Now this phrase usually has Chris running for cover whilst muttering 'Oh God!!'. Sadie uses it all the time.....I have tried to find an alternative (I usually start my sentence with 'So....' and then share my words of wisdom.....you can stop laughing at the idea I may have words of wisdom!!) but I think 'So' wouldn't really work as a blog title.I seem to have digressed a bit.
Anyway, our lovely friend Alex e-mailed me over the weekend and in her
e-mail she said 'I do hope that you and Chris haven't picked up any of the local accents!!' and it got me thinking.....Now before this sends any of you into a blind panic neither of us actually sound Thai but I have actually picked up a Thaiism (Is that the right word?) - I should explain.
The Thai's have a word/noise which sounds a bit like oooooooooeeeeeeeee (think ooooo as in loo) which can be used to cover a multitude of situations - a short ooeee could be used to express shock, a 
ooooowheeeee to express exasperation, an ooooooooooooeee to express pain - I'm sure you are now getting the picture. Well I have picked up this delightful little expression and I have discovered that I now use it on a regular basis (I have even stopped swearing.....shhhh......don't tell my Gran I ever swore!!). I hadn't really thought about it till Alex's e-mail and was shocked to discover that there are other thingsI now find eating with a knife and fork a
bit odd. Normally you eat Thai food either with your fingers (such as spring rolls) or with a fork and spoon (Thai food is a bit like Chinese in that it's usually bite size). If I have something on my plate which needs to be cut up I either cut it with the edge of my spoon or, if I really have to, my knife and then eat it with my fork and spoon!!
I no longer like ordering a plate of food just for me. It feels wrong (rude almost) not to order something and then put it in the middle of the table for everyone to share. (I love this way of eating....I no longer suffer from food envy!!). Recently Chris and I went to an Italian restaurant - we ordered pizza and pasta and then had to ask for two extra plates so that we could put everything in the middle and share it.When did this happen and why didn't anyone tell me about it?
10 comments:
Don't I know about that Thai noise ouiii..it comes out when I'm talking to friends/fam on the phone and they are like WTF! Feels so natural to express so many different things!
Ever tried cutting a chicken drumstick with a spoon? The ultimate in Thai dining!
Mel - LOL....I'm so glad it's not just me!! (It's a handy little noise isn't it)
and
I frequently cut up chicken drumsticks with a spoon!! I usually have to fish the drumsticks out of my soup, peel the skin off them and then cut them up!! (That sounds really bizarre when I read it back)
C x
I used to teach foreign students who made a similar noise - probably in pain.
I like eating with fingers. I wish it was customary to do so here. Not rice though. Rice = spoon. Now I'm hungry.
xx
hahaha this made me laugh! I tried saying oooooeeeeeeee today instead of my usual expletives but being in Wigan at the time all I got was very strange looks!
Wish they would bring in plate sharing as a norm here as I get food envy ALL the time. Not sure about dealing with a drumstick with a sppon though but will start practicing!
ooooeee now I know you are truly touched whatever happened to och!
Tomxx
Lane - LOL I'm sure it wasn't in pain!!
Not all rice = spoon. You can eat sticky rice here with your fingers which is great fun as you roll it into a ball and dip it in sauce before eating it (It's a bit like playdo only with added benefits!!)
Alex - When you come over here I promise you will be oooeeeeing with the best of them. Practising with the spoon is probably a good idea - the first time I tried it I ended up chasing my chicken drumstick round the plate!! (Much to Moon's amusement!!)
Tom - Don't worry.....I still och on occasion but have to confess that oooeeee has kind of taken over!!
C x
Surely chicken drumsticks were tailor-made for fingers...?
Janice - ahhh but that would be considered rude!! (not to mention the fact that your soup would have gone cold by the time the chicken was cool enough to pick up!!)
C x
haha, I hear you on the "ooii.." I've been back in Canada a few months after a year in Thailand, and that noise keeps slipping out of me, on the bus, when I trip, get surprised by something,etc etc. It's better than swearing, but the Canucks think it's strange!
I still share food whenver i can. My friends have gotten used to my fork straying over to their dishes when we eat together...
peace,
ann
Welcome Ann
It's just one of those noises that you can't help picking up isn't it!!
I'm glad that your friends allow your fork to stray......there is nothing worse than having food envy and no-one lets you pinch a bit!!
C x
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