Alitta

Despite being a communication arts student, I have never been a TV addict at all. I barely watch TV so I don’t know what’s new on it. However, a cable TV is pretty popular among Thai people, meaning they have a huge range of TV programmes to keep them stuck in front of TV.

I have just been recommended a Korean game show named X-man which has been broadcasted in one of the cables in Thailand for quite some time. I was convinced to check it out by one of my friends who was trying his hardest to explain what the show was like. He failed! I didn’t get what the show was about until I got to see it through youtube.com.

X-man is divided in a few parts, if I’m not mistaken. One of them that my friend induced me to watch was called the ‘Dangyunhaji’ game or ‘Of course’ game. Umm..it’s not so easy if you were invited to join the game. However, the guests are usually Korean celebrities (but I don’t really know how famous they are). They will be separated into two groups and each team will send one of their members to take on each other, once a team wins, the other team has to send another member to continue the fight which requires no weapon but flairs.

 The ‘Dangyunhaji’ game is an absolutely funny game show on earth and I was laughing to death while watching it, of course with English sub-titles. Both of them are trying to say anything they can come up with and the other has to say Dangyunhaj which means of course in order to continue the play. Once one of them is dumbly attacked by some sentences spoken by the other and he/she can’t respond with the term ‘Dangyunhaj’, it might because the sentences are not true or whatever, he/she loses!

Well, I don’t think all of you get the idea of how the game is played haha, never mind, check out these video’s below and you will acknowledge the game is extremely hilarious. You can even search with the keyword ‘Dangyunhaj’ in the youtube website if you find the game very addictive. Check them out, I guarantee you will burst out of laugh!

I have had a group of foreigners as my neighbor for over a year now but surprisingly, we have never talked to each other. I also have had no idea what nationality they are. At first, I thought they were Italian as I saw some of them wearing a jacket with a small Italian flag on it during the 2006 World Cup. However, I heard them speaking in English and listen to English music which can be heard by a few pads next to mine.

They always walk pass my house when they go jogging in the morning and I met one of them last morning. We have never had any word but usually look at each other for a quarter of a second.

Of course, I fancy talking to them as we are neighbors but I don’t know where to begin!

I’m not sure if some of you know what the university privatization is, ok let me tell you a little bit. University privatization is when a public university is turned into a private one, meaning that it is not under control of the government. In contrast, the university administrator will be able to run everything themselves without proposing to the govt particularly in terms of the financial affair.

I had studied in Chulalongkorn University (Chula) for four years and this university is the place I had dreamt of since I was a high school student. Chulalongkorn University was established in 1917 and is the oldest university in Thailand. Every Chula student is well aware that it is such a great honor and a pride to study in this uni, to wear the uniform with a royal insignia as a pin on the uniform and above all, to study in the same place with one of the greatest Thai princesses (HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn). Now, the university is about to be privatized, it’s a disaster!

I see no benefits in this change. When the govt doesn’t subsidize the university, the burden will be brought to the students. They have to pay more for the tuition while the quality of the curriculum or teaching is not higher but even gets worse! Smart but poor students will not have a chance to enroll to Chula university even though they past the exam while all the stupid students from the rich family can get in the university thanks to their parents’ money!

It has been a controversy for a while and there’s no conclusion yet. The university administrator said that the idea of University privatization had been already approved by Chula students and teachers! Hello, when was that?????? Why I didn’t know about that??? Nor did my friends and teachers!

Chula would not be Chula, the pride would be no longer a pride and the honor would be turned into a catastrophe!!

Talking about reading books, I think I’m a weirdo. Once I find the book I’m reading very interesting and fun, I don’t want to finish it and that’s why I read it only a few chapters at a time. For instance, I’ve been reading the last book of Harry Potter, which is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read, for over two months and now it has more than a half of the book left to go through. I’ve been quite busy these days plus I don’t want to finish it as I’ve already reached its sub climax and you know it’s simply thrilling!

 This is kinda weird I guess but who cares?!?!? I’ve tried to figure out the reason why I’m like this but I still don’t know why. Anyway, I’m writing about this today since it’s Friday and the weekend is coming,,,time to continue my fun with Harry Potter! Cheers!

I’m already 23 years old but my mom still acts like I’m a 10-year-old little girl who has to be taken care and controlled all the time.

I could have been used to this kind of thing but this is too much! I know she’s worried about her children due to her instinct of being a mother but I am mature enough, at least since the last time I checked. She usually gets upset when I get home late, well she says ‘9 pm is late’!!!! Oh come on! I wish I was 30 years old now….!!!

I’ve been trying to understand her but I don’t think I really make it!

The traffic is terrible in Bangkok so people usually keep themselves away from the road and so do I. I consider myself very lucky that I can take the skytrain to work instead of being stuck in the gridlocked intersection around my house.

It takes me only less than 15 minutes on the skytrain till I get to my office but that’s the most uncomfortable period and I guess many of you have also experienced the same situation. I feel very awkward whether I get a seat or have to stand while catching a pole on the skytrain. Everything is silent as no one is talking, the only source of the sound comes from the advertising commercial in a few screens but they don’t help at all when you are being face to face with other passengers.

If I get a seat, I usually bend my head down, trying not to catch the eyes of the passengers sitting in the opposite side and only stare at other people’s shoes. Right, this is a chance to check what the current trend of shoes. Once I get interested in any shoes, I continue my observation to the trousers and top of the shoes’ owners, just to check if they have a good taste in dressing or to say to check if the shoes get well with the clothing.

When the seats are not available and I have to stand, sometimes I lean against the door which is against the rule, but sometimes I stand in the middle, grabbing a pole on which several hands are. So, this is the time to observe people’s watches and some ladies’ polished nails. I do enjoy doing this, at least I don’t get bored boarding the skytrain.

I’d so much love to know what others do when they are on the skytrain!

I reckon Thailand is one of not many countries in the world that students in every school both private and public have to wear school uniform (all international schools in Thailand are excluded).

I had to wear to the uniform since I was in a kindergarten until I was a senior in the university. Asked if I loved wearing the uniform, my answer would be ‘absolutely yes!’ I have found no drawback of this kind of school rule so far.

It was good that in the morning I did not have to be busy selecting clothing for school, I just prepared the uniform at night and that was so comfortable. Dressing in the school uniform creates a positive thinking towards people, dressing neatly is needed anyway.

My uniform in the kindergarten was white blouse, short red pleated skirt, white socks and black shoes. I think all kids look so cute with that uniform! Many the kindergarten uniforms are usually different while most of the middle and high schools in Thailand feature the same style of their uniforms.

My middle school uniform was white blouse with sailor collar, navy blue pleated skirt, white socks and black shoes (in the picture I was dressin in my high school uniform and that guy was wearing in university uniform) and a white blouse without a sailor collar was for the high school students. The only thing that differentiated the students from each school was an abbreviation of a school name, it was stitched on the blouse at the chest level.

University uniform was not really required for some faculties in some universities. Wearing the uniform in my faculty was optional, meaning I could wear anything I wanted while other students in other faculties could not. However, I was so proud of my university uniform, thus I wore it every day. The uniform was comprised of a white blouse, a belt and black skirt while shoes were optional. What differentiate the students from each university were a pin on a blouse and a buckle of university logo. If you are from some famous university and dressing in the uniform, you will be very outstanding.   

PS. What I have written above is all about a girl uniform! I’m gonna talk about a boy uniform later.

Beggars can be widely seen in Bangkok especially in many crowded areas, thus I’m used to the old or children sitting on the ground, gazing at the passers-by and asking for money.

Yesterday I was crossing the bridge, I by chance saw a foreigner (a white guy) sitting on his small luggage with a small cup in front of him which was implied that he was begging for money. All of a sudden I awfully felt sorry for him. He must have had some reason to do this, I was thinking in my mind while walking past him. I shouldn’t have done that!!!! I should have given him some money or talked to him a bit!! He might have lost his wallet or something as he was wearing in good clothing, meaning he was really in need of money whereas he didn’t want to beg at all, he just had no choice!

I was so sorry for ignoring him at that time as I should have given him 50 Baht or more in case he wanted to make an international call. That was better for him than being a beggar.

Well, I think I’m too sensitive and always feel sorry for people who are suffering. I can remember when I was a kid aged around 10 years old, I was playing with my daddy in front of a house. Then, a joss stick seller came to us and he was trying to sell his stuff. I can’t remember what he was exactly saying to convince us to buy but I was crying as I felt sorry for him!!!! I have been teasing by my family until now!!!

The weather in Thailand has been cold since Jan 1^st and seems to get a little bit colder. As I have written recently that I can’t stand the cold weather, thus I have suffered these days.

The bad weather plus the death of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana made my Thursday blue.

In the morning, I was being on a skytrain where was usually crowded with people wearing in black and white (most in black) in order to express their condolence over the princess’s death.

Hope tomorrow will be better. I reckon it was not really a good start of the new year for me

Thai people were greeted on New Year with one of the country’s biggest loss ever!

On Tuesday night around 2:45 am, Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana passed away after she had been closely monitored by skilled physicians in the Siriraj Hosptial for a while. It’s such a loss!

HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana was a sister of two Kings, HM King Ananda Mahidol (King Rama VIII, he passed away in 1946) and the reigning monarch HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX). She was 85 years old and she had done so many things for the country and her people.

I was really shocked when my friend called me in the early morning, telling me about her death and asking me to wear in black and white. I knew she was not so well when she was in the hospital but I never thought it would end up like this. I’m so depressed, the loss is not really a good sign for the beginning of the year for the Thais. What I’m concerned about is our King, hope he’s alright even though her death must have really affected a brother like him.

I join all the Thai people to express the condolence over our beloved princess’s death…May she rest in peace, she will be remembered as one of the greatest princesses in every Thai’s heart.