Do you ever feel the need and desire to learn Thai here in Ubon Ratchathani?

Do you ever find yourself not being able to communicate with the locals while you are trying to take care of the business of living?

I fist experienced Thailand in early May 1994.  I arrived at Don Muang International Airport on a Northwest flight around 23:30 one night. I was traveling with several companions and after we collected our bags we were quickly herded out to an awaiting tour bus.

I distinctly remember walking out the main entrance and immediately felt like I was in a giant sauna. To this day I still get a chuckle when I go to a spa and am asked, “would you like a sauna?”

The bus ride to Lop Buri was a blur. I think I was in some sort of cultural trance coupled with jet lag. I do remember stopping at a 7-eleven for some munchies.

The next few days I was only an observer in Thailand. I participated with my comrades but out and about all I could do was observe. Some locals would try to talk to me but all I could do was smile and nod. All I heard was meaningless noise.

When I tried to mimic the sounds I thought I heard it seems I was a stand up comedian because the responses was normally laughter. Maybe it’s better if I just remain the silent observer.

The weekend came and one of my colleagues offered to take the group to Bangkok. I was up for it for sure. I still remember those two nights and days. At night it was partying but during the daytime I managed to find my way to an Asia Books store. I invested in a couple of guides to help me learn and understand Thai.

During my six week initial stay in Thailand those books were constant companions to me. Most of the soldiers from the Royal Thai Army we worked with spoke no English. I had to interact with Thai drivers who spoke little or no English. Those books helped make me somewhat productive.

Within a few weeks I was able to participate in small talk conversations even though they never lasted much more than 10 minutes. I would memorize phrases and test them out on the soldiers, drivers and people I met in town. Often I had to pull out a book and show what I was trying to communicate. I would then hear it pronounced the correct way and learned more.

After six weeks I was back home in the USA and nobody around to practise the Thai I had learned. So as the saying goes, ‘use it or lose it’, I found my skills deteriorating. I did spend time studying my books and attempting to write letters to friends I had made by copying phrases,  hoping the recipient would understand.

I noticed upon returning to Thailand my language skills were like the story about the person trying to get out of a well. When I was here I would climb up three feet and during my time back home in the US I would slide down two.

I persisted and during my 3-4 yearly trips to Thailand I would be constantly working on my Thai language skills. I was experiencing much more acceptance and some people started looking to me for help translating and interpreting. One of our trained Thai linguists came to me one day and asked me where I studied Thai because he had spent six months learning Thai full time and felt my skills were better than his.

What I noticed about being amongst locals and being able to speak at least some Thai was a greater respect and acceptance. When realizing a foreigner could speak the language what was usually heard was, “ah farang pood pasa thai dai. Geng mak.” That was always good to hear.

Beside that there was also the greater freedom and options. It was nice to go to a restaurant and be able to read the menu. It was nice to go to the train station, bus terminal or airport and have confidence I was able to get the right ticket to the right place.

During my time learning Thai there were no Thai tutors available. What I learned I had to do myself. I had time and I was motivated so I found a way to make it happen. I enjoyed some wonderful experiences as a result of my skill.

I have to admit that since living here my Thai language skills have diminished. Even with what I knew when I came here to live and got a job teaching English I was a bit concerned with the students ability to understand. Everywhere I worked though I was told to teach exclusively in English. Do not use Thai at all.

One university I worked at required the foreign teachers to come to the office and sign in even during the two month summer break. Since we had to be there I asked the department head if he could set up a Thai language course for us foreigners. The request was refused with an accompanying statement, “I don’t want you to learn Thai.”

Now I know enough Thai to get by. I can speak and understand. If I am doing something I have never done before I will break out a book and learn the vocabulary. I can read enough to make my life easier. I am married now and my wife speaks nearly fluent English and wants our first language to be English. If something difficult comes up that requires advanced Thai she will take care of it.

Living in Ubon there are not many options to study  Thai. There are some people who will tutor privately but none of the language schools seem to offer Thai language for foreigners. Maybe there just isn’t enough demand for it.

Last year though I was in Wrong Way Cafe and saw a flyer posted about a tutor who will help you learn Thai here in Ubon Ratchathani. I asked Richard about it but he had no personal knowledge of the service. Another patron was standing nearby and said he had taken some Thai lessons but wasn’t sure if it was the same person. He pulled out his wallet and gave me a name and number.

The two were different so I called both numbers. One is near Tesco and is very structured. She wanted at least two hours per session and multiple sessions per week. The other was friendly and flexible.

I decided to check out the latter and after finding the school and talking with her I signed up to test out the lessons. After my initial resistance to being back in a classroom environment I thoroughly enjoyed the review and learning.

If you live in Ubon Ratchathani and want to learn Thai I recommend going to check out Khroo Ooh at her school, English Cener, in downtown Ubon. After talking with her you can decide if you want to learn Thai and if you want her to be your Thai tutor.

People come to Ubon and Thailand for many reasons, but whether it’s for volunteer work, study a discipline of Muay Thai, Teach English, experience Thai Buddhism first hand, be close to  loved one, live a better life on a smaller budget or just for adventure. Whatever the reason you can enhance it by learning the local language.

From experience I can confidently state that learning Thai whether you live in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand or just planning a visit is one of the best life improving investments of time and money you can make.

Is there truly communication without having understand?

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