We started with a nice breakfast buffet. They serve Thai food, Western food, Chinese food, Indian food, and Japanese food (rice, soba, miso soup). This time we took Thai noodle and share it.
The main event of the day was visiting Ah-chan's kindergarten.
We planed to meet at the nearest station to the kindergarten.
This time we took a tuk-tuk. All local people say "tuk-tuk is expensive" like JINRUKISYA (pulled rickshaw) which runs in sightseeing spots in Japan. But it is very famous.
We tried to negotiate the price. The first one, he didn't give us a discount. 200
Bat. ( the train fee is 46 Bat, and taxi fee is 100 Bat). The next one he offered 150 Bat. So we took it.
This is Ah-chan's kindergarten. She goes to a Japanese kindergarten, not an international one.
It was a family day. We really enjoyed seeing their activities.
It is a Japanese kindergarten in Thailand. So we see this sign in front of toilets.
Japanese families who move from a country to another country tend to choose international kindergartens, on the other hand other Japanese family like M who stay there in a couple of years tend to choose Japanese kindergartens.
After the activity time, we went to ISETAN (very famous Japanese department store) to see what toys and stationery there are.
Fortunately the items I bought were not sold.
It means when M needs such things, we have to send them from Japan.
And we had lunch at a popular Thai restaurant.
I ordered massaman curry again. The taste was not bad, but it was thick.
Well, well, at this restaurant unfortunately they didn't understand my English.
When I ordered my lemon grass juice, I said "Can I have mine without ice?"
However they served a glass of juice with ice.
In Bang Kong it is very hot outside, but it is very cold inside. So I'm thirsty but I don't like something cold. So I wanted unsweetened drink without ice. (And the difference of the temperature made a lot of laundry. When we came back to our home, doing the laundry was quite a chore.)
Additionally on the way to Japan, at the airport, I ordered fresh juice. So I said "I don't like ice, so please add little ice". A waitstaff showed me a big shovel? of ice, and reduced some.
Then we went to their condominium again.
In the city, there was no place to play outside. So the life in their condominium was everything.
There is a small garden in the 20th floor, and a swimming pool on the top floor.
Once a week a trainer comes there, and teaches children who live there how to swim.
Ah- chan takes soccer lessons , cheer dance lessons, and swimming lessens after kindergarten to improve her physical power instead of playing with friends naturally. Because they can't play outside naturally. For children playing with friends means taking lessons at somewhere. Additionally M is getting used to Thai's life, and seems to have time to enjoy for herself. So she takes exercise lessons and yoga lessons ever morning while Ah--chan is at kinder garden. Actually she seems to get a good posture, she had a slight stoop, and had a trouble on her lower back.
In her condominium, there are many Japanese families whose husbands work for various companies and there are also some Thai families. However so far she (or most Japanese families) doesn't make Thai family friends, and, she said she socializes with Japanese families carefully. Even among Japanese families, their situation is various. For example, there is a family, the husband works so far even in Thai, so he comes back to the condominium only weekends. It is a rule not to introduce where each husband works for.
4 comments:
I am very curious,p..why is it rule not to speak of where a man works? Jan
thanks for your comment, Jan.
It is a kind of rule "not to speak too friendly and to rely on them too much".
They are employees and employers.
We (M and I) are not getting used to such a relation ship.
“Not to speak too friendly and to rely on them”. This is an example of Asian and Western cultural differences.
Americans would be organizing dinners, parties around the pool, play dates with the children, etc. all to establish a “friendly” relationship. The experience of living abroad is to learn and enrich your own lives and to do that you must “step outside the box”...meaning not doing, eating, shopping, etc. the same as in your own country. (Like when I visit Japan!).
Yesterday I played bridge with two women who lived for many years in several parts of the world for their husbands’ careers. They still exchange visits with the friends they made in those countries, even after several years. They try to learn the language, history and cultural customs...and, in many cases learn to love the food for the rest of their lives.
For good or bad, most Americans that accept overseas jobs do not live in cultural isolation (unless it’s in a dangerous location). Of course, some non-Americans do not think this outlook is a good thing.
I lived and worked overseas twice and was able to enjoy some wonderful experiences and see things I couldn’t have done on my own thanks to my friendships with the nationals. This was before Internet and FaceTime, (not even a phone!), etc, so we were very much dependent on our own resources for entertainment and communication. We definitely relied on our friendships. Jan
I don!t know if M makes friends with Thailand families. Anyway she doesn't afford to widen her action and communication area.
For her Thailand people asurrounded her are, the driver, gate gardens who became good friend switch Yukimas smoking mates), a caretaker of her condominium, and so on. I think in one year she will get used to her life inThailand, and probably to be more associate with local people, because that is M.
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