TheVol. I No. 3

Kr~~g Thep Chro~icleInternational Edition September 30,1988

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CULTURESCANUCK CROSSESRose Garden TheWijai Wattanathampresented a course onCross-CulturalManagement inThailand fromSeptember 28th to the30th.

The session was heldat Rose Garden, abeautiful resort afew hours drive fromBangkok.

We arrived around14.00, Wednesdayafternoon. We checkedinto our rooms anddecided to grab aquick bite to eat.

The seminar was tobegin at 16.00 so(Cont. p 2 ROSE)

The Chronicle

InsideAnnouncements ..6 ,I

Classified ..6Development ..4Entertainment ..5Insight ..3Weather ..2

The Krung ThepChronicle is apublication of RayTeske. It isintended for thethe enjoyment offriends andf a m i 1 yDistribution isworld-wide viavarious methods.

Add res scorrespondance to:

Ray TeskeApt. 7BEsmeralda Apts.64/66 Soi NamDupliRama IV RoadBangkok, 10120

(View from the lakebungalow. The resortlearn and relax.)

HERITAGEAccording toinformation sent toKTC by Bill Young Ihear that theeditor's alma mater(can I call it that)has be granted theprivelage to act onits own. Al though Ihave always liked thesound of 'HeritageCampus' (as with TheDragon Room, Le Trou,and The Bridge) ,Heritage College hasa ring all of itsown.

CHRISTMASSo far it looks likeI plan to stay herefor the Christmasseason. My friendshave invited me tovisit the Hill Tribesin the North of thecountry. We willleave Bangkok

side 'Thai-style'was a great place to

AUTONOMOUSAlso happening thisfall is a reunion.The Chronicle won'tbe sending acorrespondant out tocover the event.

CongratulationsHeritage! I hope yournew identity willhelp the quality ofAng Lophone Educationin the Outaouais. (Ialso hope no oneconfuses you with theBusiness Collegeacross the river.

UP NORTHthe 23rd and spendtill the 27th in thearea. There is evenmentioned of a dashinto Burma for a day.More details andinformation as it isavailable.

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WEATHER(ROSE- from page 1 )There was also timeto take a walk aroundthe compound.

The resort is wellequipped. Severalrestaurants,boutiques, two pools,a lake, tenniscourts, elegantgardens, and bothThai Style Houses anda modern hotel foraccomadation.

The seminar beganwith an introductionfrom the courseleaders: Dr. HenryHolmes and KhunSuchada Tangtongtavy.The members includedTha is, Ame ric ans ,Canadi ans , Du tch ,British, Japanese andGermans.

To try to geteveryone to learn thenames of our fellow"cross-culturalists"we were led in alittle parlour game.The game involvedstanding up andsaying your name andgiving something youliked. The nextperson had to repeatthe previous person'sname and like. And soon down the line.This created a lot oflaughter.

After a swim andcocktails we settleddown to a groupdinner. Both theThais and some farangcommented on the"westernized" Thaifood. But we ate ourshare and headed intothe evening sessioncontent.

The seminar touchedtopics such as socialstructures in

Thailand and thewest, fundamentals ofperception snf valuedifferences, andskills for thebusiness side oflife.

There was also plentyof time towork in small groupsto discuss both sidesof many issues. Itwas a great way tofind out what isgoing on behind thesmiles you seem toget no matter whatthe circumstance.

We were also allowedtime to socializeincluding a boat ridein a rice barge downthe river. Plenty oftalking, a few drinksand the soothingrocking of the boatcreated a verycongenial atmosphere.

The session wrappedup with workshops onsocial skills andThai customs andbe ha v iou rs . Giftgiving, religiousevents and the 'wai'were the main topicscovered.

The event wasinformativeenjoyable. Thepicked up hereapplied toculture.

veryand

skillscan be

any

The members haddiscussed gettingtogether informallyafter for a fewdrinks and a progressreport.

Watch this spacefor a new columnwith more gossipand news .....

mmmmnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!i!

I Well, I thought II that I had seen Iq a lot of rain in II my brief stay on II this planet but II never like this. I

I The flooding has II started to close II schools. It has II even caused the II office ceiling IHili to dr ip. ;i:!ii

u The lightning is II striking just a II bit close for me •i , at time there.I is barely enough II time to count to Ilone before a big I~ clap echoes into Ii!,!! room.

I When it pours as Ii has been lately II you just stay in II where it is safe II and dry. Well, I II should say most IU of the time. Any II moment the skies I:!!ii can erupt.

;:!!ljiHmllfi~illlliiHliiiill!!i !!~!!il!;:l!mi:1i;;i!!!ij11glj!i;l!!!i!~f!!!iii!i!il:j!!H!ii!lmllg'immll!

Party! EH!Well everybody lovesto party. The Thaisare no except ion. Abash usually involveseating between 7:00and 8:00. Then plentyof drink andlaughter.

Sometimes my friendsplan to go to a disco( t hat w 0 r dgrates ... ). To carryon the liveliness.They love to danceand go nuts. The lasttime we went out wewon 3 bottles ofchampagne. Can't waittill the next party! !October 21st.

The Krung Thep Chronicle September 30, 1988 3

I NS I GHT ---=,------- Meanwhile, everyone is bendingI used to be a dro~ over backwards to help an until-out. What's more i recently drop-out. The salariesthat I was rathe of my co-workers range fromproud of the fact. Bu 3,000 baht to 9,000 baht a monthwith friends, family (150 to 450 CDN). Everyone canand members of the guess that I am making more thanComputer Science that.faculty applying the ~right kind of pressure •.I the plunge and completed myDEC. Now I can say I am acomputer resource wi th adiploma.

This recent brush with academiastarted me thinking. Maybe it istime I furthered myself andworked on a universityeducation. Yeah, that's theticket. Start off with a B.Sc.in Computer Science and graduateup to a Masters in somethingreally tangible like Theory ofAutomata.

But what could I do with abachelor degree. Well, I wasthinking about this on my way towork one day and I wondered intothe Local Mr. Donut (Yes, folksI still eat Boston Cream ... ) toorder three dozen donut holes toshare at the office. The younglad (well about my age) behindthe counter spoke very goodEnglish. His ID card displayedhis graduation photo from alocal university. He had a BA inEnglish. Now he sells donuts.

We recently hired a greatsecretary. She too has a BA inEnglish. She is a very brightkid, translates well, picks upsoftware quickly and has someinteresting insight into theThai culture and developmentissues. But for now she types,makes photocopies and coffee fortwo f arang "experts." Only oneof which has a degree.

Gordon has hired a dr i, cer.Doesn't speak much English buthas a degree' in PhysicalEducation. The driver didn'tmention his degree because hewas afraid of being over-qualified.

It does make you wonder aboutthe appropriateness of degrees.A sect ion 0 f the UN won't evenlook seriously at you until youhave a degree of at leastMaster's level. I agree thatdegrees are important, but whatif you can do the job.

Degrees are important (can I sayto a degree). Here in Thailandalmost every senior level isoccupied by a Dr. So and So withhis Ph.D. from the University ofDesmoines. Ph.D. graduates arewell respected here as they arein other countries. It is hardto compete when the only lettersyou can put after your name isS.O.B. (no offence Mom). Well Ifelt outta place and maybe Ishould get me a doctorate so Icould have lunch at the bigtable.

I wouldn't mind getting a degreeor two or three. My name is Kindof short, after all.

4

In.formCLtion.

The Krung Thep Chronicle September 30, 1988

WorkshopAsk ~TC::::~::I::::!ia:!::m::::m::mm:::mmmm::::m:::::mm:m:m:m:::::m:::l::::tt:1:::It:::m:w:: :m::::I:::::::lUlnmm::mnmm:':llltl1::mw:,mm:::::::::::::m:1:::m::::::an,::mm::mm:mmm::::::I:lI::mm:::mu:mummum:m:m::mUlmnu:::::m:::mumm:::mll1m:m::m:::I::ll:1UUl:

Dear KTC:

What or Where doesthe name Krung ThepChronicle come from?

Enquiring Mind!

Dear EM:

Krung Thep is theThai name forBangkok. When thecapital city wasmoved from theThonburi side of theChao Phya river tothe Bangkok side itsname was change toKrung Thep. Thismeans City of Angels,Krung Thep is justthe short form of thename, it is in theGuinness Book ofWorld Records as thecity with the longestname.

Dear KTC:

It seems veryexpens ive to send aletter from Thailand.The paper costs 8.50,is that a lot of realmoney?

Middle Sis

Dear Middle Sis:

Well, actually 8.50translate to 8 baht50 sat ang . One bahtis roughly fivecents. Using basicarithmetic we get 8.5* 5 = 42.50 Canadiancents, Not very much.This is a specialrate thatprinted materialgets. Regular letterscost from 15 to 25baht ($.75 to $1.25),

On September 6-7 aworkshop deal .ing with'In fo rma t io nandModern DesktopPub 1 ish i n g :Implications forThailand' was held onthe campus ofKat set s artUniversity. Thesession was co-sponserded by TheThailand Insti tutefor Scientific andTechnical Researchand the SvitaFoundation.

I was asked to givea talk titled'Installation of anInformation Systemfor Royal DevelopmentProjects. ' The formatof my talk seemed tointerest the audiencemorethan the content,although the

(Khun Wanida hard atProject Ne"","s

Well more progress onthe RCP. We now havetwo C 0 m p a qworkstations. Theyhave alreadygenerated plenty ofinterest. We now hopeto start the

audience appreciatedthe difficultiesfacing installationof informaticsfacilities in theg 0 v ern men tbureaucracy.

The workshop wasfairly successful.Forty to fifty peopleattended, comprisedof informaticsd ire c tor s ,researchers and Phdsfrom localuniversities.

I was presented witha small plaque toremember by visit tothe institute and afellow speaker gaveme copies of hisself-help books (inThai of course) andinvited me to joinhis BBS and UsersGroup.

work on a Compaq 286)

travelling lateOctober. Despite theslower pace we aremaking greatprogress. We looklike we may keep tothe long termschedule.

The Krung Thep Chronicle September 30, 1988 5

Erlte:rta.irlITlerlt

At TheThai cinemas are reminiscent ofthe grand old movie houses ofthe late 50's. Grand staircases,large auditoriums and elaboratedecorations are found in mostThai theatres. Many are showingsigns of wear but the shear sizeis enough to impress. No 100screen cinemas in this venue.

The titles that come are rareand many movie houses will showthe same movie. Currentlywestern titles that are showinginclude: Hoosiers, Three Men andA Baby, Blood Sport and ThreeKinds of Heat. There areMoza.rt Perha.ps?

What does one do for someclassical entertainment? Well goto the Bangkok SymphonyOrchestra of course! The concertheld at ChulalongkornUniversity, September 14thconsisted of three pieces:Mozart's Symphony No. 1 , AConcerto for Oboe, and a shortRondo.

The performance was not as crispor as interpretive as it couldhave been. The evening wasrather lack-lustre with somesections coming off very flat orin the wrong tempo.

On the whole, however, it was anenjoyable evening. The orchestrais a welcome break from theusual entertainment options.

Olympics on the Tube

Well, I still don't have a TVyet. No matter however as almostevery noodle shop, bar orrestaurant had a tube blaring tocatch all the action.Unfortunately I was sound asleepwhen Mr. Johnson ran that alltoo perfect race. I hope tocatch the finale Sunday evening.

Mo-v-iesalso some Thai movies to choosefrom.

The expensive seats in thetheatres are about 50 baht($2.50) any night of the week.The snack concession offerspopcorn (no but ter) , softdrinks, and a variety of Thaisnacks.

The audiences are alive. At thecomedy I went to the laughterwas almost chaotic.

For me its is a welcome changefrom venues at home.

Fa.revvell to Soloist

Theheldstar25th

IBYCUS Chamber Orchestraa farewell concert for itsviolinist on Sunday the

at the AUA Auditorium.

The concert was not their bestas they suffered from theproblem that plagued the BSO aweek earlier: tuning. I hadheard this collection ofmusicians while here lastNovember. They are capable of aperformance far above the levelexhibited here.

But once again beggars must notbe choosers or they will end upin Patpong for yet another lostweekend.

The concerthowever. Thehas a bettershared a few

was enjoyablefriend I went with

ear than I do so wewinces and laughs.

The soloist however, contrastedthe orchestra in hisinterpretation of Mozart'sConcerto No. 5. He is to leaveto study in Belgium and willprobably enjoy playing 'secondfiddle' to some higher quali t ymusicians.

Maybe once the air dries we willhave a "tuned-in" concert.

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The La.st "W"ordWell one more edition out. Lateas usual. I have no realexcuses, besides my naturalinclination to procrastinate.That couple with an everincreasing social calendarleaves me little time for theimportant things.

I have switched over toWordperfect 5.0. Now that heldme up a bit. They have changedthe rules a little bit. To behonest I may go back to 4.2 butI hold judgement off till Ifigure out how to get what Iwant out of this.

The format has stayed prettymuch the same as the twoprevious issues (although I herethat my last issue never reachedits loyal subscriber's .. Sourcessay a strike at Canada Post????)but I have done away wi th theclassified, for now anyway. Thenext issue (why is it I alwaysstart the next task before Ifinish the one I am working on?)will be a little thicker.Articles just keep piling up andI should really keep }OUinformed.

I have talked to family andfriends in Canuck-land recentlyand it did make things kind ofmisty. I do miss being in PartyCentral, never knowing who wouldshow up, or call to invite me tosome trouble. I have been gonefour months already. Geez doestime fly or is just my agecreeping up on me? Well enoughsentiment.

Christmas time is rapidlyapproaching. I have been outshopping for little giftsalready. I have been told thatcertain items could result infines if they are found atcustoms, (as in Rolex look-a-likes). But nevertheless weshall overcome the legalitiesand ship those odd but elegantdevices.

I was recently askedcould come visit me.

if peopleThe answer

is simple yes. Just let meknow when and for how long.

The second question waswe get here (or for youits there). Well here islist of what you havethrough.

how toI guessa brief

to go

1) Get a valid Canadian passport(Sorry Logan this meanspictures). These are availableat the Passport Office 6th Floor200 Promenade du Portage.

2) If you are to be here lessthan fifteen days you don't needa v i sa . For those of you whowill be staying a little longeryou must apply at the ThaiEmbassy (sorry it has movedsince I left). Use me as theguarantor and address in TheKingdom. Your purpose should betouristy.

3) While this is happening go toyour doctor (Eek! Bend over andwhat?) and let them know youwant to go to Thailand. You willhave to visit the LocalMunic iple Health Branch forTyphoid shots. Your doctor canfill you in on any other needs.

4) Tickets. Flights here areincreasing in number andfrequency. I have alreadysuggested Manotick Travel, buthunt around a good price isbetween $1,000 and $1,700 I haveheard of deals for less.

5) And most important of all letme know all the details. If I amout of town when you arrive Ican have a friend meet you atthe airport. Or I can alwayssend you the instructions inEnglish and Thai on how to getto my place.

Well I guess that is about all.I know of two alcohol-crazedjuvenalistic buds who want tosee a bit of South-East Asia'sfinest. Remember Party Central'snot dead just relocated.

I guess that's about all fornow. See you in the funny pages.