Learning Thai

I could not have been more wrong when I thought I could learn Thai through osmosis. Doing so is nearly impossible, and thus if I didn't have TUSEF I would be totally and completely lost. Bangkok is not an English-speaking city; not like in Copenhagen where everyone spoke English, so it's been a little hard to communicate with people. Luckily, we have three hours of Thai class every morning, and after just three days I've learned a lot. Our Thai teacher's name is P'nan (that's her nickname, everyone in Thailand has a nickname) and is such as sweet lady. I love her and she makes learning Thai less difficult. I wish I could stick her in my pocket and take her with me everywhere because learning Thai is a constant reminder of how much I suck at learning languages. Yet trying to stay positive, so far I can say: sa-wa-dee ka. Chan cheu Leah nahm sagoon Werner-Evans. Bpen kon A-me-ri-gun. Bpen kruu pasa ank-krit. The last sentence says "I am an English teacher". We have also learned Thai numbers, which is essential when ordering food; key phrases that will be helpful in our classrooms such as "fang dee dee!" (please listen!) "ngiep ngiep noi" (please shut up), "pheut dtam na ka" (it's okay to make mistakes" as well as other useful phrases. We have also learned clothing and food dishes. So slowly, but surely, I'm getting there, and I already feel more confident when I'm out and about and need to speak to people.