Language Lesson #3: Burmese
“Shu shu” – the Burmese term for the uncomfortable, or “ana”, act of peeing your pants in public. Though not a word you’ll use much on your visit – unless […]
Category Archives: Burma
Burma or Myanmar: What’s in a name?
Living within one hour’s walk from the Thai border, my students (Karenni refugees from Burma) refer to their homeland simply as “inside.” The word conjures images of a mysterious location, […]
Another Sort of Celebration, Part 2: Karenni National Day
Celebrating Karenni National Day inside Thai refugee camps, 2007 Q: How do we demonstrate national pride? With patriotic anthems and firework displays; with rowdy crowds and waving flags; with reverent […]
Another Sort of Celebration, Part 1: World Refugee Day
Thang’s Dilemana: a Karenni refugee in Thailand tells his story. Q: Why do we leave home? Because office cubicles cause claustrophobia; because life is too short to stand still; because […]
Speaking Karenni
Burma is a Jackson Pollack painting of peoples and languages. The country has over 135 distinct and recognized ethnic groups, divided into eight over-arching “ethnic states”. These states have made […]
Angkor or Bagan?
Some 900 years ago, King Suryavarman II created the Khmer empire’s largest stone tribute to the Hindu religion – modern Cambodia’s Angkor Wat. His predecessors promptly converted to Buddhism and […]
Culture Lesson: The Karenni Soup Bowl
Most meals taken in a Karenni-Burmese household center around the soup bowl. Usually a boiling broth with an assortment of vegetables – including the stem, leaf and vine – this […]
Too Mutch For Words 