Mrs. Dictionary

Last week three foreigners from Holland were travelling in Laos. After one of the girls seriously injured herself while tubing, they were brought to Nakhon Phanom to the hospital.

It was 9pm at night and my first host mother called me. She wanted me to go to the hospital and translate for the doctors what the girls wanted, and in return explain all the procedures and tests the doctors were going to do. I felt really bad for the girl, but it was a really exciting experience. When I got to the hospital the doctors pulled me into an office and explained to me all of the questions I needed to ask them about medical insurance, the type of room they would like etc. I also had to explain to them that the next day she would have a CT scan and they were going to be frequently taking blood samples and Ultrasounds. I gave them my number so they could call me if they had any problems and the next day the friends of the patient called me asking to give a message to the hospital.

It's exciting how well my Thai is getting. I feel proud that now instead of replying to "Can you speak Thai?" with "I can speak a little Thai", I can now say "I can speak Thai". I feel proud that instead of being told I speak well, I am told my accent is just like a Thai. I feel proud that I can be a translator for other falangs, that I can wander the city by myself and have no problem talking to people and that I can now understand everything that is said in yoga classes.

"All I can do is keep breathing"