We accepted an invitation to visit an English class in Mandalay. Julie read out the days vocabulary chosen by the Buddhist monk teacher. "Bargain price" "Snake charmer" and "Homosexual" were amongst the useful picks. I sat in the back with a group of male students snickering and throwing paper airplanes. Ah, to be back in school again!
The people we came with attend this class an hour a day, five times a week. Unlike any other people we have met in Asia, they told us they were not learning English "to gain promotions and pay raises" but rather 'Just for fun' or 'to speak with tourists.'