Merry Christmas

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1819617729
Check out the link.

Hope you are all having a lovely festive season with loved ones....we are in Portugal still getting rounder by the spoonful :-) We had a glorious Christmas with loads of food, presents, port wine (which by the way is our port wine that we made for our wedding and is turning out to be a real vintage!)
I got loads of 'coffee table' books on Portugal as requested, a lovely dress and the biggest surprise from Amandio - he's crazy! (in a good sense :-) - a pretty big ruby ring! Gosh, I was pretty gobsmacked and touched... a beautiful single red ruby with three small diamonds on each side (bought in Thailand) but unfortunately it is too small... so I hope that we can exchange it for a bigger one when we get back.
We are slowly coming to terms with the fact that our month holiday is coming to an end. The saddest part is that we don't know when the next time will be. Usually there is always something planned (weddings, Christmas, summer hols). This time we don't know if the stork will prevent travel in the future, if Amandio can get holidays etc. We are spending New Years in Lisbon and I am looking forward to seeing Sandra and finally get to meet her new son Rafael. We are then off to Thailand on the 1st.
The next mark in my calendar is a visit from Isla who is making her way (slowly - one month tour in South East Asia and another three weeks with her mother touring India) back to Scotland from Sydney. Hopefully there will be a few more trips to resorts with Amandio's work on the horizon. I wouldn't mind some more sun and beach after a month in the cold (relative of course :-)
Happy New Year.

Updates: Portugal

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RINUS!

Gosh time is flying. I haven't really been writing much but I have been keeping a sort of video diary on Dailymotion.
Here I am in Portugal busy going through the Christmas motions with family. The weather is glorious; crystal blue skies with pure fresh air. I find it really chilly and am suffering from an incessant cold that I just can't shake off. On the plus side, the opportunity to wear winter clothes is delightful, mixing and matching Thai summerish clothes with forgotten treasures I had boxed away. My favourite has got to be a black knitted dress with my tan suede knee high boots....it feels so good to be able to wear layers and accessorise with scarves, hats, belts etc. LOL! This may sound a little crazy, but those of you who know what it is like to be limited to summer clothes (which of course I love too, especially dresses and skirts) for a few years, can probably empathise.
Besides looking forward to wearing new outfits every morning, my days are filled with walks with Amandio and Lord (plus any of our nephews if they are around), relaxing, reading, eating, cooking, chatting, roaming around the streets and shops in Tomar.
We went to Lisbon for two days. Once again, I am in awe of the city. I LOVE IT.... and miss the familiarity, the coziness .... this feeling lives strongly within me, never to be forgotten. Home :-) I dreamt of returning one day and buying a house in Campo do Ourique. Beautiful. After wandering around my old haunts and filming what delights my eyes, I spent hours putting together a film (to be uploaded onto DM tomorrow) which I think really captures the magic, the sloppy juxtaposition of old and new, the essence of Ulysses' seven headed serpeant.
My parents are coming next week which I am really looking forward to. Lovely long days are stretching ahead of me here. Happy and relaxing :-)

Updates: Loy Krathong

(Translated folk song)
November full moon shines
Loy Krathong, loy Krathong
and the water's high in the river and local klong
Loy Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheer
We're together at the klong
Each one with his krathong
As we push away we pray
We can see a better day

Loy Krathong is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand. It is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. “Loi” means “to float”. “Krathong” is a raft traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk (although modern-day versions often use styrofoam), decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks.
The history of the festival is very obscure and probably originated in India as a Hindu festival similar to Divali as thanksgiving to the deity of the Ganges with floating lanterns for giving life throughout the year. In Thai rural areas it commemorates both the ending of the rainy season and the all important rice harvest.
According to the writings of H.M. King Rama IV in 1863, the festival was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand as a ceremony to honour the Lord Buddha. Apart from venerating the Buddha with light (the candle on the raft), the act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot. People also cut their fingernails and hair and add them to the raft as a symbol of letting go of the bad parts of oneself. Adding coins also brings fortune in money matters. Many Thai believe that floating a Krathong will create good luck, and this ritual is done to honor and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha. It is generally a romantic night where couples ask for blessings in their relationships.

We went to a lake in a nearby park and under the light of the full moon couples flocked to the water’s edge. After carefully selecting a lotus flower Krathong we lit the candle and incense sticks and placed a strand of our hair and a coin on it. Placing it into the dark murky water, we made a wish (not hard to guess what ours would be :-). The pond came to life with the flicker of candlelight and the musky odour of burning incense. It was a visually evocative and romantic experience with couples silhouetted against twinkling lights sending thoughts of love with their Krathongs as they floated silently into the moonbeams on the dark silky water.
Beautiful....

Happy Birthday Felix

24-11-07
To my dearest father. Happy Birthday!
Hope you have a wonderful day.
I love you.

Updates: Pantip Plaza

It has been a while.... Lots has happened in the past two weeks. Work is as busy as ever and I am still rushing around buying xmas presents for family - the experience is slightly more credible due to recent xmas decorations and songs flooding the soundwaves (despite the fact that it is quite hot here and yeah.. still November!)
We have been to the doctor (yeah... I had been putting that off a bit). He was delighted with the statue of the Virgin Mary which we had bought him in Fatima last August (made a good xmas pressie). Basically, we went for information on the IVF procedure. I had read conflicting information on the web re cost and how long it takes and steps involved. So, in Thailand it takes 5 weeks from the stage where I get a nasal spray to supress hormones one week before my period, to ultrasounds and self administered hormone injections (will have to recruit my own personal nurse Amandio for that! :-), to extracting the eggs under anesthetic, mixing them with Amandio's sample, reinserting - a number to be decided on - of embryos to the final two week wait for the pregnancy test. The hospital has a 40% success rate which seems to be quite high. Sit down for the cost though... 250,000 Bhat and up - 5,000 Euro. Hmm.. well, we may have to have a conversation with Amex :-)
We also bought a 'spanking' new computer. Here goes my attempt at all the technical mumbo jumbo .... HP Pavilion, Intel Core 2Duo processor, 2042RAM and 280GB memory, graphics of 512MB G-force, 2MB L2 Cache, HP 22inch flat lcd monitor with optimum resolution 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz, wireless keyboard and optical mouse. Our software (XP Service pack 2, Adobe, WMPlayer etc) is all pirated.. (all done in the time it took to buy some counterfeit DVDs) courtesy of where we bought the pc, an experience in itself - Pantip Plaza - a techies wet dream, a haven of modern day pirates :-) Despite regular police raids (early warning system in place) it seems to boom with underworld trading. Most of the hundreds of small shops specialise in computer hardware, software and accessories, including parts, repair, modifications, networking, second hand, laptops, Macintosh and peripherals. We almost bought a video camera but decided to wait on that, prioritising the pc, as we have decided to offer my 1 year old laptop to my brother for xmas seeing as we prefer to have a desktop at home, now that we have a more reliable internet cable connection.
The only genuine bit of software is the upgrade I bought online for Windows Movie Maker - the full pack with loads of transition and video effects! I will get my teeth into this when we get back from Portugal in January. Looking forward!
The countdown is on for our departure on Tuesday 27th. A trip to Chatuchak market, a xmas bowling/dinner work night out and finishing off the last version of the NCTest is on the cards for this weekend.
I can't wait for Portugal..I feel like I have been living for the future a lot recently, not really in the here and now. All very exciting, but I need to catch my breath :-)

Updates: Diwali

Today is Friday 9th December! (dunno what is wrong with this date thingy)

With firecrackers keeping me up late at night for the last two days I decided to look into what the festival which is being celebrated in noisy Indian style on my soi is all about. All the balconies are beautifully lit up, mouth watering aromas of Indian cooking wafts in through open windows potently mixed with sulphur from the fireworks erupting in the night sky. Lovely really - pure exotic colourful Indian style. Here is some information I found out about it:

Diwali, Divali, or Deepawali (Markiscarali) is a major Indian and Nepalese festive holiday. What started as a harvest festival in ancient times, became associated with many legends and became a significant festival in Hinduism and is known across the globe as the "Festival of Light," where the lights or lamps signify victory of good over the evil within every human being during a five day celebration.

The most popular legend associated with Diwali today is the homecoming of King Rama of Ayodhya after a 14-year exile in the forest. The people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa), thus its name, Deepawali, or simply shortened as Diwali.

Some view it as the day Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura or in honor of the day Bali went to rule the nether-world by the order of Vishnu.
In Jainism it marks the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, which occurred on Oct. 15, 527 B.C.

The festival marks the victory of good over evil, and uplifting of spiritual darkness. Symbolically it marks the homecoming of goodwill and faith after an absence, as suggested by the story of Ramayana.

On the day of Diwali, many wear new clothes, share sweets and snacks. Some North Indian business communities start their financial year on Divali and new account books are opened on this day.

Happy Diwali to my Indian friends :-)

New vids on DM

Above link should direct you straight to my most recent vids on DM - (testing)

Food: Pork Risotto

Ingredients:
(I usually do this by eye, but I'll try writing the quantities....)

For four people
Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
3 Red chillies/Tabasco/Chilli past
1 cinnamon stick
1tsp cumin seeds
Rosemary and Thyme to taste
1 pork stock cube
Handful raisins
200g Risotto rice
250 - 300g minced pork
100g bacon cubes
4 leeks (Chinese Onion)
200g shitake mushrooms (or other variety)
1 red pepper
handful cherry tomatoes
tin of tomato concentrate (optional)
Garnish: spring onions, feta cheese, parsley

Method:
Heat some olive oil in frying pan. Add garlic and cumin seeds. One minute later add the chopped onion and allow to sauté until transparent in colour. Mix in the bacon cubes and pork mince (or meat chunks/spicy sausages), adding chillies/chilli paste, cinnamon stick, rosemary and thyme. Allow to cook for a while. Stir in the risotto rice, raisins and tomato concentrate. Cover the mixture with water and bring to the boil. Add the stock cube, turn down the heat and let simmer until the risotto is cooked. You will need to check this every 10mins as it can stick to the bottom of the pan and usually needs more water.
After the rice is almost cooked, add the mushrooms (whole or halved), leeks and tomatoes. Check for seasoning. Cook (lowest heat) for another 20mins - (this depends on taste...but I like risotto to be mushy)adding some parmesan cheese to taste.
Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and serve with a finely chopped green salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A glass of red wine and bon appetite!

Note: A more Mediterranean style would be without the cumin, chilli and cinammon and would add wine as well as stock (my taste buds are getting slightly more exotic :-). I usually do this without the tomato concentrate and add more leek and cherry tomatoes at the end... thought I would try something new though.
These ingredients can vary and is a great dish to use up whatever you have in the fridge.
For the salad the best way to get it really fresh and crunchy is to finely cut the lettuce, put it into a colander and wash it with cold water. Leave it in the colander and put it into the fridge for at least 15minutes or until ready to serve. Pour the dressing on the lettuce just as you are about to sit at the table.

Oh.... it tastes even better the next day!

Poetry: Drive

Drive
Up and down and left and right
just go

road road road
let it grow grow grow

tar and asphalt dreams whirl by your head like dead dust bunnies
and you wonder where you're going

so you go, just go go go

and your mind is a terrible driver and swerves, mad with glee, as if dancing with insanity

the desert was meant for you, it seems, as the city flees from your sight, far far behind, in dream time

and you drive drive drive but the tears make it hard to see, you stop for gas and a snack to refill the machine..

but you leave it all behind, the mountains beckon your state of mind
so you walk, stumble and drop into the dry wind and its like a tunnel, sweeping you into crime

the dust never settles the sands in your eye and the ocean chuckles far far away but you continue to shuffle, shuffle your feet to your destiny, a place to be, to go go go thats all you know, and your friends settle and the years slide by, like rain drops off a windshield

this thing called life baffles you, these passions burden you, your spirits drink with you in schizophrenic tendencies and your consciousness is bitch slapped across the face by a stranger in passing

you fall to your knees as the night sweeps its mask suddenly and the coyotes howl and cactus shakes, your bones beg to break your heart yearns to breathe in reality and your mind has its suitcases in hand and its ticket between its teeth, all thats left is a soul boxed and locked, buried deep, wrapped in an army jacket of hope, and all you can do is curl up to protect your last sanity

and then....

a crossroads presents options of a child in a sweet shop, an insatiable appetite turning cartwheels across your mind

maybe? maybe a sun spits and shakes and breaks free, cutting through the night's insecurities and maybe a melody goes supernova in a spirit and escapes to the gravity of your ears and maybe you stumble across another soul, a pair of eyes, an infinity, godly humanity, and things are alright and you get up from your knees and pay for your fucking gas and get back on that road and drive drive drive like the road is suddenly ending and you're free

(this one is a little different to my usual style - came flooding out :-)

Updates: Royal Barges

Yesterday we were invited to a Thai style house (built in 1908 by the Royal family and still lived in to this day by a Royal Prince) to sit by the river pavilion and watch the Royal Barge Procession in honour of the King's 80th birthday.
At the trumpeting of the conch shell, chana and mahorathuk drums and then the royal anthem, the 52 Royal Barges with over 2,000 oarsmen began their journey down the Chao Phraya river in a majestic display of colour, culture and opulence. The oarsmen have to keep to in sync with the drums and follow the calls and flag signals of the Master Oarsman at the helm.
The procession was organised to mark His Majesty the King's 80th birthday on Dec 5. However, the King failed to attend as both his Majesty and his sister, her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, are still being treated at Siriraj Hospital.
Instead his Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn presided over the procession and later presented the Royal Krathin Robes to monks at the Temple of Dawn, marking the end of Buddhist Lent.
The Royal Barge Procession is a part of Thai national heritage, teaching them how merciful the rivers can be and giving them the chance to make merit together for the afterlife.
The Royal Barges are descendants of fleets of boats developed for war in ancient times. In the Ayutthaya period (400 years ago) the fleets were decorated and served kings who wanted to travel by boat, especially for the ritual of presenting offerings to monks. During the rest of the year these elaborately decorated vessels can be seen in the Royal Barge Museum.
As the sun set behind the Temple of Dawn, I couldn't help wondering - have we been hurled back in time? Kings, royal barges, chants, traditional clothes, hundreds of oarsmen working in unison, the sound of water rushing along the prow - transcendental!
It is at times like this that I wish I had a real video camera!!

Updates: Award-Mr. Condom

Thai “Condom King” Receives Gates Award for Global Health

Established in 2000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates Award for Global Health recognizes organizations that have made major and lasting contributions to the field of global health. The award is administered by the Global Health Council, and presented at its annual international conference in Washington. A jury of international public health experts selects the award recipient based on leadership, record of achievement, innovation in program design, program stability and sustainability, collaboration with others, and impact across geographic and organizational boundaries. The prize consists of an award sculpture and $1 million. This year, almost 100 organizations were nominated for the award.

Mechai Viravaidya was recognised by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today with a $1 million award for confronting “taboo subjects like sex and HIV/AIDS directly in order to save lives,” the foundation said.

Mechai and Population Development Association worked closely with the Thai government to develop and implement a groundbreaking national HIV prevention program that led to a dramatic reduction in new HIV infections in Thailand, from 143,000 in 1991 to 21,000 in 2003. Because of his creative and often humorous approaches to promoting condom use, Mechai is known as Thailand’s “Condom King” and the generic word for the love glove in Thailand is “Mechai.”

To eccentrically prove his points, Mr. Viravaidya has pulled many stunts, including posing for cameras while drinking the same glass of water as an H.I.V.-positive person (to prove it’s not transmitted that way); offering free vasectomies at his restaurants; and bringing fistfuls of condoms to World Bank talks. In addition the PDA has taken a bold and direct approach in their condom campaign with slogans like, "SLIP IT ON, BEFORE YOU SLIP IT IN," on a key tag with a free condom and a picture post card with a heart shaped ring of condoms saying, "NO GLOVE, NO LOVE," etc. And of course, in 'Cabbages and Condoms' restaurants providing condoms instead of dinner mints and condoms instead of chocolates on pillows in the resorts.

Congrats Mr Mechai!! A well deserved award.

Reviews: Bangkok 8

I have decided to add a new category 'reviews' as well as the latest 'food' one(particularly because I'm not doing much writing these days). Lately I have been doing a lot of reading, going to bed earlier in the evenings - enjoying our cozy bedroom (after having bought the lamps and throws etc) and savouring the escapism into new worlds that authors draw me into. Hmmm the first one wasn't actually very far from home: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett. Felix, my father, being an avid lover and of course, writer of good detective stories recommended this book to me ages ago. I finally got around to reading it in Hua Hin.

This is not your typical murder mystery where a detective loses his partner and seeks out revenge on the culprit who is usually some obscure character, well - connected and out of the laws reach. Instead, it is set in the moneyed underbelly of Bangkok which in itself is the essence of secrecy and flavour needed to catapult this story into one of intrigue, paradoxes and cultural insights - a sensory overload in print! It took me out of my comfort zone, challenged all western preconceptions and above all took me on a journey into Buddhism and prostitution. Despite being a work of fiction, it is thoroughly researched, there being many aspects of the book that are true to life. Interestingly, this almost surreal book confirmed many of the things about life in Bangkok which had been suggested to me by my Thai students (how it is normal for university students to have a 'sugar-daddy' to sustain their education) or I had observed from my own experiences here. The main character, Sonchai,the son of a prostitue and an Amerian soldier, is an 'arhat'- a living Buddhist saint and is paired up with an American female FBI agent to work on this case. Sonchai not only narrates and weaves in twists and turns to solve the mystery, takes us with him on his personal quest for identity, but also educates in the way of Buddhism, drugs and corruption in Thailand, gem trafficking, sex changes and the difference between life in the East and the West.

Some interesting quotes:
- The sex industry's annual turnover is nearly double the Thai government's annual budget.
- Thai to non-Thai sex transactions accounts for only 5% of the whole industry, the rest being invisible to the foreign visitor.
- We do not look on death the way you do, farang. No one says 'sorry'. Would you be sorry about a sunset?
- Krung Trep means City of Angels, but we are happy to call it Bangkok if it helps to separate a farang from his money.

This book reverberates life seen from a new perspective.... warts and all :-)

Updates: Hua Hin

We are just back from four days in Hua Hin. Amandio went under the pretext that he had a lot of work to do there (he did.. but it could have waited until after Christmas) to accomodate my need for a break! I know it sounds terribly spoilt, but since we have come back from Portugal I haven't had a moment to breathe. I jumped at the chance to 'manipulate' :-) a situation and negotiate a few days out of the city. Needless to say, I spent the whole time reading by the pool, running along the beach road, cycling to hidden places in the area and eating... Out of the four days we spent there it rained on and off for three of them. It gave us a good opportunity to enjoy the outdoors given the cooler temperatures. It was thoroughly revitalising and when we returned I was ready to face writing a new version of the NCTest (for January university admissions to be completed before I leave for Portugal on 28th November). I am in the process of putting together the clip I made of our ... (dare I mention?)...pool suite villa, which I will post on DM. Lapping in luxury :-)

Updates: Public Holiday

Yesterday was Chulalongkorn Day in Thailand. A much needed day off to cut this week in two. We went for a lovely lunch with a friend (Hoisin Duck pizza....yummy!!)and just lazed around for the day.
This day, (23rd OCtober) honours the 1910 death of King Chulalongkorn the Great (Phra Chula Chumklao Chaoyuhua, พระบาทสมเด็จพระจุลจอมเกล้าเจ้าอยู่หัว, known in the West as Rama V) with Chulalongkorn Day (Wan Piyamahraj). He is highly regarded as one of the greatest kings of Siam; the Thai people call him “The Great Beloved King” because of the many reforms he initiated in order to modernize the country.

Chulalongkorn was born 20 September 1853 as the first son of Queen Ramphai Pamarapirom (Thepsirindra) and the ninth surviving son of King Mongkut (Rama IV). His father gave him a broad education, including instruction from European tutors such as Anna Leonowens. He

His long reign of 42 years was a busy era of full-scale reform and the emergence of Thailand into the modern age. He had already travelled extensively and made friends with the major powers of Britain, America, France, and Russia. He managed to keep his country independent even though both France and Britain were colonizing much of Southeast Asia during this period. In 1897, he became the first Thai king to visit Europe.

The King’s reforms involved almost every aspect of Thai life. These included the abolition of slavery, the expansion of the communication system through the construction of the first railroads in Thailand, the establishment of the postal and telegraph services, and the introduction of the modern system of banknotes to Siam. In 1892 Chulalongkorn modernized the government by creating a ministerial system. The modern administration of provinces (changwat) and districts (amphoe) is still in place today. In addition, the King also established a variety of public utilities, particularly in the fields of health and education; Thailand’s first university — Chulalongkorn University — was named in his honor upon it’s establishment in 1917. It was during his reign that the Western calendar replaced the traditional lunar calendar and religious freedom was declared, allowing Christianity and Islam to be practiced in the Buddhist country.

King Chulalongkorn had four queen consorts and at least 77 children, of which 33 were boys, with the four queens and his royal common wives. His second son, Vajiravudh, succeeded him as Rama VI. His death on 23 October 1910 was a great loss to the entire nation.
The Thai people believe in the King’s miraculous power of bringing good luck and prosperity to the person who pays respect to him. Thus, Chulalongkorn’s picture is still to be found in almost every Thai household. People from all walks of life lay wreaths at his equestrian statue at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok and his statues in the provinces.

Updates: Shopping!

(20th October 2007)
Shopping, shopping, shopping!!!
Sales, sales, sales!
Presents, gifts, surprises!

I have found shoppers' heaven! In Central Chidlom department store they are celebrating their 60th Anniversary with a floral show which they call 'Blossoms of Eden'. Imagine doing what a woman does best, lured mercilessly by irresistable sales, guilt subdued by background chamber music, protectively shrouded under a canopy of vibrant flowers and enveloped in an aura of intoxicating aromas. Well, that was my shopping experience after work on Friday. Oops, did a bit of spending! Trust me, I resisted, but I was an unwilling helpless pawn in the grand master shopping plan ... it wasn't me!!! LOL

I went back on Saturday after work but it was really crowded that day. However, I filmed the experience (at least it kept me busy and I couldn't do any more damage to our bank account :-) See Dailymotion.

Food: Morning Glory Pork

I have decided to record the dinners that I throw together with whatever ingredients I have available in the fridge. Could be useful later on :-)
Let me know if any of you try them out!

Ingredients:
(I usually do this by eye, but I'll try writing the quantities....)

For four people
Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
Ginger root to taste
3 Red chillies / Tabasco sauce to taste
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
10 tbsp water
Four tablespoons fish sauce (instead of salt)
Oyster sauce to taste
2 teaspoons demerara brown sugar
2 large Onions
250 – 300grs minced pork
Large bunch (400g) of Chinese spinach with stalks (morning glory)
150-200grs Asian/wild mushroom mix (small and long)
Three Eggs
Handful Cherry tomatoes
Garnish: spring onions, lime rind, peanuts


Method:
Heat some olive oil in frying pan. Add garlic, chopped garlic root and onions and sauté until transparent in colour. Mix in the pork mince, adding fish sauce and the red chillies. After the mince is cooked add the whole Asian/wild mushrooms (not button) and continue to stir fry until soft. Remove this from the heat and leave on a separate plate.
Add more olive oil to the frying pan and scramble three eggs. Add to the meat mixture.
Pour 2tsp of balsamic vinegar mixed with water into the base of the frying pan with 2tsp brown sugar and leave it to simmer until it reduces slightly. Add in the Chinese spinach (in large pieces) into the frying pan and let it sweat for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in some more fish sauce and finally add the cherry tomato halves.
Mix the meat, eggs and vegetables together in the pan for one minute. Add oyster sauce to taste. Serve and sprinkle chopped spring onions, diced lime rind and crushed roasted peanuts on top. Bon appetite!

Happy Birthday Jacob

Wednesday, 17th October)
I just love this photo of both Jacob and his wife (now one year).

Happy Birthday dearest brother! May your 29th year on this earth be full of compassion, adventure and new beginnings. I love you :-) You have grown into a wonderful man, one which I am very proud to call a brother and share my life with.

Updates: Thai Lessons

Tuesday 16th October.

(photo: Miriam in Cabbages & Condoms -afraid the quality isnt great:-(
.... Now, I really want to mention some of my observations and how learning the language has not only given me deeper insight into Thai culture but a better understanding of my students' 'inherent' errors.

I am thirsty = Dichan hiw naam = Directly translated: I want water
I am hungry = Dichan hiw khaaw = Yeah.. you may guess: I want rice!
Priceless.

Also a lot of our adjectives are what they call static verbs (explains why students never put the verb 'to be' between subject pronoun and adjective). There are no articles to be seen, nor is there a different form for singular or plural - and as far as I can make out (haven't really reached that level yet) tenses are very sporadic, using mostly the present tenses. So, in theory, this should make the language easy to learn... if it weren't for these god forsaken 'tones'. Here is me thinking I am saying 'she is beautiful' but infact I am saying 'Steamed rice!!'. A classic! It makes for a lot of rolling around in laughter but when I am put to the test in the 'real' world I am a bit apprehensive to say anything at all!
We seem to be flying through the course material, not giving us much time to consolidate and apply what we have learned. I practice with Khun Tim everyday which also ends up in side stitches :-)

My friend Miriam has departed on her adventure but will be back to stay in our apartment in December. The NCTest examinations are well underway swamping me with essays to correct - just finished today's batch. I have foregone the gym for several days now, but had two hours in the sun last Sunday so looking a bit more human :-) Amandio is coming back on Friday and I am looking forward to having a day off on Sunday to spend some time with him.

Oh, yeah! I started my Christmas shopping today!! I KNOW.. only October! My colleagues at work are already giving me a hard time about it and must think I am one of those shopaholic expat wives. Truth be told, seeing as we are leaving at the end of November for Portugal and I am working weekends, there isn't much time left. But, I know... scary! LOL

Updates: Aerobics

Monday 8th October.
(Happy wedding anniversary to Jacob and Monica)
Life is full lately despite the fact that Amandio has gone to Dubai/Oman without me! I went with Som to Siam Paragon to buy things for their new house last Friday and ended up having dinner at a really nice Japanese restaurant - sashimi, sushi, miso soup, tempura, seaweed salad, teryake salmon, sake the works.
New Cambridge administered our new NCTest last weekend which meant that I was one of the examiners for the speaking interviews and marking. All went well considering that a lot of it was very last minute. Next week we will be testing another 200 or so students in time for the October admissions. It was a great experience, particularly because a lot of the candidates were high school students from all over the country. They are all applying to a university which specialises in technical drawing, architecture, art, interior and fashion design, commercial art etc - so needless to say some of them were real characters.. lady boys and very flamboyant young men! However, in total contrast were the meek and demure muslim girls dressed in their abayas. It takes all sorts I guess!
An old highschool friend, Miriam, arrived late on Saturday night. She has taken a few months off to travel and has just spent some time in New Zealand and came baring local goodies; a Paua shell cheeseboard, Rotorua thermal mud mask, Manuka honey hand cream along with loads of tales of her wonderful experiences there....
SHe is leaving tomorrow to continue her adventures in Northern Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietname - alone..brave woman (total respect). Miriam and I never really hung out in the same circles but we had a best friend, Mary Louise, in common (this was the link). Yesterday after work we went to Lumpini park for her to sample an authentic Thai family Sunday. It was really lovely, a cool breeze, kids playing with their parents, lovers lazing on the grass, friends running together, men pumping their muscles in the weights area and best of all the hundreds of people of all ages in true Asian style kicking, stretching and shouting to a techno beat... all in unison under the leadership of about 6 professional aerobics instructors. We just sat on a boulder fascinated and watched the show for the whole hour. A people watching heaven!!
After that we went to Suan luam night bazaar across the street and had a Thai meal in a restaurant to the ermm.. 'lovely' background music of a live Thai rock band. What followed was plenty of lively conversation recounting our childhood memories and experiences, old boyfriends and tales, catching up on old classmates' current whereabouts. What a blast from the past! I enjoyed it tremendously and was seriously surprised by the names of people I haven't even thought of in years, or scarcely knew and how they just came flooding back. Fantastic! Miriam has also turned out into a really lovely woman and it was nice to get to know her and share our experiences.
I have also started going to the gym again - I feel like an old woman with creaking bones. It is envigorating to slowly oil those muscles again and regain control over my body. Angela, our Chinese neighbour who I have spoken to occasionally in the past, is also becoming a good friend, having come to visit me in our apartment a few times and chatting away. The plan for the week is teaching six days, Thai lessons, gym, piano practice, cinema, Cabbagese & Condoms, and Chatuchak market on Sunday. Busy busy, but my days seem to have three in one lately. Energetic! :-)

Updates: Thai Lessons

Sawadee Kha!



Dichan chuu Sarah, naamsakun Martins. Pen khon Nederland. Tham ngaan thii kruntheep. Pen khruu.
My name is Sarah Martins. I am from the Netherlands, I work in the 'City of Angels'. I am a teacher.
(and I know how to count in Thai :-)

This all sounds very good..but THai is a tonal language which means that a word may have two or more distinct and unrelated meanings depending on the tone it is pronounced!! There are five of them...each represented by a marker above each word.. sometimes there are more than three tones in one word. Yikes!!
For example the word 'May' can mean either no/not, new, silk or as a question word!

To learn the sounds the school has written their own phonetic script (There is no official Thai phonetic system as yet) and me being a language teacher tried to relate them to our phonemic scripts. Many of the vowel sounds overlap but others are just near impossible (they have 26 in total compared to our 20).

Lessons are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 6:30 - 8:30 with a group of two other women (Suprisingly no men! Thank goodness.. starting to think that there were only men in BKK), one from England who has just moved here with her boyfriend and has just finished doing the CELTA and is starting a job teaching English to 5 year olds at a private Christian school, the other is Chinese and works as an actuary for an insurance company.

I tried out all my new words and phrases on Khun Tim the next day - of course she didn't understand a word I was trying to say!! LOL! Perhaps I am better off with my gestures and signs!! :-)

Poetry: Moonlit Ballroom

Sitting alone
I watch
the colours swirl around the room.
I wait.

The clock ticks his piercing madness
through the moonlight.
I listen.

The giggles of the lusty dancers
stepping gracefully before me
in and out of rhythm.
The room twists and turns around them.
Lightening cracks above me
falling wistfully on wooden forms,
Lovers play their whimsical games
in the silent abstractions
between the sharp-edged beats.

Desire hangs all about me,
blanketing me in humid rapture,
I am captivated
in the tongue twister.

Awakened by the faint tickle
of warmth whispered into my ear,
A perfectly placed proposal
of “May I have this dance?”
Charmed to my tranquil feet
by a sideways boyish grin;
eyes that shimmer inside me,
searching silently for my soul.
His hand reaches for my heartbeat
in the magic of this moonlit trance,
I place it gently in his palm,
being pulled into the current
of this room’s magnetic tide.
He pulls my gaze into his own.
The clock sings his midnight song.
We dance

Updates: Decorating

Once again a busy and productive week at work this week (the last week in September - gosh the 9th month .... time flies when you are having fun :) - tearing my hair out mostly and putting out fires! Hands up to Thai spontaneity and impulse decisions for keeping you on your toes :-) It turns out that our manager - without consulting any of us - in a meeting with the BKK Technology University agreed to hold the first entrance exam now in time for October admissions! The date is set 5th and 6th of
October. Hello!! We haven't even finished writing the test, recording the listening scripts in a recording studio, getting copyright permission from Bangkok Post for articles we are using in the reading paper, testing levels, writing band descriptors etc. Needless to say, a danger of quality suffering under fierce time contraints (for the first exam anyway). So me, being my perfectionist self and kicked into 6th gear and getting down to some serious business and delegation. It looks like we will make it. The only thing that will have to wait is the recording, having to book the studio well in advance. Instead we will record it ourselves - poor students, hope the quality won't be too bad. This Friday (tomorrow) is D-day to test the exam on several of our current students to see if the levels match. Fingers crossed! If not it will involve a whole lot of extra work.
On a positive note (well above is too - just a little frustrating) I went to Chatuchak Market with Som, Thai friend) and bought to gorgeous lamps and silk cushions and throw for our bedroom). I am really pleased with the result and am now looking to buy a Thai style painting for over the bed. I am starting to get really passionate about decorating again - even to the point where I dream about it and wake up with colour schemes in my head. It's great! Luckily, Amandio, realising how important my surroundings are to me, is supporting me on this (probably wouldn't have much choice.. but it is good to be on the same page) ... "as long as we keep putting money away for the baby" :-) Sweetheart.
I am starting Thai lessons next week - a short 20 hour course, 2 hours twice a weeek. Finally, I won't feel like such an alien anymore - the deciding factors were: 1) I want to be able to communicate with Khun Tim (cleaning lady) particularly when we have our baby... and... 2) to intigrate more into the culture. It was so nice on Sunday in the market when vendors spoke to both Som and I in Thai.. thinking I could grasp a bit of it. Of course, I did hold eye contact and smile and nod - keeping up the appearance that I wasn't a complete 'farang'. The whole shopping and living process will seem more 'real' if I can communicate with the people in their own language.
Amandio went with Som's husband (Tahitian) to the heaven of electronic buffs - an eight storey plaza of nothing else but computers, tvs, dvds, movies etc. Calming him down proved to be a tough challenge (but thoroughly enjoyable to watch his inner child - like a pig in shit :-) but I managed to persuade him not to buy the projector TV, the Plasma, the desktop pc yet for... SOOO cheap! Comparatively, it IS incredibly cheap, infact ridiculously so.. but it is still a big chunk of money that we don't really have. Oh Yeah, speaking of which - our apartment in Lisbon has been rented for at least a year - with interest expressed in buying it later - a HUGE sigh of relief and can't wait to stabilise our account in Portugal after a few months. Anyway, Amandio bought me a thoughtful present - 'MoviePlus 4' software and an external hard drive (100GB!!). As soon as I get enough time I will start playing around with my new toy and hopefully dazzle you all with stunning masterpieces and new found editing skills (at least that is what the cover promises! LOL)

Updates: Entrance Exam

Phew!! What a week! I have been up to my eyes in work all week (6 days). My company has been approached by a university to write an entrance exam for the international courses and Masters degrees offered. IELTS (academic paper testing the four language skills) is the qualification that they require to date. However, it is quite costly for the majority of Thai middle class students and they would like a test (cheaper) to replace it. After a bit of research and general networking with university contacts in and around BKK we reached a decision that we would invest in the development costs, patenting, administering and becoming an exam centre and then sell it to universities who would like an alternative to IELTS. Naturally, it won't be internationally recognised, but seeing as it is targeted at Thai students who wish to study locally this isn't an issue. The IELTS exam result only has a validity of two years anyway, so even those students don't lose out if they later wish to study or work abroad at a later date. I.E they can always sit the IELTS exam if after finishing their international degree in BKK they still wish to work/study abroad.
So, guess who has been selected to write it? Little old me plus another teacher (used to be an IELTS examiner). It is really exciting and challenging - completely different to writing corporate tests. Initially when news came out about this new project I was a little apprehensive. However, I couldn't resist so I stepped up to the challenge. Things like this always seem so daunting initially but then from experience I know that 'Rome wasn't build in a day' and we need to fight the little battles taking it one day at a time. In the end, with hard work and dedication things have always worked out for me. Everything and anything is possible :-) We have until Christmas to write it, trial it on current students just before and after they take the IELTS exam, check corresponding levels and band descriptors. Needless to say, once the exam has been written it will be closely scrutinized by each university's English departments and examining boards before opting to use our exam as an alternative.
The corporate work has also been picking up and I have had to put together loads of course outlines, student forms (ie. policies and procedures). Simultaneously, business material also needs developing.. so, yeah.. hands full! But having fun :-)

Not much else has happened this week - oh!- apart from finding my favourite Lilium flowers. Those lovely white oriental lilies with that intoxicating fragrance. Better still, from a little street cart, 5 stems cost only 2 euros. In the flower market in Porto, which was already much cheaper than anywhere else, I used to pay 16 euros for the same amount. Of course, that was four years ago. I am in heaven!!
I am going to Chatuchak market with my Thai friend tomorrow. My mission being to spend the last of this months money (pity it is the end of the month - I could do some serious damage!) on some house decorations. Yipee! Excited about that and expecting to get some mega discounts seeing as my friend will do all the bargaining instead of me.. the 'farang'. :-)

Food: Cabbages & Condoms

So this is one of our regulars and I decided to do a write on it. Well, 'Cabbages & Condoms?' I hear you ask.
Let me explain...

Thailand of course,is internationally reknowned for its good food. Here is a land which has developed the most amazing fiery and sensational dishes; spicy and fragrant creations laced with coconut; sex on a plate really!
"Who mentioned sex? I was thinking about cabbages!"

Well.... In Thailand, the cabbage is a familiar everyday food, as much a part of life as a tea-bag is in Ireland. Until recently, something equally familiar to the Thais was a huge birth rate, and the proliferation of AIDS. Yep, they were at it like rabbits, and society was struggling to cope.
If only condoms were as common as cabbages!
And hence - 'Cabbages and Condoms' :-)

This popular restaurant is run by Thailand's Population and Community Development Association, whose founder, former Thai senator Mechai Viravaidya, believes "birth control should be as cheap as cabbages"—hence the restaurant's name!
Viravaidya, whose Scottish father and Thai mother sent him to Australia to be educated, is Thailand’s leading philanthropist. His non-profit association backs birth control, environmental conservation, rural development and AIDS awareness. Although Viravaidya has held four cabinet posts in the government, his champion cause continues to be birth control. To this end, he wants to make condoms as common--and as accepted--as cabbages. He has passed them out to surprised bankers and CEOs at sober World Bank meetings and paid farmers to paint ads and public service announcements for condoms on the sides of their water buffalo. Thanks in part to his effort, Thailand’s birth rate has dropped below 1 percent a year.

The ambience in the restaurant is heavenly; tens of thousands of white fairy lights draped from the canopies, fluttering in the night breeze. Plenty of candles too, and the sounds of diners chatter, punctuated by noisy sizzling dishes wafting aroma into the night air. I was salivating. The restaurant is frequented by as many Thai couples/groups as Westerners. Wherever I go in the world, a useful barometer of reputation is the ratio of locals to tourists in a restaurant.
There are condoms everywhere, in frames on the walls, and under glass table tops. So many colours, so many patterns, ribbed, studded, and then some proper huge ones.
"After dinner mint guys?" Sorry, no mints here, aside from the bill, they always offer two condoms on the saucer! Its a nice touch (except if you are dining with your parents-in-law), and it reminds you of what they are trying to do.

My three favourite things: On the menu, they proudly boast 'our food is guaranteed not to cause pregnancy'!! Priceless! :-)
Upon leaving the restaurant there is a display offering condoms instead of after dinner mints. You can take your pick - 'Republican size' or 'Democratic size'. Erm... WHAT?? LOL - Which one are you???!
At the exit there is also a quick 101 Safe Sex lesson.. ie. a poster showing what sexual acts they consider to be OK or not without a condom - quite entertaining :-)

A free vasectomy from the clinic next door is one of the perks for males dining at Cabbages and Condoms. Be careful - don't have too much to drink and wander off next door!

So despite being very romantic, the restaurant doesn't really cater for couples (like us) who WANT to get pregnant - if you do - stay well away! The romantic atmosphere, foot massage, enchanting Thai music, sumptuous food and constant in your face reminders of sex are pretty misleading. You have been warned! LOL

PS - I have made a movie on this: Dailymotion and Picasa

Poetry: Born to Shine

RAFAEL
Born to shine
Don’t blow out the flame
The fuel of life
No matter the obstacles
No matter the challenges
Think, reflect
Share your internal light
Play and laugh
Opening your arms
Embrace the entire world
Explode with passion
Into emotions of love!

Born to be alive
Throughout our entire being
Physical, mind, soul
Gallop like an untamed horse
Wild as a comet crossing the sky
Moving beyond dreams
Growing, expanding
Into beautiful feelings!

Have the courage
Take the responsibility
To be different, unique
Assuming the adventure
To be as wild as all nature
Embrace the liberty
That will make you shine
Like any other star
Scintillating in the night!


Congratulations to Sandra, Antonio and Alex for their new family member Rafael (3820grs, 51cms) born at 03:00 on 12th August (the day after I had lunch with you in your garden). He is beautiful! Sandra, he clearly has your eyes, Alex's nose and the rest is undoubtedly Antonio.

Poetry: For You

Your smile is the warmth of the sun
Carefully unfurling my delicate wings
When our fingers touch and auras collide
I am a moonsbreath ... by your side

I quiver


Your heart is an enormous beacon
casting vessels of radiance into the fog
A safe haven to secure my soul
Under a sky of ... shooting acts of love

I twinkle


Your mind is a beautiful labyrinth
Keeping me forever enchanted
Hand in hand you reveal hidden delights
With future memories ... our lives unfold

I marvel


United we walk freely onwards
Building bridges from fallen stones
Steadfast we are each others strength
On our journey ... right here and now

WE grow old



To you Jo, on our four year anniversary. I love you :-)

Updates: Flowers

Today was my first day back at work after a few days off. I was actually looking forward to it but as fate would have it my body thought otherwise. Coming out of the lift I suddenly started seeing stars and a bottomless pit of darkness and felt a constricting feeling in my head... Alarm bells started ringing, I've had this before .... and I fainted. Luckily my private student (a dermatologist) was in the elevator with me and new immediately what to do. After what must have been a bit of fussing about I came to, had some water, breathed deeply and felt colour flowing back into my cheeks. Explanation? Period started yesterday, bit of pain and large blood loss - showing signs of anemia again. Damn! Thought I was over the whole operation thing. Had planned to start running again - guess I'll have to wait until next week.
I felt well enough to teach (one-to-one class). The topic was 'Taking Medical History', material I had written a few days ago and wanted to trial out. It was quite appropriate really and spent the next three hours discussing my health problems with my student practising and consolidating question forms, intonation, tenses and prepositional phrases.
I took a taxi home as I didn't feel confident enough to take the BTS. Didn't want to risk fainting amidst a whole lot of strangers. After some rest at home I felt as right as rain again (Hmmm, that must be an Irish expression - dunno where that came from! LOL). AMandio was also a sweetheart and came home early to tend to me with a lovely bunch of flowers he'd bought on the street in hand. Soup, chatting and a movie later I am feeling a lot more like my old self. Bed early I guess. I have a relatively easy day teaching again tomorrow. I'm going to see the doctor this week to discuss IVF and put a plan into action. Keep you posted :-)