Phoot Pasa Thai Lor?

I had an amazing realization when I was dining with a friend from Bangkok, his friends from work/past and my buddy from INSEAD...

Basically, we were in a Chinese restaurant and the waiter was Laotian. He spoke Thai. So did the rest of us at the table. Except for my Chinese buddy from INSEAD. And he had this look on this face - how is it, that I'm sitting in Germany at a Chinese restaurant, and I'm the only one unable to converse with the wait-staff! The irony was killing him.

But something else interesting that happened was that I realized that no one in Europe was very excited or taken aback by random foreigners speaking Thai. In the States if/when I bust out into Thai with wait-staff at restaurants, they get so excited that they end up chatting with me for a good 15 - 20 minutes. Sometimes even the Chef comes out to say Hi. First off, as an Indian, I am not as "expected" to speak Thai but moreso, and I realized this since I've been in Europe for a couple of months now, but generally speaking, Europeans speak several languages. The locals speak their own language and depending on their geographic neighbors (and their proximity) another 1 or 2. For example folks in Luxembourg speak German, French, and English.

So when an Indian walks in speaking Thai, they smile and converse with you, if you speak the language. Wait-staff at the hotel we stayed at in Berlin is Thai. She smiled when I spoke Thai, and addressed me in Thai thereafter, but that shock I normally saw in the States was nowhere to be seen. Same thing in Berlin - our first meal was a Thai meal at a Japanese-Thai restaurant near Checkpoint Charlie. The wait-staff smiled when I spoke Thai to them, responded in Thai, gave me tips for visiting the city, etc... but they were calm and composed.

I guess it is because so many people speak more than two languages that you are glad to see a fellow speaker, but not too surprised. Exact opposite in the States, where so many folks get by on English. One of the other reasons why I'm so particular, in some senses, with wanting to raise my children (craziness!) back in Asia if possible. Or putting them in an international school. Also need to brush up on my languages so I can be a good example! My rusted Thai, Hindi, French, Oriya, Tamil all need some exercise!!!

Speaking of, time to hit the gym!

Yum Woon Sen (Glass Noodle Salad), Kaeng Kiew Waan (Green Curry), Kapow Kai (Basil Chicken)