Speaking in Tongues

Whenever I go to new country I always try to learn a few basics of the language, like "Hello", "Goodbye", "Thankyou" and "Excuse me". I remember the first time I worked in Thailand back in 1998, I lived in Bangkok. Well, some of my Thai friends from work helped me to learn a little so I can use them when I'm outside the office. They said my accent at the time was pretty awful because Thai is a very tonal language (44 consonants, 12 vowels, and 5 tones). I did the best I could at the time.

So I'd walk around Bangkok, or go shopping, or to movie and always I say "excuse me" if I bump into someone. And always they would laugh and tell me "mai pen rai" (nevermind), or just laugh and walk away. For almost 1 year this happened everytime I'd tell someone "excuse me" in Thai.

Then someone finally laughed and stopped me, and asked me in English what am I trying to say? I told her I said "excuse me" because it's polite, like saying "sorry" when you bump into someone. The girl laughed at me. When she finally stopped laughing she told me "no" that's not what you say. Then she taught me the correct way to say "Kaw tawt".

For ONE YEAR living in Bangkok I was walking around telling people "Kaw toot"!!! (in English: My Ass) instead of excuse me! I was so embarrassed!

Thats just one of many stories of how I learned to speak Thai. And the girl that helped me with the mistake? We dated for about 8 months after meeting that day. :-)