Week 1, Friday: still Bangkok!

Hello from the land of smiles.

I realize that yesterdays blog was very long and I'll try to keep them more entertaining and to the point.

Yesterday after I got home and had been working a bit in the afternoon I realized I shouldn't stay in my hotel room all day so I went to go for a jog in Lumpini Park, near good old Charlie House. When I got there, I discovered a lot of other joggers! It was exciting. Also exciting was the fact that my run happened to coincide with the 6:00 national anthem which was played across the park on loudspeakers (as it is across the country). Typically, when the national anthem is played, you stand straight with your arms straight and face the flag.





But there was no flag! So what direction did people face you ask? They just faced whatever direction they were facing. Needless to say, it's really something when you're jogging along in a park with a group of other joggers and walkers and suddenly everyone just stops at the same time, perfectly still, then resumes jogging after the anthem. I also witnessed, on the jog (which was hot) some nice group aerobics and a nice little exercise station type course deal, which I did some pull-ups at. I also think I found a mini little free outdoor climbing gym...



I had an appointment this morning with Acarn K., the head of the Chula ling. department who I met last time I was here. She's really great. We talked for a while about what I was doing and the department here, and so on. She then took me on a walk around the farmer's market that meets at Chula every Friday where there were all sorts of things being sold. Sadly I didn't have my camera with me, but I got some lychee and some little coconutmilk-stickyrice-sweetcoconutfilling-wrapedinbananaleavesandsteamed confection which was delicious. She then took me to lunch at the faculty club, which was really good traditional Thai cooking, where we stayed and chatted for over an hour. We then came back to the department where I worked a bit more and met a graduate student here who presented a paper at the same conference as me in March at Cornell. It was all very good, and I feel really comfortable with the people in the department here now, which is great.

I also think when I come back to Bangkok in August I'm going to stay in the visiting scholar dorms, which are only 600B a night and evidently in a nice garden compound which would be much nicer than the cramped street I'm on right now. Also, the location of the University is great. So all of that was good to learn. Acarn K. told me that I just have to let her know when I'm coming and she'll reserve a room for me.

I'm going to go to the Indra hotel this evening to look around a bit. They have nice old Thai touristy stuff and an old jewelry shop my mom used to go to all the time that might have some nice gifts or something. It's just kind of nice to get out, too. Tomorrow I'm going with the friend from the department here to see some temples which I haven't seen since I was a kid downtown, so that should be fun too. Hopefully I'll be on the bus to Ranong tomorrow night and (gulp!) will begin my fieldwork on Monday.

Week 1, Thursday: Bangkok

Sarah woke me up this morning with a Skype call. I was initially very confused, partially because it was my first ever call on my new cellphone, second because I didn't know where I was (like some movie), and third when I answered my phone it was Sarah! It was all a little disorientating, as the Brits say.

About the Skype calling, though, all of you can do this too! Whenever you want! With that phone number I gave you! I realized that it doesn't actually cost me any money (although I told Sarah initially that I thought it did) and so you can all call me to your heart's content. This is especially important as I've had trouble calling to the U.S. with my cell phone so far. I've asked a few people at MBK and they either don't know or think it's a problem with my number. I've tried calling the phone service people for my provider, and even the 'press 2 for English' English speakers aren't so hot with the ol' Ingles, so I may have to try a few more times. Or I could just call the Thai ones, but it would probably take them a while to figure out that I'm not Thai and THEY NEED TO SPEAK TO ME VERY SLOWLY AND CLEARLY OVER THE PHONE. Phone conversation is hard in a second language, I think. Or maybe my Thai's just not that good... I'll have to give that another shot, I guess.

I went to Chula (university here) and visited an Anthropology professor, Acarn N., who has been working with the Moken pretty intensively since the early 90's. I was initially really worried about meeting with her, becauase I thought she might be upset that I had worked with the Moken without talking to her first and also because I thought that she might think compensating them with cash like I had done was bad. I was really nervous/awkward for the first part of the meeting, partially because I find it really hard to speak academese in Thai (because it's not that good), and partially because of the reasons just mentioned. So I asked to speak in English, which was ok. After a couple minutes, Acarn N. told me that one of her students was going to come talk to me, because I might be interested in meeting him (or vice versa). While she was out of the room getting him, I took some deep breaths, wrote down some questions, and tried to settle down.

The student came in (actually not a student any more, he had a masters). We talked, all in Thai this time, but a little less academically intensive, about what he had been doing, how long he had spent with the Moken, what he thought of their situation, etc. He told me that he had lived on the island for a while working with the Moken but it was hard and he was only getting paid B5000 a month. That's ~$170 a month. I guess that's not too bad for Thailand (the equivalent in terms of purchasing power I'd say would be about $12-$15,000 a year), but for someone with a Master's degree from the best university in Thailand it probably was a little underwhelming. So he came back and is doing I'm not really sure what but was very nice and we had a nice talk.


Acarn N. came back in then, and I said goodbye to nice student (Net or Nat or Nit or something like that) and then had a really great conversation with the professor. We talked about her research on Gender issues with the Moken (wife abuse, especially), the problems facing the Moken, the different aid groups who are active in Ranong, and so on. She was very kind, gave me a lot of information, and repeatedly told me that if I had any suggestions for her reasearch or the projects to let her know. We discussed the issue of alcohol consumption among the Moken, which is heavy and connected to the wife abuse problem. Part of the problem is that alcohol is used in ceremonies with the Moken (like Christianity), and that they'll go get it themselves even if it's not sold on the island. I think one of the problems is the fact that it's sold on the island and readily available...but still. Education seems like the key here. You'll hear more about this I'm sure. Anyway, Acarn N. is planning to have focus groups with the Moken soon about wife abuse. Isn't that AMAZING?! I think it will be after I'm gone, otherwise I'd love to help facilitate them. I think that's so cool. Anyways. Acarn N. also has a really healthy (I think) and good attitude towards different aid groups, and really has put the wellbeing of the Moken themselves as opposed to an academically defined notion of 'cultural purity' or something like that (this is opposed to a French anthropologist Ivanoff who works with the Moken who I'm sure you'll hear more about later.) She mentioned that she really judges people working with the Moken by their intention, and didn't prejudge them by their ideology. She did mention, though, that she thinks when groups with a religious agenda meet with them, they should provide the aid without strings attached, as they say, and provide a middle way. It's not clear that the church in Ranong has been doing this, but I'll save that for later too.

The whole meeting and getting to know her generally made me feel MUCH better about my research coming up. She said that she thought paying them cash was fine, as long as it was fair, not too much, and agreed on beforehand. She's also the person managing most of the resources from ActionAid, an NGO that has done a lot for the Moken, and it's really nice to know that whole side of the story as I already know the people at the Church. It also feels good to have perspective on the whole situation and know that I'm part of a community of concerned and active people (me much less active then them) who are trying to make a difference. Anyways, at the end, she wanted my suggestions on everything they were doing at the end of the trip, and wants me to write something up on the Moken language for their website! So good meeting. I'm meeting a ling professor tomorrow, also at Chula, who I met last time. Less relevant for my research, but a really nice smart woman and a good connection.

Well, that's about it. I got a massage last night which was amazing but slightly painful on the leg part. She asked me if I had any special requests and I just said 'Nak dai' which means that she can put some force behind it and it was forceful. I'm feeling pretty good today, though, loose and not sore at all, so it was beneficial. On the agenda for today? Umm. 1. Work 2. Moo satay 3. Som Tam 4. Pat Sa Iew 5. Durian (if I'm lucky).

Week 1, Wednesday: Bangkok

I made it! I arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport this morning, my first time seeing the new Airport here. It's nice...like a big slinky...very modern with lots of glass and metal. It's a lot farther from the city than good old Don Muang was, though, so I had to get to the city via some express bus service they have set up, which still took about an hour and a half to get to the city. It's a long way, though...

Boy this blog already feels boring. Sorry. After the airport bus dropped me off I hopped in a cab which took me to my hotel, the "Charlie House." Motto? "A nice place to stay." For $13 a night, I can't complain, but it's still the typical minimalist guesthouse set up. Not quite as sketch as the old Hotel 999, but there's still a B100 charge for bringing in guests...no comment there. You're all still free to visit me, but you can't stay past 10 at night.

I'm at M.B.K., Bangkok's shrine to genuine free-market capitalism. Every (wo)man for themself. It's a mall with a bunch of floors most of which are packed elbow to elbow with vendors selling used clothes, pirated movies and games, used and new cell phones, thai knickknacks, confections and snacks, gold, and everything else. There's also a nice hole right down the middle that you can look down and get dizzy from the top if youe have vertigo and are into that sort of thing. This is one of the places where both Thai people and tourists shop, so there's a real carnival atmosphere some of the time, what with the foreigners and the looks of stupefication on their faces. I've already started buying...I got a cell phone already ($50 bucks with an activation, no contract of course) which I'll be able to sell back at the end of the trip and hopefully recoup at least some of my money from. My number is 08-113-39264. I like mixing it up with the dashes. I also already bought a pair of jeans (I couldn't resist). I now officially have two pairs of jeans more than what I need in this life. I've recently taken to not speaking Thai during a purchasing transaction until I ask whether or not the item can be discounted. I then proceed to haggle in Thai, and the person is often so taken aback and impressed at that immediate moment that I get a deal. That's what I like to tell myself, at least.

To get here from the hotel, I asked the Thai concierge what the fastest way to MBK is. He told me the bus (haha). So I took the bus. He initially suggested I take the 114 bus, which was air conditioned. But when I got to the bus stop, 114 didn't come there, though 115 did. What to do? Ask the guy standing next to me. What did he say? Take the 47. As 47 is a prime number, I took his suggestion. 47 wasn't an air conditioned bus, though, but that was ok with me. After giving the fare lady my B7 (21 cents) I enjoyed the ride, polluted breeze and traffic and all, feeling like a real serious Thai visitor guy, what with my Thai speaking and non-airconditioned bus riding and all. After a brief moment of panic at the bus taking what I thought was a wrong turn, I realized it wasn't a wrong turn, settled down, and ended up where I wanted to go, which is where I am.

My hour is running out, and I should probably wrap it up lest I want to pay for the next hour...I didn't bring my camera today, but maybe tomorrow I'll take some pictures and upload them to the ol' blog dude. Until soon...

Hi!

Hello friend. Welcome to my blog. I've never blogged before, but I realized nobody ever knew what I was doing.

I'm going to Thailand for seven weeks this summer to try to learn about wh-questions and reflexives in Moken, an Austronesian language spoken by sea nomads who live off the coast of Ranong, Thailand. I did it last summer, and it was really hard, and I kind of didn't get as much done as I hoped. So I'm going back to try and rectify the situation, but I'm a little scared.

I might also do something fun at the end of the trip, too. Hopefully it will involve limestone, the ocean, and a beach. I also plan on eating a lot of food that will be deLISHous.

Please read this blog. It will make me feel good. I like you, too, which is why I want you to read it, okay? Thanks. So...take care of yourselves. Oh, I've been known to be an erratic emailer and poster, so dont' freak if I'm a little late in posting (meaning, if I go, say, a couple weeks without saying anything.)