Education

Learning Thai from a White Guy

It’s no secret that my Thai is embarrassingly bad. I mean, I can get through the day without using English and can usually get my idea across in broken Thai, but after 12 years it should be much better. To put it in perspective, if I met a guy in Canada who had lived there for 12 years and spoke English at the same level I speak Thai, I’d think he was retarded. I could blame it on the fact that every job I’ve had has used English as its operational language, or that every Thai friend I […]

Greg2016-11-17T15:47:54+00:00Education, Language, Thailand|16 Comments

On Myth and Superstition in Thailand

If you've spent any amount of time in Thailand, you'll be familiar with the the fact that most Thais - young or old - put a whole lot of faith in superstition, myth, and legend. From ghosts to fortune tellers to old wives' tales of the tallest order, you will find that belief in these things is as ingrained in the culture as mango and sticky rice. Now, I'm of the mind that one should live and let live and mind your own business. If someone wants to make offerings of Snickers bars to the spirit inside their great-grandfather's favorite pencil, who am I to argue? But for those of us who tend to favor the side of hard evidence, it can be at times frustrating, amusing, and confusing. Obviously, superstition and myth aren't just specific to Thailand - every country has its rituals and beliefs - but in Asia it does seem to be less a personal belief as it is a cultural norm.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:12+00:00Asia, Culture, Education, Thailand|0 Comments

A Beginner’s Guide to Greg’s DNA

As I get older, I start to wonder about my past. Not because I forget what I did yesterday (although that's a bit hazy thanks to tequila); I mean my PAST - my genetic history going back thousands of years. Ever since DNA (more commonly known as deoxyribonucleic acid... or is it the other way around?) was isolated in 1953, it's given us an incredible tool to do everything from trace lineage to clone steak. My curiosity might have been piqued because I live in such a racial melting pot, where discussions of nationality, race and ethnicity come up all the time. So, I decided to head over to the National Geographic Genographic Project to see what they could tell me about me.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:43+00:00Education, Fun Stuff, History, Technology|0 Comments

Some Amusing Reading – “A Description of Siam in 1829”

thumb4 If only I was as interested in history in high school as I am now, I may even have passed a class or two, instead of getting stared at by teachers bewildered as to how I made all the way to 16 without killing myself in a tragic fruit accident. At any rate, it's a topic that sure interests me now, and one that I occasionally give a boost by doing some reading. I thought it would be neat to put up some snippets of a letter that I just finished titled A Description of Siam in 1829 by Frenchman Barthélemy Bruguière. I normally stick to more 'accessible' fare (coughArchiecough). but had some time to kill, and ended up really getting into it. It's an interesting - and slightly funny - read.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:46+00:00Asia, Culture, Education, History, Religion, Thailand|0 Comments

The Conundrum of Thai Education

thumb2 I saw an article in the Bangkok Post yesterday and it inspired me to write this rant post. The headline read "Obec queries benefit of repeated classes", Obec being the Office of the Basic Education Comission, which oversees the rules and regulations that govern the Thai education system. I'll include some quotes below, but essentially the article said that making kids repeat courses if they fail is unfair because it makes them feel bad, and doesn't have any real benefit anyway. Good Lord, someone call the Wah!mbulance. Having done my time in front of a class in Thailand, I thought I'd chime in with some thoughts.

Greg2016-11-17T15:48:47+00:00Culture, Education|0 Comments

Brain Schools in Thailand

There was an article today in the Bangkok Post titled Brain Schools Gain Popularity, which discussed the glut of new schools popping up in Bangkok that purport to give youngsters a leg up in their cerebral analytical skills. It sounds a bit like quackery, but they do have a point. I love Thailand and Thai people but there's a serious lack of 'thinking on your feet' skills here; when presented with a situation that is different from a previously-described or planned situation, many Thais will simply freeze and shrink away from the problem like a snail on a salt plain.

Greg2016-11-17T15:49:04+00:00Education, Thailand|0 Comments