think_too_mut Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 >Now now TTM, let qualify it a bit here, SOME/Most, my friend and I agree. Now that I reviewed it, my ex's experience is even more valuable: she was comparing apples to apples - students of same age and similar (if not same) level of education from most of Asian countries, flowing through and changing every 2-3 hours. There was no comparation between two different worlds - bgs and gtgs. One identifiable segment of students was understood to be "thick" by teaching staff. Does that mean lack of intelligence, curiosity, free thinking or inability to direct own effort - don't know. Was it their personalities that made them less assertive and less competitive - could be. She had no reason to despise Thais then as I knew BKK only as a stop over enroute to London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted October 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 [color:"red"] Now that I reviewed it, my ex's experience is even more valuable: she was comparing apples to apples - students of same age and similar (if not same) level of education from most of Asian countries, flowing through and changing every 2-3 hours. There was no comparation between two different worlds - bgs and gtgs. [/color] I have been very aware of this TTM and believe that the ex's experience is very true, especially the ones, as you said, are there just from the parents' money. When I was going to Univ. here, there were 2 types of Thai students: one, mostly poor on scholarship like me who had no time for socializing, another was the "rich" with Mercedez with "Thun Por Gor = Thu Paw Guu" (Father's Scholarship) who had lots of money and never stduied and many didn't graduate. But the there were Thais in private colleges who could buy their diplomas. Also, they were Thais with family money who struggled like mad to learn because their background were not good enough. One of my classmates in HS could not pass the entrance exam to a Thai Univ. (he was 1 of only 2 from 149 students from my HS who could not), but got to a Univ. in Boston with his parents money. It took him 3 years to finish the 11, 12th grades in HS also. He struggled and had to take English 101 in the USA but graduated after 6 years for a BA. Then when he got back, the guy started a recording business and is doing well, has business brains but terrible in formal education. I don't know enough to say what improvements for Thai schools, just know that the "thinking" is not encouraged, especially up-country schools. Then the parents also need to get involved, and many up-country parents (grassroots) can barely write or read and the cycle goes on. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pattaya127 Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 I think the BG?s are far smarter; the tourists with all the great western education and working, fall flat for them without thinking. I would say the BG is far more intelligent & smart with a minimal education; she can deal with multiple educated men, who come across the world. --------------------------------------------- this is crap i read all the time here. Guys fall for them because the job is half done as they are on the plane to LOS and are totally smitten by girls who are much younger than them, not ugly at all, and 24 hour available, period. It's the environment of cheap entertainment and easy-goingness that allows one guy to lose his common sense, or as we say, the often-quoted LOS package. A stupid idiot with a bit of charm, this often just a body with smiles that spells promises, will do well without having to be smart. Proof is, if you lived around them you'd know their life is a mess, their finances too, and they get as easily scammed as tourists by GFs who gained their trust. I will give them thumbs up for good survival instincts ( provided they do not become druggies or drunks, or HIV+), but that's no plan there, just one day at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
think_too_mut Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 >and many up-country parents (grassroots) can barely write or read and the cycle goes on. Just yesterday, over the phone with my gf who is upcountry during school break, she told me about the shock she had when she found out her 8 years old niece can't read, can't write! The mother (her sister) is only 2 years older than my gf but she has neglected her child down to that level. How did it go unnoticed with teachers, why did they fail to inform the parents...don't know. The rest of holidays will be spent bringing the poor girl up to speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted October 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 [color:"red"] The mother (her sister) is only 2 years older than my gf but she has neglected her child down to that level. [/color] Now you understand the irresponsibilities of some parents. And for the teachers, they are probably burnt out, it is a downright shame. I feel that parents are importand, however, I grew up with Chinese-Thais whose parents were no good in Thai but their children now are doctors and engineers. I don't know TTM about some of these "real-Thais" for they don't seem to care about education and many of my friends who are teachers don't have a clue either how to reach them. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 First, because you give so much importance on experience: I can satisfy you, I have just experiences as a short term tourist, both in Italy and in Thailand. (i.e. some weeks) So you have surely more experience. :: (some people just need much more time to make the right conclusions : And BTW if there is a country where the people are NOT "willing to think" that is Thailand. It's a cultural-social fact. Even their very education system teach them to not think... More exactly it teaches them not to think critically. But I was just claiming, that they are more observing the guests or clients and guessing what they might need. That was not what I meant.Staff of rail stations and the various operators working there are not requested to know any other language than Italian. Knowing a foreign language is a title of preference choosing who employ but only information booths employees have to meet the requirements I've talked about. The same is valid for hotels and restaurants. Not everyone has to be able to speak English. The ones who take your orders at a restaurant in a tourist area have. Bad experiences happen everywhere, but it's the "system" that is set differently between Thailand and farang countries. You can deny that, the reality remains... Hmm, it seems I ask too much from the Italiens?!? Speaking myself 3 languages, having a sister who is an operator of public transport (and who has of course to be able to give answers to tourists in 3 languages) and living in a country where most important informations on train etc are given in 3 languages, I ask from a sophisticated touristc destination as Italy, that all operators of trains etc are able to understand at least a little bit one of these 3 languages.... (or to speak slowly enough so that I can understand what they are saying in italien...) And I had never that much problems in Thailand, when I was asking a train operator where I have to go! So, you are telling me that the attention to the customers' satisfaction is much more high in Thailand than in Italy, right? Of course!!! In thailand I can check out at 7.00 in the morning, I can eat breakfeast at 10.00, I can explain to the bus staff that they should give me a sign when I have to leave the bus (I had just to say the name of the destination, the girl was smart enough to guess that I don't know myself at which station I have to leave)... Best regards P.S.: The italiens are very nice people, judged from my limited experience, but they seem to be much more lazzy to think what the clients could need. And this is a cultural-social fact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 not that I think that the rest of europe treats tourists better than italy (in my country it is probably the same as in Italy, with the exception of the language problem.) I was just taking Italy as an example, because in the other europeen countries which I visit, I can speak the language of the country. So I can't compare these experiences with Thailand. Best regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 Some examples of my countrymen: 1) In a restaurant: When I ask for a coffee triple cream, 90% of the staff has to ask 2-3 times till they understand that I want to have 3 creams, instead of the usual 1 or 2. 2) In the military service: 70 % of the soldiers and officers can't read a map correctly. (But it is taught at schools.) sideremark: somewhere on this forum someone has written that thai BGs even don't know that if you are reading a map then north should be at the top. (But it is much easier to find your way if you turn the map around so that the direction you are going is at the top. But of course you can turn the map around in your brain : 3) 20 % of the people can't understand the meaning of what they are reading. 4) If you ask people on streets, during the day, what the moon looks like at the moment, they think that you want to trap them, because they believe that you can never see the moon during the day. 5) A journalist asks the minister what he thinks about the creation of anti-matter as an energy source. (Both have studied but forgotten the principle that you can't create energy.) 6) Most of the economists thought that there was no stock market bubble. I just wanted to show, that you can find stupid people everywhere, in every country. Best regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 While the education system differs from country to country, there is just no significant difference between the intelligence of people of different countries. (This question was allready answered about 100 years ago.) So the posters who really believe that thais are less intelligent than other people are just arrogant. (You can say that you are more intelligent than an other person without being arrogant, in the case that it is true, but you can't really make a statement as that thais are less intelligent than americans etc) On the other side there are differences, how the intelligence is trained or used. And I suppose most posters are referring to this differences. Best regards P.S.: But there are differences between people of different professions. (just make a little google search to find some articles about this) :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted October 4, 2003 Report Share Posted October 4, 2003 Its all about coping in your own environment. I don't think any intelligence tests are good enough to pick up this. Heck, I am a quiet guy and might score better on tests than many other outward people. But they might do better in real time life because of their outward character. So who is more intelligent? The header on this thread was very provocative. I did not like it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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