#29 Nicknames
Goong : Shrimp Oan : Fat (his twin brother is named Joy- Skinny)
Book: Book
Poo - said more like Bpoo but still funny
Nicknames are an important aspect of Thai culture and is among one of the first questions you'll be asked. The other volunteers and I have shared many laughs at the silliest of nicknames of our students as they come in all forms. The reason behind nicknames is their full first name is too long and elaborate to say so the parents give them a nickname to go by. How they come up with these names, I do not know! I think I would be depressed my whole life if I had to go by the nickname Fat and my twin got to be Skinny! Or how about weird english names such as Book, Ice, Bank, A, Bow, Nut,or Luck. Some of the most common names amongst my students seem to be : Gkai- Chicken, Som- Orange, Chompoo- Rose Apple, Lek and Noi- Small and Malee- Jasimine flower. Then, I start thinking about my own Thai nickname Bai Tuey, which I finally found the english translation to: Pandan Leaf. I always laugh when I think of the english translation of what my students are saying " Teacher Pandan Leaf, Teacher Pandan Leaf!" One of the many reasons why I love Thailand....
<-----Bai Tuey!
Interesting! I like the Jasmine name, but yeah, it would suck to be called fat all the time!
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