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Friday, April 30, 2010

DAY 30 – FREE DAY (AND FAREWELL)

NaPoWriMo Day 30
For Read Write Poem






Today is the last day of (Inter)National Poetry Month and the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge. The prompt today is a free day — you are free to use any prompt you have not yet written to from those provided this month, or you can write, and share, whatever you like today.
Congratulations to everyone who took part in the challenge! For those of you who wrote a poem every day this month, tomorrow we will post instructions for submitting work for the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge anthology.
Remember that the anthology is the culmination of the work done here at Read Write Poem. It will be posted on this site and on issue.com toward the end of May. Other than the anthology, as of May 1, the Read Write Poem site will no longer be live. The site’s main content will remain up as an archive, while all social elements (i.e., profiles, wire posts, private messages, groups, forum posts) will be removed May 1. Please make sure you have retrieved any information you want to save.
We also want to announce that Deb Scott — who served on Read Write Poem’s administrative team — and Carolee Sherwood and Jill Crammond Wickham — who were part of the site’s creative team — have started a new poetry community. The three will share poetry prompts and other poetry-related content at Big Tent Poetry. Their writing lineup is comprised of many fine poets, including several contributors to Read Write Poem. We hope you will check that site out and see what’s going on under the big tent.
Thank you all for taking part in Read Write Poem, and for taking the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge this year. Read Write Poem was intended to help poets share work with one another and learn more about poetry. We hope you will continue on that path. Or, in short, we hope you will all poem on — wherever poetry takes you.
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Farewell, and thanks for having me.
For today, a piece about where I live.
Somewhere far away?
Sometime in the future?
Check out:


PLANET ISAN

Star date, Thirty Maesayon
Twenty Five Fifty point Three
Entering Phrutsapharkhom
Ninth phase, Rama Dynasty

Atmospheric properties
Hot, humid, but breathable
Forty Celsius Degrees
Survival; conceivable

Welcome to North East Thailand
Amazing Land of the Smile
Stick around for a while and
Discover the Isan Style










Sabai dee? Wow Lao dai bor?
How are you? Do you speak Lao?
Chao si pai sai? Eeyang kor?
Where are you going? What now?

Het nar, kin khao, fang Morlam
Wan yut; welar muan lai der
Work rice, eat food, hear Morlam
Holidays; time for laughter

Life on Isan; laid back, slow
Conducted on your own terms
Recommended place to go
My experience confirms


Translation notes:

Maesayon = April

Twenty Five Fifty point Three
=2553 by the Buddhist calendar = 2010

Phrutsapharkhom = May

Ninth phase, Rama Dynasty = The King of Thailand
Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX

Isan = Name given to North Eastern Thailand

Sabai dee? = Lao for ‘Sawasdee khrap, sabai dee mai?’
= Thai for ‘Hello, how are you?’
(Strictly) only used in Laos,
but the Laos dialect is widely spoken in Isan

Wow Lao dai bor? = Lao for ‘Phut Lao (Isan-Thai) dai mai?’
= Thai for ‘Do you speak Lao (Isan-Thai)?’

Chao si pai sai = Lao for ‘Kuhn cha pai nai?’
= Thai for ‘Where are you going?’

Eeyang kor? = Lao for 'Arai na khrap?'
= Thai for ‘What did you say?’


Morlam = Traditional Isan Folk Music

23 comments:

  1. mm sounds like the
    best kind of education =)

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  2. 'I'll give you eeyang kor what for!
    Don't give me any of that arai na khrap
    See ya!'
    Cheers :)

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  3. Thanks to:
    Lucychili; And that's just for starters.
    ViV; I'll have a bed made up.
    Rallentanda; You should be a language teacher... Not much would be learnt, but what a laugh it would be!

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  4. I am a linguist amongst other things. I was an ESL and EFL teacher for many years at the tertiary level.Teacher training included...There was a lot of laughter and because of this a lot more learning occured.

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  5. Hi again Rallentanda; I can imagine. It's characters that ease the learning process. Without them and the atmosphere they create; the inspiration they provide, it's often not worth the effort.

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  6. Awesome poem, Stan!! I love the dual language elements, even though I didn't translate exactly (according to your notes) I still got the feel of the ideas, which is a credit to your writing!

    It's been fun! I will be popping by often. I hope you keep posting!

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  7. Thanks Lori; I'll still be posting my regular stuff to most of the prompt links in the sidebar.

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  8. Love what you did here.

    http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com

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  9. A great cultural blend, Stan. Extra Brownie points for rhyming Thai/Lao and English! It's been fun discovering a little more of your world. Lao jer gun. I hope!

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  10. Would love to go to your planet one day. Beam me over?

    Thanks, Stan!

    ~Mark

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  11. I enjoyed the heck out of this. I am still in denial of endings and somehow the tone of this is very "new beginning-ish"

    Thank you for that....

    Read my final NaPoWriMo2010 poem here.

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  12. I have enough trouble with the English language. I admire those who can master a second.

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  13. Love it, Stan. It's been nice to meet you. oh, i want that puppy

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  14. Thanks to:
    The laughing housewwife; A bit of background, so you know.
    Derrick; It's a fun world to be in.
    Dan; Cheers.
    Mark; Any time you're passing...
    Julie; Every day, a new discovery.
    Monkey Man; More like Jack than Master.
    Briarcat; A pleasure.

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  15. Our Loatian students are among our most gracious and warm. I sensed their warmth and intelligence in your words. Peace be to you!

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  16. Thanks to:
    JDM; A very simple and effective philosophy - Face each daty with a smile.
    Sandy; A tribute to my hosts.

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  17. If its hot I will take it...thanks for all your words Stan....hope to see you on the other side somewhere

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  18. Thanks Wayne; Hot and humid - rain on the way. Never much below 30C, day or night.

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  19. Phew, and I thought French was difficult! Congratulations on completing NaPoWriMo!

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  20. Thanks Andy; Or, khop kuhn khrap, or khop jai lai der, or merci beaucoup.
    Well done youself!

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