Say "Thankyou" easily

There is a story about the lost meaning "Thankyou"

When my chief called me and asked if I wanted to go to Thailand to cover Cobra Gold '04, I really wanted to tell him, "No!" I actually left him hanging on the phone while excuses raced through my head. But you'll never get ahead in the Navy if you turn down assignments, so I replied in my most excited voice, "Yeah! I can do it."

And so I began to motivate myself to do a job for which I really had no passion. To my surprise, it wasn't hard. It had been more than two years since my last deployment, and I never got to do a WESTPAC. The opportunity to see a different culture became very inviting--at least that's what I managed to convince myself.

When I stepped off the plane in Bangkok, all of my self-motivational tactics abandoned me. I realized something I didn't plan for--"It's hot in Thailand!"

With that said, I was back at square one, on a job I really had no passion for--it's funny how 90-plus degree temperatures at 12 a.m. will bring you back to reality.

Around the second day, I decided to resort back to the whole interesting culture thing. And what better way to learn a new culture than to get familiar with the language.

I asked a bellhop in the hotel lobby how to say 'Thank you' in Thai. 'Khawp khun khrap', (pronounced Cop--Coon--Cop) he replied with a smile. OK. It sounded easy enough. 'Khawp khun khrap', I repeated. 'Khawp khun khrap', he replied again, but this time he held his hands, palms together, in a praying manner and bowed his head slightly. 'Khawp khun khrap', I repeated, ignoring the whole head-bowing thing. After all, I'm a grown man, I can't be going around bowing to everybody. 'Khawp khun khrap.' I couldn't wait to try it.

The next day was even hotter. It was 7 a.m., it felt like 100 degrees and I was sweating like "a stuffed pig." I really needed a pick-me up. I decided to try the "thank you" thing at breakfast.