Oh yeah...we're here to work! (4/18)

Today was our first day of the TESOL course (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  There are about 20 people in the class; the majority from the US and some from England, Ireland, and South Africa.  The first two days of the class are a crash course in Thai culture and language.  Our Thai teacher, Pat, taught us the proper way to wai, which is a Thai greeting with hands in prayer-form and a bow. 
Then we had our first Thai lesson.  Thai is a tonal language, which means words can be said in high, low, neutral, rising, or falling tones.  A good example of this is the word mai, which can mean five different things based on the tone.  Mai mai mai mai mai could mean "new wood doesn't burn, does it?".  Needless to say there is quite the learning curve...  After class ATI took everyone out for dinner to the Chiang Mai Cultural Center, where we saw some examples of regional Thai dances and dress.

Dinner at the cultural center