Learning Thai

This afternoon I was reminded of my ongoing status as a learner (or is that child?) I stopped by our landlords’ house and in the course of our conversation mentioned that I was planning to get a haircut. That innocent attempt at making conversation led to series of questions – “Which barbershop are you going to?” (we have at least 8 of them in our neighborhood) “How much do you pay?” “Why have you gone to several different places?” – and ended with Khun Seri deciding that he should take me to his barber to ensure that I receive a decent haircut. (He said that he could understand what kind of haircut I wanted, but the barber might not.)

At the barbershop he explained what kind of haircut I wanted (a short one) and the barber complied. It was just like being taken to the barbershop by my dad when I was a little boy (except that in Thailand you get a complimentary shoulder rub at the end of the haircut).

Even though I had never been to that barbershop or spoken to any of the men in there before, they knew that I had two daughters and that I walk around town a lot. We run into that a lot – people know about the girls and even know what street we live on without us saying a word.

Because Seri was doing such a good job of taking care of me the barber assumed that I didn’t speak Thai and asked Seri a series of questions about me. I couldn’t follow everything he said, but he told them that we go to church and that we like Thai food. At that point I chimed in and managed to contribute a little to the conversation. Although I was a little irritated at first that I couldn’t just go get a haircut on my own, I am glad that our landlords are concerned about us (and I’m pleased with the haircut as well).

Now we’re going to eat Pad Thai and then go into Bangkok for a “Friendship Concert.” A choir and orchestra will perform Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Choral Fantasia, and the Thai King's composition Paen Din Kong Rao.

-Tom