Beyond Words

One evening, after all our classes ended, On, Nino, Men, Oom, Retno and I went to Thammasat for a decent meal (which AIT doesn't have.) Nino and Retno were fasting for one whole day because of Ramadan so they were really craving for a decent meal.

The Thai girls (On, Men, and Oom) treat us to this place in Thammasat, somewhat resembling UP Shopping Center. Since I am a vegetarian, they ordered mostly vegetarian dishes. And this was one of the meals that night:

To us Pinoys, this is "Kangkong". To my surprise, this is "Kangkung" in Indonesia, Nino and Retno told me. And then, here in Thailand, it is called "Pak Bung" (Pak meaning vegetable, and they were kidding me, "Pak you!")

We were amazed with the semblance of the words from three different countries and culture. Actually, I learned that Bahasa Indonesia and Filipino are so alike that sometimes I can understand my Indonesian classmates when they're talking in their native tongue. Of course, they have to pay 5Baht per word everytime we hear them speak Bahasa Indonesia. Ahehe...of course if I speak Filipino, I have to pay 5baht also.

Now, what's kangkong in English?