Aom Tongchatra: Introduction in three parts

A regular habit

I drink coffee everyday. If I miss it, I feel like my body cannot function properly. I try to limit myself to drinking only one cup of coffee per day because from the research it is suggested that one cup is an optimal amount of caffeine one should take, while the recommended maximum amount is three cups. However, sometimes I cannot resist having iced coffee to wake me up during a tiring and hot afternoon. 

I started to drink coffee when I was in high school. Iced latte was my first cup and it was 25 Baht. I bought it from the cafeteria before I went to school. On that day, I remember that my body was normal and I enjoyed all my classes throughout the day without sleepiness. Three years later, I graduated from high school with my favorite drink as iced latte. My habit of having coffee in the morning had continued and I sank deeper into the world of coffee. I started to drink americano, cappuccino, mocha, espresso, flat white, and so on. I could distinguish different coffee beans, robusta and arabica. I enjoyed buying limited edition coffee mugs. Finally, I found out that coffee brings me happiness. It’s smell and bitter taste helps me to start my day.

Now I am a salary-woman who works from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and a cup of coffee in the morning is necessary. Instead of buying coffee from a commercialized cafe, I just dissolve instant coffee with boiling water. Although the taste and smell of instant coffee is different from the fresh one, it still helps to awaken me and also saves my budget. I hope I will earn more in the future so I can fulfill my dream of having my own household blended coffee recipe. 

 

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Getting my news

When I was young, my only source of news was television. When I was switching among eight free T.V. channels to find my favorite melodrama series, I would come across some news, but I did not care at all. Then the digitized world brought a smartphone with internet and I learned to use Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. What I followed on my social media was mainly entertainment such as kpop boybands, Japanese manga and some gossip Facebook pages to entertain myself. I thought that politics, social issues, and economics news were not important for a 10-year-old girl.

 A turning point occurred after I graduated and got my first full-time job as a business analyst. My very first assignment was to project Thailand’s GDP after COVID-19. I had no clue and Google was where I sought for help. I searched for all the news and articles about Thailand's economy. I found a very good Youtube channel called The Standard Wealth, where they have a daily update about economics everyday via Youtube live. Mission to The Moon is another Youtube/Facebook page that I discovered. It usually recaps important news including COVID-19 situations,  the world economy, new trendy technologies and many other news that I just realized that I should know. Listening to these news updates every morning has become my habit until now. Reading news from Reuters or BBC on my smartphone is my routine. 

My source of news and interests have changed as I have grown  up and started to work. I see the world differently and understand the importance of receiving and analyzing news. The internet brings the news onto my social media platform. However, I also sometimes watch the news on television in order to get information from different sources and make a logical and evidence-based judgement on certain topics. 

 

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Zemach's most useful strategy

I believe “Practicing” is the most important successful learning strategy, especially for learning a second language. Memorizing A to Z was the first step that I did to learn English. Every day I would spend time after school to say A to Z out loud in order to embed them in my brain. During the English class, I listened and spoke to the English-speaking teacher to help my mouth and ears get used to the pronunciation. Luckily, I have been able to practice using English since I was young until now.

Globalization revolutionizes humans to connect, and English is now a main language for communication. I have to push myself to exceed my limits of studying English. I would like to listen, speak, read, and write similarly to the native-English speakers. What I can do is “Practice” more. I watch movies without turning on the subtitles. I speak English to my Thai friends. I read many scientific research papers to absorb new vocabulary and use it to write my papers. As my first job is a researcher, I have been practicing not only research and laboratory skills, but also writing and presenting in the way of scientists. Public speaking is my weakness, but I would revise and review my presentation and practice speaking as much as I can to perform well on the day. In the end, the preparations and effort usually pay off.

Personally, I think “Practice” is one of the most effective ways of learning. As I practice more, I gained more experience. My English, for example, has improved a lot because I try to use it as much as I can. Thus, I learn what I do well and learn what I can do better in the future.

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