This heartfelt course ensures you gain:
This course pulls back the curtain on the enigmatic people of Thailand, their culture, and their language. Visitors to “The Land of Smiles” usually enjoy the friendly people and their laid-back attitude, but so many visitors miss out on gaining a deeper understanding of what’s important to Thai people, their values, and their wisdom.
Both short-term visitors and expats who have lived here for decades will find potent gems that explain their experience and help their understanding of being a foreigner in Thailand. Most foreigners have had experiences that left them scratching their heads or wondering what was lost in translation, and the insights offered in this course will help make sense of so many of those confusing moments.
This course includes:
Audience: those who have either been to Thailand or are planning to visit, or make it their home; everyone who is curious to gain a deeper understanding of “the Land of Smiles”.
About the instructor
Padma fell in love with Thailand during her first family visit in 1981 at age 7. Annual holidays led to volunteering at a refugee camp in Phanat Nikhom in 1988, where her mother worked. Captivated by the culture, she vowed to make Thailand her home. She gained early insights into Thai culture while working at a Thai restaurant in Colorado. In 2002, she moved her family to Thailand. Padma learned Thai from her students and locals. In 2006, she opened a school for her son, making many cultural mistakes along the way but ultimately learning to navigate Thai culture successfully.
Course plan
Padma’s story. How and why Thailand?
Values, rules, and manners
– Thai values: Even when you might not expect them!
– How to “wai” according to situation
– “A heart concerned for the welfare of others”
– Delicate manners in the “Land of Smiles”
– Delicacy and sensitivity towards others
– Refined table manners
– Tipping
– “The right” relationship with hierarchy, officials, and institutions
– Traffic rules, or should I say – traffic tolerance?
People and community
– Monarchy and respect for the king
– Ghosts and “bribing” the spirits
– LGBTQ community
– Sex industry. “A ticket” out of poverty
Do’s and don’ts
– Hinting, not confronting
– Shoes
– Feet
– Clothing
– Sacred things
– Getting too personal in public
– Arguing
– Driving
– Complaining
Language:
Get encouraged to learn Thai
– Learning Thai – it’s easier than you think!
– The complexity of English and simplicity of the Thai language
– Using tones in English vs. using tones in Thai
– “Are you thinking too much?”
Learning the basics
– Let’s learn the tones
– Let’s practice the tones. Intro
– Let’s practice the tones. You’ve got this
– How to apologize and take responsibility
– Three words that make a difference
Learning fun and tricky things
– Fun words with “heart”
– Fun words with “water”
– Fun homonyms
– “No worries”
– Names and nicknames
– Tricky thing about vowels
– Tricky consonants in Thai
12 words for 60 sentences
– Part I: Question word, “no / not”, “to be able”, “to want”, “to go”, “to eat”
– Part II: “To have”, “to like”, “to hear”, “to understand”, “to be present”, “to speak”
– Part III: “To want to”
