So I've been taking Thai for three months now and am totally fluent. Yeah, just like I was totally fluent in Mandarin after living in China for three years -- NOT! Anyway, we had a hilarious clash of cultures today with the Thai teacher. Culture clashes, they're such a gas. So I told her she was an ancient Thai demoness who is a beautiful lady by day and a hidious monster at night who pulls her head off and slimes around with her entrails in tow eating offal, feces and little children (she's been kind of annoying me lately). She's featured in a lot of movies here, you should see the movie posters. Yup looks just like my teach!

Anyway, the teacher taught us the word for this hideous hell creature -- "Krasue" in case you were wondering -- and then went around the room and asked all the students (two Japanese, a guy from Hawaii and me and a fellow New Yorker) -- if we had her in our countries. We said no. The Japanese said they had ghosts in general. And I suddenly realized we weren't talking about the "krasue" as a LEGEND but as a REAL THING because the teacher started to get kind of freaked out when I asked her more questions about Thai ghosts and she cut the conversation off. Because, apparently, you can't even TALK about ghosts here in Thailand, or demons or whatever, or they come and git you. Look, I googled this random website that says so. So it must be true. Although the Thai people who informed me that my apartment is probably filled with irritated spirits because I don't leave fruit and incense out for them didn't get that memo. Thanks Thai people.

Anyway, it was fun to watch my teacher squirm! That's what cultural exchange is all about, frightening people with inappropriate questions. She also got grossed out when I took a time out to show one of the Japanese the big blister on my heel from a rare session on the treadmill -- Thais do NOT dig feet, and you do NOT point at feet or think about feet or massage or nuzzle them, especially in public. Oops.