"Mii Kuam Suke Mai?"
"Mii kuam suke mai?" That's romanized Thai for "Are you happy?" Often, when greeting a person in Thai you will ask, "Sabaidii mai?" ("How are you?"), but to a Thai person that is very personal - you are asking about their health. So as an alternative, they may ask, "Mii kuam suke mai?" ... "Are you happy?" I actually like it better than asking "How are you?" because most people usually just answer with a vague "Fine." or "Good." But when asked, "Are you happy?" it's a straightforward answer - either you're happy or you're not. And if you're not happy, why not? I believe that happiness is something that can be present and attainable despite circumstances - poverty, hardships, stress, sickness. True happiness, from God, isn't dependent on circumstances. My goal is to have my happiness completely and constantly rooted in God so that my answer will always be, "Mii kuam suke maak, maak!!" .... I am very, very happy!!
Another interesting thing that they will sometimes ask instead of "How are you?" is, "Have you eaten yet?" Food is a very important thing in their culture, so they want to know if you're in need of food. The polite answer, even if you haven't eaten, is to say that you have, otherwise, they will feel obligated to feed you.
On a different note, the highlight of the weekend was going on a 3-hour bike ride yesterday morning. It's been a long time since I've even ridden a bike, so I was a little nervous about riding with a bunch of guys - will I be able to keep up? But I did!! They were taking it pretty easy, so it was a nice leisure ride and I didn't feel like I had to push it too hard, although I do have a really sore bum now! I think I really could get into biking...I might even get my own bike while I'm here, but I'll need to invest in padded shorts, too! We'll see........
We cycled out to visit some friends of one of the guys out in the countryside. Then on our way back, we stopped by to see some beautiful waterfalls!
The house of the family we went to visit, but there weren't home.
But their beautiful cats were!
The four of us by the waterfalls
It was beautiful......next time I'm gonna jump in!!
Happy February and happy new week!
Another interesting thing that they will sometimes ask instead of "How are you?" is, "Have you eaten yet?" Food is a very important thing in their culture, so they want to know if you're in need of food. The polite answer, even if you haven't eaten, is to say that you have, otherwise, they will feel obligated to feed you.
On a different note, the highlight of the weekend was going on a 3-hour bike ride yesterday morning. It's been a long time since I've even ridden a bike, so I was a little nervous about riding with a bunch of guys - will I be able to keep up? But I did!! They were taking it pretty easy, so it was a nice leisure ride and I didn't feel like I had to push it too hard, although I do have a really sore bum now! I think I really could get into biking...I might even get my own bike while I'm here, but I'll need to invest in padded shorts, too! We'll see........
We cycled out to visit some friends of one of the guys out in the countryside. Then on our way back, we stopped by to see some beautiful waterfalls!
The house of the family we went to visit, but there weren't home.
But their beautiful cats were!
The four of us by the waterfalls
It was beautiful......next time I'm gonna jump in!!
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