No, You’re Mean! (A Sweet Thailand Memory)

One of my legacies as an English teacher for the SOLD kiddos may be how effectively I taught the meaning and pronunciation of the word ‘mean’.

The kids loved it. All the time I would hear them yell “Mean! You mean!”. They got a huge kick out of telling me I was “mean”. Aye would frequently announce this and then give me an impish stink eye, daring me to disagree. Aun was a huge fan of trash talking Heather and I while we (attempted to) played badminton with her (” P’ Wen khun len anii mai de MAAAAAK” (basically ” P’ Wen- you play this like crap”) and we would tell her she was mean. Which then set off a nice round of “You’re mean!”, “No, you’re mean!!”.

 

P' Wen and Aun being mean

One day I was mercilessly caught in the middle of this back and forth with a bunch of the girls when I heard a quiet voice. Standing by his bicycle, watching what was going on, was a young thoughtful boy, whose name I never knew. He started coming to the Resource Center several months after we began living there and he was always polite, thoughtful and an observer of all that was happening around him. As the girls continued their relentless giggling attack against me, the young boy smiled and quietly said “”P’ Dara pom kit khun ji dee -P’ Dara,  I think you’re kind.”

My little complimenter hanging out with P' Michael