi, just stop by street 5/2 and say hi. Just be sure to bring your own chair.