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April 11, 2008

Can you tell them what's going on?

We get a lot of international visitors to this website. Some of them may be quite confused by what's going on here at this time of year. If you are a Thai visitor to this site, you might think of how you can explain to our international visitors what is happening. Below are some scenes from around Thailand at this time of year. Can you answer the questions a foreigner might have when they see these photos? If you can't, I have thought of some possible answers for you. 

audioYou can hear the questions and my answers by clicking here. You can see the text of the answers at the bottom on the page.

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1. What's happening in the first photo? Do Thai people always act this way? Why is the man doing that to her?







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2. Could this happen to me if I come here to Thailand?
















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 3. What's happening to her?







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4. Can foreigners join in? Can they spray Thai people to make them wet too?









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5. Surely, I can't do something like this! Won't I get put in jail?










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6. What are they doing here? Are they helping to make something?











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7. Who are those boys? Why is their hair so short?








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8. I think I have seen that man before. Is he famous? Who is he?











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9. Is that man crazy? Does he really think he can stay dry?















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10. This photo looks quite different. What is happening here?







Below is the complete text of the conversation above. Why don't you practice the answers in case you meet a foreigner who has a lot of questions? Or, better yet, think of better answers.

1. What's happening in the first photo? Do Thai people always act this way? Why is the man doing that to her?

The man is pouring water over the woman. People only do this during the Songkran holidays in April each year. Thais believe that water washes away bad luck.

2. Could this happen to me if I come here to Thailand?

Yes, it could if you come during Songkran and you go for a walk where people are celebrating.

3. What's happening to her?

He is putting some nice smelling powder on her face. This happens everywhere you go during Songkran.

4. Can foreigners join in? Can they spray Thai people to make them wet too?

Yes, they can -- and they do too. Do you want to join in?

5. Surely, I can't do something like this! Won't I get put in jail?

Don't worry. You won't get put in jail. Everyone joins in the fun during Songkran -- even the Thai police.

6. What are they doing here? Are they helping to make something?

No, they aren't making anything. They are trying to do a bamboo dance. They need to have fast feet or they will be pinched by the bamboo poles.

7. Who are those boys? Why is their hair so short?

They are young Buddhist novices. They live in a temple and wear the same colour robes as the monks. And they keep their hair very short too. They, too, can have fun during Songkran.

8. I think I have seen that man before. Is he famous? Who is he?

That is Thaksin Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand. He was celebrating Songkran in his home province of Chiang Mai.

9. Is that man crazy? Does he really think he can stay dry?

No, he's not crazy. He's knows he's going to get wet. He's just having fun.

10. This photo looks quite different. What is happening here?

That is a nice Songkran tradition. Young children pour water over the hands of old people. It wouldn't be proper to spray them like you do to people on the streets, would it?

If you want to learn more about Songkran, here is a great link to the website of a very talented young man -- probably Thailand's best young webmaster.

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 08:14 PM

January 17, 2008

Winter in Minnesota (3)

Fun in the snow

(To see the videos, click on the little arrow in the middle of each frame. You may need to double click. The previous two parts of this series are also found down the page.)

To see a complete list of all the videos available, click here.

khill5It may be very cold in the Minnesota winter, but that doesn't mean people stay indoors. There is too much to do outside in the snow. Snow is for having fun.

Two of the most popular winter sports in Minnesota are skiiing and ice-skating. Both take quite a bit of time to learn, however, and since we only had three weeks, we chose something you can do right away. That is sledding. All you have to do in sledding is to walk up a hill, get on your sled and slide down.

The only sled we had in my house when we arrived was the old wooden sled with metal runners I used as a boy more than fifty years ago. (See photo to the right.). It was still in good condition, however, so that is what Kevin used for his first try at the sport. The hill we woodplasticchose was quite high and the snow was packed down from many days of sledding by the local children and adults. That means a very high-speed ride, so Kevin took his first attempt from only half way up. You can see what happened in the first video below.

Wooden sleds like mine have one big advantage. You can steer them. That is not so true of the plastic sleds that most people use nowadays. You get on them, point them in one direction and hope backhillthey go where you want them to go. That does not always happen, however. Which sled, a wooden one or a plastic one, do you think is faster and which do you think will go the furthest? The third video below will show you a direct comparison.

Kevin quickly learned that walking up a big hill in the snow is very hard work. Fortunately, he could also do his sledding in our backyard. We had enough snow this year for us to make our own hill. We also put water on it every day to give it a covering of ice. That made for some speedy rides. You will see an example in the last video below.

Kevin takes his first sled ride. The first hill we chose was quite steep, so we started only half way up. That was still high enough to make Kevin feel a little uneasy. Watch to see what happened.



Moving up the hill. The first sled ride was a success, so Kevin decided to try his luck from a higher point on the hill. Did he make it without falling off? Take a look.




Wood versus plastic. A few days later, we went to a different hill. This time my wife went along. Kevin used the wooden sled and my wife used a plastic sled that we got from my sister. Watch to see which one was faster and which one went the furthest.


Sledding in deep snow. After several snowfalls, the snow became quite deep. First we tried a hill that no one else had gone down. As you will see in the video, that made things difficult for my old wooden sled.



Plastic sledding. Next we went back to the hill where Kevin had made his first sled ride. Here the snow had been packed down somewhat by other sledders. In this video, you will see the red plastic sled shown in the phto above, plus a round "snow saucer". See which one is easier to use.





Backyard sledding. Finally watch Kevin slide down the "mountain" we had built in our backyard. The temperature that day was -15 degrees Celsius, even though the sun was shiny brightly.   


Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 05:43 AM

January 15, 2008

Winter in Minnesota (2)

It's snowing!

(See below for the videos. You can also find part 1 of the series further down the page)

 snowman5Snow comes in many forms, depending on the temperature. When the temperature is near the freezing point – zero degrees Celsius – the snow is usually quite wet and the snow flakes are quite large. This is sticky snow which is good for making snowballs or snowmen. Do you know how to make a snowman? You start with a ball of wet snow and you roll it through the snow on the ground. It quickly becomes bigger and bigger. We usually make three balls of snow for a snowman, one for the lower body, one for the upper body and one for the head. Then we put them on top of each other. There is one problem, however. The bigger the snowman, the heavier the balls become.

Sometimes, the snow is mixed with rain. We call this sleet and if it freezes it can cause big problems, especially for drivers since the roads quickly become covered with ice.


drysnow2

When the temperature gets colder, the snow becomes drier (above photo). You can no longer use it to make snowballs or snowmen. It is more like soft powder. Fresh dry snow is very beautiful. It makes the world outside seem fresh and white. This kind of snow is very good for skiing and sledding too. We all like this kind of snow.

Now let's look at some snow falling. First, we'll look at some wet snow. Notice how big the flakes are.






In the next video clip we'll take a closer look at the wet snow flakes.




In this clip, the weather has turned much colder and the snow is very dry and powdery. It is also windy, so the weather feels colder than it really is.


Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 06:26 AM

January 12, 2008

Winter in Minnesota

kbkhill1My boy Kevin is 10 years old. He was born in Thailand and until last month, he had never experienced a real winter with real snow. The same was true of my wife who was born in Khon Kaen. My experience is very different. I grew up in Northfield, Minnesota in the United States. Minnesota is in the far North and it is one of the coldest states in the country.

This year we decided to visit my home in Northfield for the Christmas and New Year's holidays. When we arrived the temperature was below freezing and there was a lot of snow on the ground. The whole 21 days that we were there the temperature only went above freezing twice. Most days, the temperature was about minus 10 degrees Celsius or colder and we had a lot of fresh snow.

What was it like for the Thai members of my family? While I was there I made some videos so you can find out. You, too, can get an idea of what a real winter is like. I hope you enjoy them.

What is (old) snow like?

When we arrived there was snow on the ground. It was old snow, having fallen about two weeks earlier. What is old snow like? Have a look as Kevin experiences snow for the first time in his life.



In the second short video clip, Kevin walks back into the snow and discovers something interesting. Notice also how he is dressed for the cold weather. As I remember the temperature was between -5 and -10 degrees Celsius. 



Now let's continue by going to the back of our house and see what we can find. At first the snow may look a little dirty, but that is actually needles from a pine tree on the ground. 


Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 02:22 PM

October 30, 2007

audio

Planning our Halloween costume

Hi kids. It's Halloween tomorrow. Do you have your costume ready? If you do, then you can help me choose mine. If you haven't, maybe you can get some ideas as you help me. All the items below are for sale here in Bangkok, so as soon as I choose what I want, I'll go out and buy them. Look through them all and then I'll tell you what I have decided to buy.



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1. OK. The first thing I want is something for my head. I am very tall, so I don't want a tall pointy witch's hat. I just want a pair of horns, like the horns of a bull. Can you find the ones I am thinking about?

2. Now, I want something to cover my face. In other words, I want a mask. I have six to choose from. I'll take the white one with the mouth that is wide open and the eyes that look like triangles. Can you find the right mask?

3. I think those eyes will make me look even scarier. If I get tired of wearing my mask, I'll put them on. Can you find them?

4. Finally, I need something for my hands. I see there is a fake arm. Can you find it? I don't think I want it though since I have very big hands already. Instead, I prefer that hand puppet that looks like a scary skull with a mouth full of teeth. Can you find it? Imagine what would happen if I walked up to some one and offered to shake their hand? That would be funny.

Now, what about you? Do you see anything you would like for tomorrow? Have a very happy Halloween and don't eat too much candy.

For the answers, click here.
horns – the hard pointed parts that grow on the heads of some animals, such as sheep and cows
bulls – male cows
mask – something that covers your face and has another face painted on it
scarier – more frightening
fake – not real
puppet – a model of a person or an animal that can be made to move
skull – the bones that form the head

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 06:03 AM

September 04, 2007

The characters of Winnie the Pooh.

pooh1

audio

Recently, there was a very colourful story in the Bangkok Post about the characters in the famous stories of Winnie the Pooh and his friends in a place called 100 Acre Woods.

The stories were written about 80 years ago by AA Milne. He got the idea for most of the characters from the stuffed animals his son played with. His son, too, appears in the Pooh stores as Christopher Robin. Rabbit and Owl are based on animals that lived near his home.

It is the Walt Disney movie and book versions of the Winnie the Pooh stories that has made the Pooh characters so famous around the world. That is where you probably first saw them.

stuffed – filled with something like cotton or straw

Activity

Below is a list of some of the characters that were mentioned in the Bangkok Post story:

Winnie the Pooh  Eeyore   Piglet  Tigger  Rabbit  Owl  Lumpy

Now look at how the Bangkok Post story described these characters. Can you guess which one is being described in each?

audio

1. This is a gloomy character. Gloomy means to be sad and unhappy. He is blue-grey in colour and wears a bright pink bow. Which Pooh character best fits this description?

2. This character was described as exuberant,  boisterous, and impulsive. Exuberant means to be happy and full of energy and excitement. Boisterous also means to be full of energy, but in a noisy way. Impulsive means to do things without thinking first about what might happen. Who do you think fits this description?

3. This character was described as being sweet and innocent, wanting only to play, sing and have fun. Innocent means to not have much experience of the world. Which Pooh character do you think is sweet, innocent and fun-loving?

4. This character is described as being innocent in a different way. The word used was naive which means to be to willing to believe people always tell you the truth. This character is also honest, good-hearted and very curious – always wanting to learn about new things. Who is this character?

5. This character is always ready to give his opinions and advice. In other words, he likes to tell others what he thinks about things and to tell them what they should do. He also enjoys telling stories about his relatives. Who is this character?

6. This character is described as "Pooh's best friend." He is tiny, rather quiet and he tries to be brave although we can see very clearly that he is not.

7. This is probably the cleverest character in the Pooh stories and he tries to be the leader of the group. One problem he has, however, is that he often overreacts. In other words, he thinks something is more important or more serious than it really is. His favourite foods are vegetables and he likes to grow them in his garden.

For the answers, click here.


For fun information and activities related to the Disney version of Winnie the Pooh on the Internet click here. For some very good information on the real Christopher Robin click here. You will also find other useful links on that page.

Stuffed Winnie the Pooh characters are now available in Thailand for a limited time. Shoppers need to spend 500 baht at any Carrefour to earn one stamp. A total of 16 stamps together with another 59 baht, or 8 stamps plus 199 baht entitle Pooh fans to select their favourite Pooh or one of his friends. The campaign runs until November 28 at all branches of Carrefour nationwide.

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 06:01 AM


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