It is nearly impossible to buy any kind of skincare product here in Thailand that doesn’t have skin bleaching properties in it. Fair skin is the beauty standard here and in order to achieve that look, women buy whitening products. Check out this news report for more.
Yesterday was a very special day in Thailand: the king’s birthday, which is also celebrated as Father’s Day.
The king is extremely revered and loved by the Thai people. His is the longest serving monarch in the world, having ascended to the throne in 1946 after the mysterious death of his other brother. He has done much for Thailand in the way of agricultural and medical reform. He’s also a man of many talents, holding patents for inventions call the Sandwich and the Super Sandwich, which make rain clouds. Not to mention the fact that he’s an accomplished jazz musician and has written original compositions. His has three daughters and one son and is 86 this year. more “Father’s Day Celebrations in Thailand”
Right now, protests in the streets of Bangkok are grabbing international headlines. Political tensions in Thailand have been on a low simmer for years, and the current protests are ultimately an escalation of dissatisfaction with the last democratically elected government. But how is the government that was overthrown in a coop in 2006 connected to the government today?
One thing that I see a lot of Thais struggle with, especially in Isaan, is low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence. When it comes to speaking English, many Thai people demure, and are embarrassed by their accent or small grammar mistakes. I came across this interview with Jon Jandai, a man from Isaan talking about how he overcame his shyness and gained self-confidence, and I wanted to share it.
Yesterday, after hearing about it since the beginning of the semester four weeks ago and watching the kids practice sometimes during class time, was finally Sports Day. This Sports Day just involved the students at our school, not other schools like the Sports Day I briefly attended when I visited back in March.
Thailand is a tourist destination. Tourism accounts for more that 15 percent of Thailand’s GDP. However, the Thailand that I experience is not the Thailand that most tourists experience. Tourists generally stick to the major cities: Phuket, Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Particularly when it comes to the capital, the differences between tourist Thailand and rural Thailand are extremely stark.
In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
Every year, usually sometime in November, Thailand celebrates Loi Krathong. It’s believed that the holiday originated in the ancient capital city of Sukhothai. Part of the traditions for celebrating include releasing small floats on bodies of water and floating lanterns in the sky.
It’s been an exciting time for me in my fourth, fifth and sixth grade classes.
With all of these classes, Kru Ning and I were able to teach all of the letter sounds last semester. We’ve continued review the letter sounds at the beginning of class as well. But I can see the some of the kids’ eyes glaze over when we do this. They haven’t had a chance to see how to use the information that we’ve taught them. This semester, they’re getting a chance to put it all to use.
In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
On the evening of the full moon of the 12th lunar month in Thailand, the holiday Loi Krathong is celebrated. Loi Krathong roughly translates as “floating crown.” People throughout Thailand make or buy little floats made from banana leaves and decorated with flowers. On them they place a candle, incense and their wishes on to send out on the water. The Lanna hill tribe celebrates the same day with the Yi Peng festival by releasing floating lanterns into the night sky.
I recently had some visitors come to my rural village in Thailand. Since school had recently started up again, I decided to have them come and help me out in my classes. We played a bunch of games to review what was taught last semester. Everyone had a ton of fun!