14 November
This morning, I took the opportunity of catching up on sleep and got up late. Then I went to have lunch with my father at the British Club, as I do every Friday.
As I walked into the club, I met Pi Piro.
“How are you?” I asked.
He beamed. “Yesterday I won the Thai National Tennis Championship! It is the first time!”
“Wow!” I said and shook his hand. “Well done!”
“Thank you my friend. The important lesson is never to give up. If I cannot win it at 25 then I must keep trying and win it when I am 50! Now I am waiting for my friend. We are going to discuss an important new invention which we hope to make a lot of money out of.”
I wished him luck and then went off to find my father. He was talking to Jack, an old friend of his from England.
“I’ve just bought a condo down Rama 3 way,” Jack was saying. “But I’m not looking at it as an investment. I don’t think it’s worth investing in Thailand these days. Not in property, anyway. I mean, you might make a profit – but I wouldn’t bank on it. I’ve still got the place in Hua Hin…beautiful down there…should go there and stay someday…”
I greeted my father and then went to swim. When I got back, Jack had gone.
At four o’clock, I left the club to go and teach Amy. I taught for two hours and then returned to my apartment. I changed and then went to eat at Pi Baby’s café. I met a girl I’d known who’d worked in the office of my last apartment. Her name was Dee but everyone called her “Nok Huak” or “Owl” because of her love of nocturnal activities. She had dyed her long hair brown, put a curly twist to it and was wearing green contact lenses.
She told me that she was now working for the mobile phone company True at Fortune IT City at Rama 9.
“What do you do there?” I asked.
“Customer Service,” she said.
“Do you have to speak English?”
“Yes, but all I say “Hello, jup jup kiss, goodbye. If I can say more than I have higher salary.”
“Well why don’t you learn to speak English then?”
“Because I afraid make mistake.”
“You’re crazy! How can you learn if you don’t make mistakes, eh? It’s easy. You just learn some basics first and then go on.”
“Will you teach me free?”
“Yes, if you want.”
“It too difficult. Is speak Thai difficult?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Huh! See!” she said triumphantly. “So English too difficult for me. Cannot. Afraid make mistakes. Cannot do.”
This morning, I took the opportunity of catching up on sleep and got up late. Then I went to have lunch with my father at the British Club, as I do every Friday.
As I walked into the club, I met Pi Piro.
“How are you?” I asked.
He beamed. “Yesterday I won the Thai National Tennis Championship! It is the first time!”
“Wow!” I said and shook his hand. “Well done!”
“Thank you my friend. The important lesson is never to give up. If I cannot win it at 25 then I must keep trying and win it when I am 50! Now I am waiting for my friend. We are going to discuss an important new invention which we hope to make a lot of money out of.”
I wished him luck and then went off to find my father. He was talking to Jack, an old friend of his from England.
“I’ve just bought a condo down Rama 3 way,” Jack was saying. “But I’m not looking at it as an investment. I don’t think it’s worth investing in Thailand these days. Not in property, anyway. I mean, you might make a profit – but I wouldn’t bank on it. I’ve still got the place in Hua Hin…beautiful down there…should go there and stay someday…”
I greeted my father and then went to swim. When I got back, Jack had gone.
At four o’clock, I left the club to go and teach Amy. I taught for two hours and then returned to my apartment. I changed and then went to eat at Pi Baby’s café. I met a girl I’d known who’d worked in the office of my last apartment. Her name was Dee but everyone called her “Nok Huak” or “Owl” because of her love of nocturnal activities. She had dyed her long hair brown, put a curly twist to it and was wearing green contact lenses.
She told me that she was now working for the mobile phone company True at Fortune IT City at Rama 9.
“What do you do there?” I asked.
“Customer Service,” she said.
“Do you have to speak English?”
“Yes, but all I say “Hello, jup jup kiss, goodbye. If I can say more than I have higher salary.”
“Well why don’t you learn to speak English then?”
“Because I afraid make mistake.”
“You’re crazy! How can you learn if you don’t make mistakes, eh? It’s easy. You just learn some basics first and then go on.”
“Will you teach me free?”
“Yes, if you want.”
“It too difficult. Is speak Thai difficult?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Huh! See!” she said triumphantly. “So English too difficult for me. Cannot. Afraid make mistakes. Cannot do.”
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