Tasty dish. Northern style Thai noodle

10 July 2020
Bangkok

Hi There,

My lunch today was  very tasty. It's called Kanhom-jeen Namngiew.  Here's how it looks like. 

Gigi

Back to class in person, first ever since Covid-19 spread

Thursday 9 July 2020

at 7:07 AM.

in Bangkok

Hi there,

Today is  the first day I  am going to return to school once again.  Since mid-March 2020 when the language school I work with had to tempolarly close, all classes including mine have been suspended, following the government's order to different types of businesses and establishments due to the spread of corona viruses in Thailand.

I am very happy to meet my student (today is my private class with one student) although still cautious about the virus and the risk.  Seeing students, discussing various topics with them and questioning and replying them in person are totally different from and  much better than doing such online.  Speaking from my direct experience, for I have returned to teach through online classes since last month after the school informed that some of my students requested for my online class.

And I agreed on the requests despite I am really not a big fan of new IT technology.Give me the best smart phone and what I can do is  calling, sending messages and recently, learning how to check my e-mail via the phone.

Still, I hurried to self-study how to use various measures such as google class, zoom, loom, etc, through Youtube clips and from my IT expert friends, absolutely for survival like others in this world of work. It's not easy at all for a person like me to excel that in such a short period with those methods, but after learning by doing and experiencing trials with errors, I could handle them with less and less frustration.  Okay, I survive.

During the past months I have observed and been aware of what happened to my students and myself in online classes and the results of our teaching and learning. There are some big differences compared with learning in face-to-face class including students' attention in class and understanding the topics.  I would say I prefer face-to-face classes a lot better although staying at home for online classes is such a convenient life.  Maybe, too convenient.

Soon I am leaving for the class, and I would love to meet my student, a university student who wants to improve her writing.  There are several things to update for both of us.

I know that online teaching is already a trend and becomes a new normal that I must get myself used to it as long as the deadly corona virus infection still hang around us  and no ones knows exactly for how long it would be.

Gigi

Do we really get back to normal after no more lockdown due to the spreads of COVID-19 in Thailand?

Hi there,

Since June 15, 2020 when the curfew ended officially in Thailand, I have observed that many people here quickly return to enjoy their lives as usual, which somehow I am not sure if it is good for themselves and the society as a whole. 

Why am I not sure about that?  Because there are several reasons that we should be concerned  especially when we look around and see what has been going on about the spreads of this colonar virus around the globe.

According to the government daily report, although Thailand has shown no new case of infectious patients locally, there are new infected cases coming from abroad almost everyday--from the Middle East, UK, Japan, India, Korea, US, Brazil, for example. Meanwhile, news coverages around the globe show that tens of thousands of people still get infected daily in some countries led by the US, Brazil, India, and others, while no vaccine has  not been available yet.

And it is too bad that many people in those societies with  high infection rate seem not aware of how terribly it could affect them and their society. Some might not well understand and do not follow good advice by the medical experts while others  not only refuse to take  any recommended measures that can help protect themselves and others from the spreads but also go against those and put themselves and others at risk.  For instance, protesters in the US and Europe with different issues of their protests, American youngsters network that promises to give money as reward for their members who got infected with corona virus first. That sounds incredibly idiot,too sad, but it's truly happened.

Look back here in Thailand now.  Many people no longer wear masks or clean their hands often as before. Not to mention about keeping themselves distance from others. Although warning of wearing a mask, washing hands, keeping distance from others and staying away from the crowd are still promoted by the government through various media, I have seen fewer and fewer people following.

 Since shopping malls are already open as usual, crowds of people rush to shop, dine and meet with friends. Over the long weekend,  people packed at different tourist destinations, even on the tops of the mountains and the beaches, and famous restaurants.

Many people do think they now get back to normal. But when I look at them, I just hope that this normal would last long enough for us to get  ourselves ready for the second wave of the covid-19 spreads that could be more severe and scarier.

Gigi

Summer and varieties of tasty fruit in Thailand

Bangkok
Monday 6th April 2020
Hi there,

It's already23 minutes past one in the afternoon when I start writing this article and while looking over the balcony, I can see the extremely bright sunlight glare back at me. It's 36 degree Celcius here at my neighbourhood where is crowded mainly with three-storey shophouses and a number of 5-9 storeys old apartments buildings that sprang up not fewer than 20 years ago and have stood high pararelly ever since.  Green are dots of plants in the pots sitting or hanging at some of their samll balconies.  And those precious greens now look exhausted by the strinking heat waves.  Summer is here, obviously.

Despite the burning heat and fierce sunlight, summer means several kinds of local fruit are coming out into the markets besides the all-year-round ones.  A couple days ago I went out to get some vegetables at the nearby market and I noticed mangoes, rambutans, oranges, papayas, and longans besides apples, dragon fruits, and grapes. I can see that soon durians and mangosteens will flood the markets later.   Summer season is the best time for fruit lovers. 

 This year the prices of fruit like durians, mangoes and mangosteens are more likely to be lower than last year. And  a large amount of fruit are seen to be more available in local markets too. This is due to the effect of the ongoing Covid-19 spreads, leading several import countries to lock down and minimize or prohibit transportations from overseas, including imported fruit.

In one hand, it is not good news for fruit exporters and fruit business, for it means a great loss for them. But, as a local consumer, I can't help loooking forward to tasting good quality fruit in affordable price, at least for a short while.  Over the past years quality fruit here has mostly been exported, causing local consumers to not be able to find good fruit and if there are some, the prices are very expensive---so expensive that many cannot afford it. Durians, mangosteens and mangoes are good examples.

Today I am going to have sweet ripe mangoes with sweet sticky rice. It is a popular Thai dessert. I bought a kilo of ripe mangoes from a fruit stall at the market nearby. The mangoes are rather big and in good quality, while I paid only 40 baht a kilo, which is much cheaper than normal. This kind of mangoes is called Aok-rong and with this size I would normally have to spend at least 80 baht a kilo.
The sweet sticky rice is not a problem for I can cook it. I already have sticky rice, sugar, coconut milk and a little bit of salt in my cabinet. So, the plan is already set for my sweet dish.

 Now I am looking outside through mybalcony, yet the sunlight seems not so burning as it was earlier.
This summer is not that bad as long as we stay at home, wash our hands, wear a mask and keep physical distancing from others. And we should not bring about more trouble to our society and this world.

Gigi

Cats

Bangkok
Friday 3rd April 2020

Let's relax and stay happy with these cute babies during this tough time.  I can't help smiling whenever I see them.

Curfew to cope with Covid-19 spreads in Thailand

Bangkok
Thursday 2 April 2020
Hi there,

After I have stayed at home for several days to reduce the risk of getting COVID-19 viruses, today our Prime Minister General Prayuth  Chan-ocha announced of imposing a 10 PM-4 AM curfew throughout the country, starting from 3 April onwards.

Although , like many people, I love my freedom of going out anywhere and any time I prefer, I agree to this announcement. Each of us needs to take our own responsibility for protecting not just ourselves but others in the society, and the whole world.

Since the first outbreak of this deadly virus first reported from China, I have followed the news and wondered what would happen next and to people in Thailand including myself. Thailand is a big tourist destination, and each year we welcome hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists.
 
As expected, later Thailand became the second country that has the virus spreads. Fortunately, the Thai government already kept updating information and warning people about the virus and its fatal illness.  Wearing a mask, washing hands often, staying away from the crowd were the early suggestion by the experts.  Some including I have followed the advice strictly.  I usually put on a mask when going outside because of the problem of the PM 2.5 fine particles hovering the city of Bangkok already.  However, many others did not take the advice seriously, and some even paid no attention at all.

Not until the spreads went worldwide and became a pandemic, with many dead tolls reported from several countries, many people showed little concerm about this virus.  Despite the warnings from the medical experts and the authorities, they, with no protection at all, had parties, gathered at the pubs and bars, gathered in the big crowds at various places such as boxing stadiums, religious places.  And these groups became super spreaders, following the first wave of spreaders --mainly local people directly contacting with some Chinese tourists in Thailand or  newly returning from China.

After the cases have been increasingly and continuously found, masks and alcohol mixtures are sold out in every place. They become rare items and sought-after.  But  they are available on some online markets and in sky rocket prices.  Meanwhile, more and more people became more scared of the virus and started stocking food and household items. Eggs became much more expensive just over the night, among other items like sugar, instant noodle, cooking oil.

Over the past two weeks, the government has encouraged people to better stay at home as possible, distance themselves from others with aims to minimize the spread rate of  Covid-19 in Thailand.  I have heard and see the campaigns via radio,  TV and websites on hand washing,  mask wearing, and self-observing health condition.  Work at home is also encouraged among office workers as many schools and universities are already closed temporarily.  Malls and some other places, such as markets, restuarants, have also been ordered to close for this period except supermarkets. Bangkok has become quiet and seems nicer as I noticed when I went out a few days ago for my cats' food and grocery.

Yet, it appears that there are many people who are not aware or probably don't care about anything, for they continue do whatever they like.  That causes the rate of spread to ontinue and increase
speedily.  It makes me feel angry when I see news each day showing this kind of irresponsible people along with news of more healthcare people getting sick with the virus.

Thus,  that might be the reason that Thailand does need this strong remedy---a curfew that is going to begin tomorrow onwards. Let's hope we are all safe and survive in this fight against COVID-19.

Gigi

The Meaning of Number

Bangkok, Thailand
Sunday 2 February 2020

Hello there,

It is incredible that  we are already in the second month of this new year. And today is the second day of the second month in the year 2020.  What a rare coincidence!  Probably because this occasion is rare plus some beliefs about "number" in some societies including China, today is considered an auspicious date for people to start a new business, a marriage life, etc. 

Here in Thailand, however, despite that many people have beliefs about numbers too, their beliefs seem mainly influenzed by two different roots. One originated from Thai tradition; the other from Chinese tradition. Because of the different origins, the sets of numbers seen as good or bad are rather different. For example, number 9 is considered the most auspicious number among many Thai people. Its sound  "kao" is basically similar to the sound of  action "step forward" or "progress". Other auspicious numbers are 7 and 5.  Meanwhile, Chinese Thais think 4 is not a good number, so they avoid having it as possible on their properties such as their address, their car license plates and their phone numbers. Others embrace both Thai and Chinese beliefs about the good and bad numbers.

All in all, beliefs about number seem mixed and merged.  The intensity of  the beliefs ranges widely too. Some people take their belief seriously, while others hardly give any attention in this. Some even think such ideas about good or bad numbers are non-sense.

How about you? Do you have such belief in your society or do you believe that? 
Gigi

Happy Chinese New Year 2020

Bangkok, Thailand
Saturday, 25 January 2020

Happy Chinese New Year 2020!
Now it is supposed to be a great time for people in China  and Chinese descendants in other countries around the world to happily celebrate a New Year festival.  However, this Chinese New Year seems not that happy time considering what has been happening in China, especially in Wuhan, with more than 1,200 cases of coronavirus infection are reported, scores of which are dead.  Then, over the past few days, there have been several infectious cases found in several other countries not only near China but also far away in Europe and America. And the infection shows no sign to stop easily while health experts in several countries including in my country Thailand have stepped up to cope with this scary infection and prevent people from getting infected.

Here in Bangkok has the problem of  PM 2.5 air pollution been looming over the past week, causing  many people  to unavoidably wear masks. Now people get another reason to wear their masks--preventing or at least minimizing risk  from coronavirus infection. However, despite scary news on PM 2.5 and the ongoing spread of viral infection from China, some people show little concern or even no awareness of the serious health incidence, and they wear no mask when going out and leading their life among the crowds, many of whom are tourists from China.

Let's keep monitoring the serious event while protecting ourselves as best as we can. I also hope the infection to be stopped soon and no more loss of life.

Happy Chinese New Year 2020! Be happy and be safe.

Gigi

Not too late to say "Happy New Year 2020!"

Thursday, 9 January 2020

Hi there,

Happy New Year 2020!
I knew that it's already Day 9 of this new year. Still, I think it 's not too late for me to give you my best wishes this new year. Here is the reason of my delayed statement.

Since after Christmas Day, I had been suffered from a very bad cold for several days. Sorethroat, no voice, running nose, fever, headache, sneezing, muscle pain, etc. Yes, you name it. So many I-never-wish-for symptoms seemed happening to me.  While most people enjoyed New Year holidays and had fun with family and friends, I simply dragged myself around in my small den, sipping hot water, taking medicine, feeding myself some food, and sleeping as possible. Oh, taking care of my five cats too. Yet, I felt lucky that at least no work beckoned me during that long tormenting holiday.

I started getting better on the second day of this year, just better, not back to normal.  After that, I still had to take medicine and tried to get my energy back.  Later, my voice returned, which I thanked all gods and holy spirits whoever look after me because my classes would begin on the next few days.

Once I was in good shape, all I had to handle first were teaching, writing and translating jobs.  Now I can breathe better. Although I have my mission outside, but I  don't want to miss this chance to say to you on "Happy New Year 2020! Wish you all to be happy, healthy and prosperous throughout this year."  Besides, today is 9th January, which in my Thai tradition, 9 is the auspicious number and its pronunciation in Thai language "kao" means progress or move forwards.   Thus, my wish for you all is never too late.

Gigi