those thursday & friday nights

Thursday and Friday nights, 5:30-7, I have conversational hangout time with Koi, a Thai friend of mine (Prom's wife).  I had my first two, two weeks ago. And my second just this past Friday (21 June). Prom's parents are still staying with him, since my last visit at their house warming party. I never really interacted with them much, partly because I wanted to respect them and also I don't speak Thai.  I jumped right into the session with Koi.  She seemed to be eager to learn. It was actually very fun and casual. She is sweet, shy, and very intelligent. I discovered right away that she was overly cautious about her grammar and pronunciation, probably her biggest barrier. Therefore, my goal is to just make the conversations fun and comfortable for her.

Intermittently through out lessons Prom would come tell me things. Apparently his mother was observing me from the kitchen. He said, "my mom says you are a very beautiful girl." This made me smile because my first impression of his mom was that she had a tough exterior. I glanced her way and noticed she was smiling at me.  This made the night that much more enjoyable. Prom, translated what his mother said several times through out the session, casually. It was obvious that she approved of me. About an hour into our lesson together, his mom disappeared but I knew she was cooking in the porched-in kitchen. I could smell spicy Thai food cooking.  After our lesson concluded, Prom asked if I would join in with them for the supper meal. He told me that I need not feel obligated as it was all authentic Thai food. Ha. I was so excited. I told him that I would love to join them. The seemed equally pleased.  From there on, we just talked about food. I asked several questions. His mom picked up on my interest in cooking and started to ask me questions about food, Prom translated. Some of the questions she asked were: Do you like Thai food? What Thai foods have you tried? What Thai food do you like? Does she really cook? What Thai foods have you cooked? etc.. She seemed very surprised that I cooked. I could see her curiosity building through the conversation.The best part.. I was able to talk food in Thai with her, very basic but enough. 

Here's a glimpse of the the night's menu from lesson day 1

Steamed white rice. Of course.

spicy fish curry and a spicy pepper sauce with fermented fish (left to right)

pork and vegetable soup

spicy fish sauce, spicy fish curry, spicy fish paste (left to right)

Rice and fried river fish. Eat the fish as is, bones, scales, and all. There is not much of a fishy taste. The fish is more mild, crisp, and lightly salted.  Interested?

Thai omelet (left)

Lytchee - Thai fruit. Mmm. I love them. They are from the Chiang Mai region, 80-100 baht per kilo right now. They are sweet and sour with the texture of a grape. I have mentioned similar fruits in the past, ie longsans, longkong, and rambutans. Lytchee are by far my favorite. So good, especially if they are chilled.

 An appetizing menu? I tried every dish. Every dish.

The following night, Friday, I had my second lesson with Koi. It went well.  Prom's parents individually would speak to Prom about me. Prom would later translate things they said to him. All in all, his mom said that I was a "very lovely person, "..very beautiful, ..and that I dressed very nice. " Prom explained that his mom finds most 'farang' or foreigners rude, such as the backpackers coming though the city for some island fun.  Apparently she told Prom that I must have "come from a nice family." Until that night I hadn't heard a peep from Prom's dad. However, while I was with Koi, I guess he was asking Prom how much he was paying for me to teach. He said that "I was a very good teacher" and that Prom "was getting his money's worth."  I thought that was sweet. Prom seemed to take this all in, as he would keep coming up to me throughout the night, telling me what they were saying about me.  Parents are highly respected in Thailand, so to many their opinions and thoughts are highly considered - so Prom tells me.

Prom and Koi, invited me to join them for drinks at GM Bar. GM is a fun local bar with giant, beautiful, tropical trees growing from the center of it. We ordered food and boy was it amazing. The pictures and lighting don't do the food justice.

Stir-fried tuna with vegetables and cashews. I want to order this again. I want to make this! Here I thought it was a gamble ordering a random dish with tuna. Cheers to trying new food. Cost, 70 baht at GM Bar.

Family-style, Thai style dining. So great. Two soups (coconut chicken soup and a sour-spicy vegetable soup), fried pork, crab, and I forget what all else.

Prom wanted to make sure that I had a drink at all times. I ended up drinking some Singha beer and then Prom asked if I would like to try some of the wine that his wife ordered. I said, sure I'll try some. In my head I was thinking, it was going to be an overly sweet wine. It was love at first sip. My second taste of wine in 4 months - New Zealand Shiraz. I forgot how much I enjoy wine. I know next to nothing about wines, but if I was a snobby wine loving Asian, I'd gave it an official, Hello Kitty thumbs up stamp of approval.

Too many sips? I don't know. You can think what you will. I simply recall waking up in the morning feeling well rested and ready to run. Take that you 4am roosters!

This week's Menu, from Friday night
I was again invited to join them for supper.
The food was purchased from the DonNok Market and yes, served with steamed rice. 

Coconut-base soup with shrimp, bamboo shoots, Thai bitter bean - pronounced: dtom gahteet nohm mai
The soup had a semi-sweet coconut flavor.

 Bitter gourd (malarat) stuffed with pork and glass noodles.

 Gaeng Som - a spicy, citrus, Thai curry with fish and vegetable.

Mildly spicy curry soup, slight fish taste.