Rains, Dumplings and then? Rains of course!

A couple of weeks back our course director mentioned of the orientation program to be held on the 30^th of September. That is today, the last Saturday of September 2017. And here we are, dressed in our traditional attire. No sooner did we enter our faculty room, it started raining cats and dogs. I am a lover of rain and I think I need to change my perspectives on rain after what I see in Thailand. Roads flooded, drains clogged, street food corners shut and stinks.  As we entered the hall, I think we were the last ones to take our seats and a gentleman was presenting on reading, hard work and attitudes on learning with examples. He was speaking in Thai.

I nearly slipped into boredom when suddenly our course director started sending us messages in English, translating the speaker to our respective cell phones to my much needed relief. I thanked her with, “Oh thank God Ajarn…you came to our rescue.” From then on familiar faces began to appear on the screen, of course with some talks in Thai. Will Smith, Steve Jobs, Malala Yousefzai, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and a Chinese man in a video mentioning his perseverance. All inspiring until now.

The next incidence is to today’s update. The speaker now showed a video with some Thai writings where the late King Bhumibol was pictured…Remember, I am in Thailand and must do what Thais do. The audience in front of me started sobbing and most were wiping their tears. I couldn’t help but joined them with a tear or two.

I watched a video and read a short biography on King Bhumibol Adulyadej. He was a king of extraordinary charm and the Thais reverence to him is unmatched-How can one argue with that? This is beyond words. Check out YouTube on the late Thai king.

Now my reason for joining the bandwagon with some tears is, I also belong to a kingdom and we share so many things in common. If you can draw your own conclusions over what I am intending and underpinning to say. Come October and my Ajarn tells me there will be some sort of mourning again since it’s been exactly a year since the late king passed away.

End of the program-grabbed some dumplings, some chocolate cakes and lemon grass juice. Took some pictures even with strangers because most of them were fascinated with our dress… besides the knowledge and the positivity of things just happened today, this is what all summed up to…Rain, dumplings and Rains again. We left the hall only to do this on  our way back home...

Is this hacked?

www.education.gov.bt

Watching Aljazeera online streaming is what I did today with nothing to do at home. Internet is amazing and informational but at the same time what is good and what to consume is at the discretion of its users. My other friend Tashi, came to my room saying the WiFi in his room isn’t working. I made him a coffee and he was watching some academic stuff on YouTube. I was on Facebook and was just done with video calling my family back home.

Out of the blue I wanted to check and see what was happening with the education fraternity back home and saw this despite numerous push on the ‘Enter’ button.

www.rcsc.gov.bt

 Later, I also wanted to see what was happening with the civil service and saw this! I have never seen a hacked website and I wonder if I may see one in the future. I doubt whether this is a hack or not. I am naming the only Internet and computer savvy people I know; Passu and Pema Gyamtsho. Will you check and see if what I am mentioning is true?

A piece of Myanmar…

The ingredients

This is my very first update on cookery in my six years of blogging. I have a very good friend named Moses and he happens to be my immediate neighbor. Today after my classes at the university, I heard some noises at his apartment and I checked on him with a sense of curiosity. 

My apartment has residents from all over the world, viz: Germany, Africa, Japan, Myanmar (Burma), Finland and not to forget our very own Bhutanese.

Checking on him, he was cooking or rather boiling some fish with lemon grass. Inside he had some chillies mashed, some ginger, coriander leaves, lemon grass leaves, crab meat and some fried onions. This broth or rather soup must be eaten with rice noodles and I skipped the noodles but the soup tasted awesome.

The soup

Moses

To make it a little limey, one can choose to add some lemon juice. That’s exactly what Moses did. And yes not to forget the salt.

The final Dish

Now for some history, this dish is called Rakhine Moudi. This is the traditional dish of the ethnic people of Rakhine state as he tells me. Now, one can find this dish in every corner of Myanmar.

With international headlines on Rakhine and the Rohingyas these days, I get to savor a piece of Myanmar in the silent city of Rangsit. Look at those pictures, doesn’t it look flavorful?

Until then, happy savoring folks!

Smile, you are going to lose weight!

Sawadhekhrab! Here’s the second update. Well, inspiration and ideas come in the weirdest ways when you fall short of words, lines and subjects to write about. I was soul searching for a couple of days after my first update here in the land of smiles. This is my 24^th night here in the scorching city of north Bangkok. Well, again coming to the point, sleep wasn’t coming easily as often is the case with me, I went to relieve myself in the toilet of my apartment and only today, that’s the night of 11^th September at 11:24 pm (Bangkok Time) I saw what was written just above the toilet pot. This is to today’s update.

Only today did I come to know about the toilet ‘bowl’.  Until just a moment ago, I was pretty sure that it is called the toilet pot-just for the sake of understanding for those like me for whom English is the second language. The English teacher in me wasn’t agreeing to this ‘bowl’ thing and was rather comfortable with ‘pot’. Checked into searching the right thing and it was indeed right. But my ‘pot’ was also right.

I know this may sound a little weird when a supposed blogger knew ‘bowl’ today but even weirder is, it’s a toilet inspiration. Certainly, sitting up and down the same pot, (sorry ‘bowl’ or whatever) numerous times and you have no freaking idea of its appropriate name. This is a certain un-learning attitude. Folks! Remember, it is a ‘bowl’ and also a ‘pot’. If toilet bowl thing is to be personified, it would say, “Smile, you are going to lose weight”. Or, I just read it on the internet, “Keep me clean, use me well, what I see, I never tell.”

Ok just a weird thought on a weird night enveloped in this weird heat and hoping positively not to have a weird sleep later. BOWL”, “POT” Same-same (if I was indeed shopping for a pot here in Thailand). Here’s a measure for measure-It’s stuffs inside the bowl that later gets flushed in to the pot. Confused? I am too.

Good night folks and remember, “Keep me clean, use me well, what I see, I never tell”.

Hot, Hotter and Hottest!

Sawadhekhab!

Greetings from the land of smiles. This is my very first update after coming to Thailand. I am one of the hundreds of Bhutanese students studying in Thailand and my batch here includes eleven, of which four are ladies. When I was interviewed for the scholarship I was asked, how will you manage to communicate with the Thais who are not very fluent with English? He already answered his question. I said, “I can manage”.

True to what the interviewer asked I am having difficulty speaking but what they write in English is a whole different story. I am beginning to pick some basics already. I have come to realize that their written English is sky high especially of Ajarns (Teacher/Professor). Logging into my university’s website I was amazed at the educational background of the faculty here; Harvard, Oxford, Princeton etc… Perhaps a reminder that good/big things come in small packages. Another striking feature of my Ajarns-no male Ajarns. My faculty, education is women power-all women show. No wonder my course director remarks, “This year we have a lot of guys”.

A week into coming to Rangsit University situated in Pathum Thani, an hour north of Bangkok I come face to face with my first culture shocks.

1.      Whether you board a public transport, a sky train(BTS) or any other modes of transport, most Thais especially the young never talk to each other instead fiddle their cell phones until their stop is reached. I am yet to experience the motorcycle Taxi.

2.      I reside in an apartment named ‘Penthip House’ where students of many different nationalities reside. We Bhutanese and Moses, a Burmese friend are the only ones to cook and eat. Rest of the dwellers just walk, grab something, eat and come back.

3.      Everyone smiles here-back in Bhutan only familiar faces smile.

4.      The sound- Just by listening to the roar of an engine one cannot make out whether it’s an SUV or a motorcycle. Here, they fuel up their cars with some sort of gas-a literal air which I am not aware of.

5.      Bangkok and its outskirts are known for its vast super expressways and highways. Traffic jams and convoy are a daily sight. Despite the speeding cars and Lorries, no one honks at each other which is not in our case. Perhaps, something to learn from the drivers here. But if one is caught up in an accident the survival rate is second only to none.

6.      Food-Even before coming to Thailand, I have had experiences of eating Thai foods and what is salt to us is sugar for them and lots of it. I see many a young a little plump than their age because Thais love their food. One can see food stalls in whichever market and whatever malls.

This is my 15^th night here in Thailand and I am anticipating more of such shocks. I will keep updated on things happening and yeah like everyone else here I do miss my family back home and I tell you there’s nothing like the air of our country. Here, they say, Thailand has only two seasons; hot and very hot. Happy breathing folks for those of you back home and happy blistering for the ones like me here.

Thank you for visiting…Khab poon khab…