Sleeping dictionary

[PeteC]

I saw a movie on Star last night entitled above. Amazon rain forest, early 1900's, missionaries or similar ruling the natives. Not a bad movie but not a great one either, except for the scenery and some of the women.

It seemed the normal course of action for the farang males to take up with a "sleeping dictionary" i.e, a local lass who would teach them how to speak the local dialect while at the same time taking care of all their other needs.

I like that term, a lot. I think I will introduce it to the local girls and see if it catches on here. You can combine it with the entire theme of going to the library and doing homework. Pete

[migrant]

I saw a movie on Star last night entitled above. Amazon rain forest, early 1900's, missionaries or similar ruling the natives. Not a bad movie but not a great one either, except for the scenery and some of the women.

It seemed the normal course of action for the farang males to take up with a "sleeping dictionary" i.e, a local lass who would teach them how to speak the local dialect while at the same time taking care of all their other needs.

I like that term, a lot. I think I will introduce it to the local girls and see if it catches on here. You can combine it with the entire theme of going to the library and doing homework. Pete

I think it is the movie I saw, and Jessica Alba is the 'sleeping dictionary'

What a cutie (after my Thai fiance, of course)

[PeteC]

I saw a movie on Star last night entitled above. Amazon rain forest, early 1900's, missionaries or similar ruling the natives. Not a bad movie but not a great one either, except for the scenery and some of the women.

It seemed the normal course of action for the farang males to take up with a "sleeping dictionary" i.e, a local lass who would teach them how to speak the local dialect while at the same time taking care of all their other needs.

I like that term, a lot. I think I will introduce it to the local girls and see if it catches on here. You can combine it with the entire theme of going to the library and doing homework. Pete

I think it is the movie I saw, and Jessica Alba is the 'sleeping dictionary'

What a cutie (after my Thai fiance, of course)

If it is Jessica Alba (I'm bad with movie star names) she is what we call here a luke krung, half and half Asian/Farang. We were sitting here trying to figure out "where" but couldn't. She does have many Asian features though, and I would say Philippines, Thai or Malaysian. Definitely not northern Asia. She had her own TV show in the States some years back. She sped around on a phantom motorcycle saving the world. Had supernatural powers as well, I think, or genetic manipulation turining her into "something". In this movie she looked like she did then, so perhaps an older movie. Pete

[Jaime]

Nah - Jessica Alba is part Mexican, rather than Asian.

[PeteC]

Nah - Jessica Alba is part Mexican, rather than Asian.

You're wrecking my fantasy here, Jaime! Those eyes look luke krung to me. Someday, I'll have to do a Google, maybe not. Pete

[DawnHRD]

The show was "Dark Angel", I think. And I hate to say it, (and shatter your fantasies, Pete ) think Jaime is right and she is from Mexico or some other South/Central American country.

[pookie]

The show was "Dark Angel", I think. And I hate to say it, (and shatter your fantasies, Pete ) think Jaime is right and she is from Mexico or some other South/Central American country.

Born in California, of mixed US/Mexican parents (Father Mexican, mother American)

Pookie

[PeteC]

The show was "Dark Angel", I think. And I hate to say it, (and shatter your fantasies, Pete ) think Jaime is right and she is from Mexico or some other South/Central American country.

Born in California, of mixed US/Mexican parents (Father Mexican, mother American)

Pookie

I'll have to find out the Mother's maiden name, surely a Thai on the rebound from a VN era marriage gone bad. She doesn't have Mexican or Anglo hooters, too small. Her tail could be Mexican though. Pete

[Jim]

wikipedia to the rescue, as usual

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_alba

[Jaime]

What's wrong with Mexican women anyway? Phwwoooor!

[Guess]

I am now in pedant mode.

1. Mexico is considered in most contexts (e.g. political, geographical and social) to be in the continent of North America.

2. Most Mexicans have at least some Amerindian blood and almost all will have some European (mainly Spanish) blood. Amerindians originated in Asia.

This racial mix produces particularly nice bums for women.

[caducus]

I too saw and enjoyed the film referred to.

To continue the pedantic note of the previous poster the action of the film took place in Sarawak in the period between the two world wars. Sarawak was, at that time, part of the British Empire. It was, indeed a common practice for young, unmarried colonial civil servants and company men to shack up with a local lass for the duration of their stay.

Almost the entire population of 'Anglo-Indians' on the sub-continent is a living reminder of this practice. It is also given prominence in George Orwell's (autobiographical) novel 'Burmese Days'.

The term 'sleeping dictionary' is a common one and should be found in any good dictionary of slang. I first heard it many years ago when I was teaching employees of an international organization. I had one student who worked much harder than all the others and was thus able to scrape through her end-of-term examinations year after year. Then, to my surprise, she appeared at the top of the class. I started a little lecture in which held her up to be an example of how persistent hard work can suddenly bring unexpected rewards. My class just giggled and whispered among themselves, before explaining to me that the they would never be able to improve in that way until they, too, managed to acquire a 'sleeping dictionary'.

By the way, if you want to learn to speak 'good' Thai a 'sleeping dictionary is not recommended.

But I would love to learn Spanish from Jessica Alba - and if she doesn't speak Spanish then I could always pretend that I could not speak English.

[Jaime]

Almost the entire population of 'Anglo-Indians' on the sub-continent is a living reminder of this practice. It is also given prominence in George Orwell's (autobiographical) novel 'Burmese Days'.

I read Robert Graves' First World War memoirs, Goodbye to All That, a little while ago. He described the main difference between the battalion of The Welch Regiment in which he was serving at the time, and another battalion of the same regiment that had recently returned from an 18 year stint in India and Burma as being that the men and officers returning from the tropics 'consorted with brown women rather than white!'

[PeteC]

This thread is taking an interesting twist, good. From experience, all you gentlemen who are married and/or long term co-habitating with Thai women will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to establish a new, meaningful relationship with a non Asian woman, if your current partnership should turn sour.

Besides myself, I've known many farangs who have tried and failed. Why?, too deep for me to comprehend except to say, it's just not the same, in all aspects. The comfort and contentment just doesn't seem to be there. One friend of mine put it simply.. "white women scare me...!"..LOL. Pete

PS: Please, let's not get back into the English woman bashing again, that's not my point.

[DawnHRD]

I think you've made a good point, with that last one, Pete. I've been surprised to find, since my boyfriend died that I feel far more attraction to Thai guys of a similar type to him than I do to caucasian men. Since he was my first Asian boyfriend/LTR, and I sort of "fell into" the relationship, rather than actively pursued it, that wasn't something I expected. So, what you suggested makes sense to me...