CHATROOM

Photographs courtesy of AP/AFP/Bangkok Post

Letter of The Week

MY GANG

Dear Editor. Suksanari is a girl�s school in the Thonburi area of Bangkok and I studied there from Matayom 1-6. I was very glad to go to this school � all the teachers were good and I made many friends; it�ll be hard to forget them, especially my gang: Mint, A (me), Nan and Koi.

Mint is the joker of the group. She likes to talk all day and is a little bit stingy, but she is nice and sincere, diligent and very clever, too. Nan used to be called a lot of names as she is overweight. She�s a little shy, but playful and a good friend. Koi is a generous girl and often sacrifices things for her friends. She can be a little quiet, unless we talk about games or music, in which case she�s very talkative.

My gang was called MANK because these are the first letters of each person�s name. My gang was a study group, but we also liked to travel. When we had free time, we liked to shop at Siam Square and Klong San Port.

Everyone in my gang had a grade of about 3. When we had an assignment to present in front of the class, we did it at the last minute so we were very busy, but everyone cooperated and the assignments always went well � most times.

There was one time when we adapted the lyrics of a hit song to become a Buddhist song. We composed it 20 minutes before the presentation and we were excited, embarrassed and unprepared. However, the teacher and my friends said it was good because it was so different and it helped the class to remember the moral of the story more easily.

Now, even though my gang has separated, we stay in touch and hopefully our friendship will go on forever.

Haruethai Janerithnunth, Bangkok

Thanks for the letter, Haruethai. I�m not sure whether I�d advise other students to leave their schoolwork until the last minute. After all, it is said that �perfect planning prevents poor performance.� However, you seem to have coped with your workload pretty well. Make sure you do keep in touch with your friends, and next time you write a letter to Student Weekly, why not include a photo of your gang? � Editor

DREAM ON

Dear Editor. My name is Pailin Gordon. I�m 16 years old and this is my first email to Student Weekly. And, if I may say so, I love your work � I�m a big fan.

Anyway, life is more beautiful when you have dreams, isn�t it? It makes you feel like you are living for something. I have my own wonderful dream as well: to be a pianist.

I will always try to fulfill my dream, but sometimes I feel like I can�t do it any longer. Then I realise that this is what I love to do � this is my life and I�m doing this for myself. I know that some people try to live up to other people�s expectations; sometimes, they do live up to those expectations, but they didn�t do it for themselves. I think being good at something you don�t like is worse than being good at nothing at all.

Who knows, maybe I will be a great pianist in the future. I�ll be keeping my fingers crossed for that.

Pailin Gordon, Satit Chula
Bangkok

Hello Pailin. Yes, it�s good to have dreams � and it�s better that they are your own dreams rather than the expectations of others. The key to fulfilling those dreams is to make them realistic. If you want to be a pianist, you have to take lessons and practise otherwise it�ll stay a dream. As to me, I wanted to be a famous guitarist when I was a teenager, but I never made it as I didn�t take it too seriously. I can play �Hotel California,� though, which is ironic as it�s now one of my least favourite songs. Anybody else agree? � Editor

YOUNG LOVE

Dear Editor. I�d like to talk to you about love. During my school�s sports week, I had a chance to meet the sister of one of my classmates. She�s Thai, but she lives in America and returns every few years. Of course, her English is very good, but she also has such an attractive smile that I think most men would lose control of their senses if they saw it. When we met, we talked about some funny things that had happened in our lives. I was so charmed and so happy when I spoke to her and I felt that our personalities really matched. Unfortunately, she had to return to America, but I will never, ever forget her wonderful smile. So now I�m waiting for her to come back again sometime in the next two years. Before she left, she said, �I won�t forget you.� I won�t forget her either � I miss her so much already.

Piyapong Jongjikarm
Rajabhat University
Kanchanaburi

Hello Piyapong � I hope you got my emails. Well, this is a difficult one. You have to wait two years for this girl? Is she really worth the wait? Well, you do seem smitten with her, so maybe she is. I am assuming you swapped email addresses so perhaps you can strike up a conversation with her on an instant messaging service. At least then, you�ll be close in spirit if not in body. � Editor

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Vocabulary

expectation (n): a strong belief about the way something should happen or how somebody should behave
realistic (adj): accepting in a sensible way what it is actually possible to do or achieve in a particular situation
ironic (adj): (of a situation) strange or amusing because it is very different from what you expect
smitten (adj): suddenly feeling that you are in love with somebody
strike up (phrasal v): to begin a friendship, a relationship, a conversation, etc.
stingy (adj): not given or giving willingly; not generous, especially with money
diligent (adj): showing care and effort in your work or duties
adapt (v): to change something in order to make it suitable for a new use or situation.