Chatchawan settles down | Bangkok Post: learning

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It took some time, but Chatchawan Chawengkul eventually found a stable life and job in the US as you will read in chapter four of his life story.

The bridge to Key West, Florida which a giant arch clearly visible.

As you might recall, Chatchawan Chawengkul  is a Thai who moved to the United States to live in 1979 at the age of 20. He has been telling his story and you can read the first three parts here in which he describes coming to the States, serving in the US army in Germany, visiting Thailand and getting readjusted to the US:  http://bit.ly/c7PTTD , http://bit.ly/9iONm5 and http://bit.ly/casAfG.

In this chapter he begins to get more serious about having a career.

Click button to listen to Settled and rightclick to download

Chapter Four:  South Florida 1994-Present  

I moved back to Florida and this time I lived in Miami Beach, working as a waiter and a manager for a Thai restaurant.  My time there was very much a partying time.  I spent my time traveling on my off days, sight-seeing with some friends.  We would hang out on the beach and go swimming, snorkeling, diving, fishing and chasing the girls.  I had a few romances there. 

At one time we drove to Key West on The Overseas Highway, the southernmost leg of U.S. Highway 1 and sometimes called the Highway That Goes to Sea.  The Overseas Highway has a total of 113 miles of roadway and 42 bridges leapfrogging from key to key in a series of giant arches of concrete and steel.

We drove all the way until we have reached the end of the road, where there were no more roads but the ocean. We sat there and laughed and thought it was some accomplishment.  We had traveled to the end of the land.

Little Rock, Arkansas

As time went by, my other sister (Siriwan) and her daughter (Janjira) got approved for a US permanent resident Visa and moved to the States. They stayed with my mother and Eddy in Little Rock, Arkansas. 

Soon afterward, I felt sick of a life of partying and started to think of my future, security and retirement.  Beside I needed to come to Arkansas to stay close to my family and look after my sister and my niece.  So I decided it was time to go back.

Back in Arkansas, I attended community college and took computer networking classes there. Then I got a job at Modern Image Systems as a copier technician.  The company is the authorised dealer for the Lanier copier machine which is one of the brands in the Ricoh copier machine family group.

My company sent me to train for different classes of machines, at different locations throughout the United States, including California, Chicago, Illinois, and New Jersey. 

I guess my life is a traveling man, because I have traveled to so many places in my life time – just like the palm reader said would happen  when I was young.

That is the end of my journey. In my next article I will write about what I do in my everyday work on the job as a copier field engineer.

waiter – a man or boy who brings food and drink to your table in a restaurant or café บริกรชาย
hang out – to spend a lot of time at a place or with someone ใช้เวลามาก  สังสรรค์ คุยกัน เช่น กับเพื่อนๆ
snorkeling – swimming under water using a snorkel, a piece of equipment with a tube that fits in your mouth so that you can breathe while swimming under water ท่อช่วยหายใจในน้ำ
Key West – and island at the southern most end of a large group of small islands in Florida
key – a small isalnd
leapfrog – to jump [กระโดดข้าม
arch – a curved structure at the top of a door, window, or gate โครงสร้างที่มีรูปโค้ง
accomplishment – something that is successful, or that is achieved after a lot of work or effort ความสำเร็จ, การบรรลุผล
approved – given official agreement or permission ได้รับการรับรองแล้ว
permanent – happening or existing for a long time or for all time in the future ถาวร 
permanent resident visa – an official document that always a person to stay in a country permanently
felt sick of – felt tired or bored with something
security – a feeling of confidence and safety, or a situation in which you can feel confident and safe ความมั่นคง, เสถียรภาพ
retirement – the time when you stop working, especially because of old age เกษียณอายุ
niece – a daughter of your brother or sister, or a daughter of your husband’s or wife’s brother or sister หลานสาว
authorised – having the right to do something
dealer – a person or company that buys and sells a particular product ผู้ค้า, ผู้ประกอบการค้า
brand – a type of product made by a particular company ตรา, ยี่ห้อ
location – where someone or something is ที่ตั้ง,ทำเล
palm reader – a fortune teller who tells what will happen to someone in the future by looking at their open hand (palm)

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