Introduction to Thai Language and Food...Sort of

Written 3/03

One very interesting part of my time in Thailand so far has been the study of the Thai language. In the first few days in Chiang Mai, I'd stare at the phonetic pronunciations of various phrases, trying in vain to memorize how to say "Hello" and "Thank you!" These phrases, so essential, slipped out of my mind as easily as i read them aloud.

At breakfast at the first hostel I stayed at, I'd try to order in Thai. But I'd nervously hand back, reluctant to seem foolish until Komodo, the guy in the group, had looked at me with enough exasperation to prod me to the counter and trippingly ask how to say pineapple or some other food in Thai and then order it in the way Komodo had learned to (later, I learned that he'd been told to use "pom" in the phrase which is how men say "I," I, as a woman should have used "dichan." But I didn't know that at the time so I used "pom" in those first few days.)

But even Just after a week of lessons, I'd learned enough to piece together really, really, really simple sentences. But even then, under any pressure to understand or speak Thai, I forget everything. I knew going into this that it would be hard. I got pretty spoiled by being able to speak kinda good Spanish going into Spain, but now I'm back to square one with a language, and it's just as frustrating and discouraging as I remember.

As much as learning Thai has been a fun challenge, experimenting with the Thai food has only been delicious. As I write this, I still haven't gotten sick from the interesting street food they've got here. Knock on wood that trend continues, though I'm certain I won't stay at 100% health this entire time.

I've downed plenty of Pad Thai and rice and veggies.. One thing that I didn't expect on this trip was the abundance of food. I'd expected to spend most of my time in impoverished areas, sharing the limited food supply. How wrong I was. Traditionally, even the poorest of the poor families n tiny villages forage for food, bringing home all sorts of little creatures and plants to fry up and eat with rice. They always had enough food.

These days, things may have changed and there is almost surely more hunger, but in exactly what ways, I don't yet know. And I haven't seen many signs of hunger in my time in Chiang Mai.

The food, as expected of Thai cuisine, is fantastic. The tropical fruit is beyond compare--mangoes soft as butter, pinneaple so juicy it runs down my fingers when I eat it, mango steen, tamarind, papaya, watermelon, the list goes on.

The mangoes here will spoil me for mangoes back home. In the states, It's tough and often stringy, here it is smooth as butter and really melts in your mouth. But its the pineapple i'm in love with. Alone or blended up in a smoothie (which are widely available, and the freshest smoothies I've ever had) I can't quite get enough of it.

Mot people told me I'd love the food over here. They were correct. But they may have known a lot about Thai food, I certainly didn't. I've learned quite a bit in the last weeks and eaten some really yummy stuff.

One food I' still dream of was a grilled catfish sold by a street food stand. I shared it with some group members, pulling the succulent meat off the bones with my fingers. Besides eating some real good Pad Thai, I've eaten a bunch of good noodle diches--Pad-see-ew, and glass noodle soup and normal noodle soup. Throw in some chicken or pork and the occasional shrimp and it's really good. WHile I'm sure that the different names and kinds of soup very greatly, I'm still only learning about this part of Thai food.

I've had plenty of curries, plenty of rice. But in almost all dishes can be found some kind of egg (my new Food Theory is that eggs are universally essential in the food of pretty much every country). Meat's incorporated to anything easily and all food is made with super fresh ingredients. The food, delicious, is so simple, and I've got some recipes written down to bring back home.

In Chiang Mai, I eat almost exclusively from street food and local restaurants. I try to avoid the touristy places when I can. So far I've tried a lot of things. A firey papaya salad that nearly set my mouth on fire, I had to buy some nearby fruit to cool things down. Some strange little marangue type things, still warm and plopped on what could be a tiny pancake or cracker sprinckled with coconut. Spring rolls with a green dipping sauce. Some mysterious meat sticks. And lots of curries.

Once last thing about the food here: rice is the staple. Thailand has been an agricultural society for hundreds upon hundreds of years. They've always grown rice. It's served at every meal. You'll get a bowl full and rice and a family will share several plates of the rest of the food--veggies, meats, soups. And you take little pieces from these shared plates and mix it up with your rice. The rice is beautiful and delicious. Here in the north of Thailand, they do something different--eat sticky rice. They ball it up and scoop up their food with this different strain of rice. It, like everything else here, is delicious.