How to strike a conversation with your foreign friends

Have you ever wonder how to make new friends in a new country where you don't have so many friends, khunnai? Or have you ever run out of what to say to your colleagues, new friends or even strangers? No you don't need to be good at sports, joining the gymm, or holding a sushi party like Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. All you need, really, is you and your tongue. OK, don't get too carried away, what I really mean is your mother-tongue language.

There must be many strange & funny differences between the language you speak and English. There is something innocent about teaching & learning languages. It's like you are inviting another person to get to know you slightly better. So, khunnai, next time when you're stuck at the bar not knowing what to say to a cute foreigner, just teach him some Thai, or Vietnamese, or Tagalog, or Bahasa, or whatever. You're always right coz he doesn't know what's right or wrong anyway.

It's cute, easy, fun, interactive, and engaging. Here are some Thai lessons you can start teaching some foreign friends:

1. ma, ma~, ma+
ma = to come; ma~ = a horse; ma+ = a dog
There are 5 levels of sound in Thai language, and so you could have upto 5 different words with the same basic sound. It becomes even funnier when you try to say that a dog comes to a horse. See this video for a proof.

2. Bangkok
The full name of Bangkok is listed in Guinness Book to be the longest name of any place. There's a Thai song for the name so that young people can memorize it. Usually your foreign friends would drop their jaws since "Phop Nopparat Ratchathanee..." You can even make some money out of it by making a bet before saying it.

3. 4 basic things in life
This one is a newfound one (#1 and #2 have been used again & again). There are so many Thai sayings. So many good ones too. But this saying is about 4 basic things in life that every human needs. They rhyme, so they are easy for foreigners to memorize. They are "Kin, Khee, Pee, Norn". Wow.. it seems less dirty in written karaoke! Well.. they mean "to eat, to take a poop, to ****, to sleep". You can guess the 3rd one. This one is really fun coz people always like something a little dirty.

That should get the balls rolling, really. Remember that us fellow khunnais don't have to try too hard on anything, but a little bit of tips never hurt anyone. But if they are still not interested, then maybe you need to find new friends.