Monk Chats

Yesterday, we met Lo at the Wat Chedi Luang monk chat table.

Every day after school, from ~2pm-6pm, Lo talks to tourists. He does it to practice his English. The tourists do it to learn more about Buddhism and life as a monk.

He was able to hold a conversation and ask us some questions and answer our questions. He told us about the 10 rules of Buddhism. He told us his daily schedule, how he wakes up at 6am to collect food from the town during alms.

Lo was born in Myanmar, but he came to Thailand with his parents and two sisters and brother when he was 5. He became a monk when he was 13. He’s been a monk for 2 years and expects to be one for 6 years before leaving.

He has only been learning English for 3 months. Further proof that the best way to learn a language is to get out there and talk to people.

Before we left, a student from Shanghai walked up to chat with Lo. They started a new conversation in Mandarin.