Me, Thai Language, and an Emotional Breakdown Over Pad Thai
Okay, let’s just get this out of the way— I decided to learn Thai. Yep. Out of all the possible things I could be doing after exams or during my free time (like watching BL dramas or finally folding that laundry pile that’s starting to become a piece of modern art), I told myself, “Let’s learn Thai! It'll be fun!” Oh, sweet, innocent me. So here I am, bravely trying to learn a language that has five tones, letters that look like noodles doing yoga, and words that change meaning if you say them slightly wrong. Like, how does one tiny change in tone make the word go from “near” to “meat”? Why am I being personally attacked by vowels? Why does my tongue feel like it's doing an obstacle course every time I say “s̄wạs̄dī”? I downloaded every Thai learning app ever created, joined a few YouTube channels with titles like “Learn Thai in 30 Days!” (lies. all lies), and even tried repeating after Thai dramas. Fun fact: if you try to mimic Thai actors mid-emotional confession scene, y...