Pescator Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 There has been a lot of talk on this board about how farangs when visiting thailand should be aware of certain pitfalls when it comes to culture, religion and stuff like dont point your feet, dont touch anyone on the head etc.etc. Even if they are only there for a short visit. Well, fair enough. But how is your impression of how thai people act and how well they adapt when they are in farangland? What do they really know about our culture, religion etc? I am not talking about thais coming to farangland for a short visit but about those living here. Let me give you a few examples of what I have experienced on a daily basis. Torneyboy has already provided one example. When calling someone most NEVER introduce themselves, thus leaving me in the dark as to who I am actually speaking to. Now how hard can it be to learn that this is actually VERY rude in my country. Going to see someone, they may knock on the door or they may not and just barge in. It pisses me off no end. I actually had a friend of my wife all of a sudden appearing in our bedroom while we were..... Well :onfire: Religion? Don`t hold your breath, they wouldnt have the first clue, nor would they give a s... When being invited to a party, some will tell in advance that they will be coming others will just come by at any hour :: That is definitely a no-no around here. I was recently at a birthday party. The woman arranging the party was turning 40 years. After the dinner at around 9 pm the table was cleared and turned into a card game table. WTF? I am not really trying to generalize thai people living abroad only given some examples from situations I have experienced in my city. And to be frank I am not really impressed as you may have found out by now. I would claim that the casual farang visitor to thailand are probably better prepared than those thai people living in my city although they have been here for years. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 >>>I would claim that the casual farang visitor to thailand are probably better prepared than those thai people living in my city although they have been here for years.<<< you mean, like, snogging hookers half their age in the skytrain,... or, walking halfnaked in the middle of sukhumvit road (there might be a beach somewhere...)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted December 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 55555. Okay, I guess I had that coming. Point taken. But surely you don`t mean to say that farangs in the skytrain or in the sukhumwit area constitute the majority of tourists coming to Thailand. Nor that the ones you have noticed displaying such poor taste constitute a majority of the farangs in this general area. BUT a lot of farang visitors actually do some readings about cultural faux pas etc prior to coming to LOS. Nearly all websites, message boards (this one included) Newsgroups, tourists catalogues are flooded with "to do and not to do". There will however always be those who just dont give a damn, thinking: Hey I`ve got the cash I can do just anything. This board has brought heaps of post about farangs in LOS and their behaviour, integrations,understanding of culture etc.etc. but how about the other way around? I must say that I am not the least bit impressed. I can assure you that the majority of thais in my area are very poorly adapted to "the farang ways". It would be fair to say that the faux pas I mentioned in my initial post shouldn`t take much brains to figure out how to avoid particularly after living here for a decade or so It could be interesting to hear though, other posters` experiences in this regard. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USVirgin Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 I'd say that the Thais and other foreigners living in Southern California do pretty well. For starters, most can converse in the local language while I'd say the reverse is true for farang in Thailand. And Thailand is more tourist friendly than the US - plenty of signs in English to help us find our way around the tourist spots, but none written in Thai here, outside of Thaitown. I think in many ways Thais have a more difficult go of it living here, at least at the outset. The Thai families I know living here are not only assimilating very well, but prospering. Compared to Cambodians, on one hand (and others who came here under more difficult circumstances), who don't assimilate well or prosper, or the Koreans, on the other hand, who only prosper, I have no complaints about the Thais stepping on my culture. Farang in Thailand, I'd guess, are bigger offenders, but our presence is also far greater. That's just my casual observation. Something I'd never given much thought with regard to Thais, but don't get me started on the... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 i guess it depends very much on the place you are coming from. in my hometown me and the missus have met very few thais we would like to be around with, and do avoid them as much as we can. i can only say that fortunately my missus has not displayed any of those not so nice manners you have mentioned, but i guess that has more to do with her upbringing (very poor, but with parents who were very strict regarding manners). that is also why my family in germany likes her very much, and i can tell you - my clan is unforgiving if bad manners are displayed. her problems of adaptability were more part of her personal perks, such as rearranging my dad's kitchen so that he could not find anything anymore, trying to persuade my dad to kick his cleaning lady out as she could do all that herself, attempting to smuggle into the house extrasmelly fermented fish, etc... i can't talk numbers, but i suspect that it is just human that many people cannot adapt to other cultures. has nothing to do with wealth or education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted December 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2003 Hi USvirgin, Well, I can only say I am glad to hear this. I would also be very surprised to learn that all thais abroad would display such poor skills at adapting to local culture/customs. For starters, most can converse in the local language while I'd say the reverse is true for farang in Thailand. That is correct. However, I am sure I dont need to tell you the obvious reason: Farangs can get along in thailand with english whereas thais cannot get along in farangland in thai language. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted December 19, 2003 Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 My mrs works alongside falangs with no problems in uk--been to a falang/falang wedding of a good friend of mine--eats my mums Sunday roasts and enjoys--put up xmas decorations just last week--enjoys snow when it arrives--language is improving working and living here with English people--all in all its ok--much much better than I can hope for in LOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted December 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2003 Hi Lazyphil Glad to hear that your missus is doing great in the UK. Working and living with english people is probably the key to a swift integration into english society, well into any society. That is probably why so many in my area have failed, they never really worked, unless "working the system" counts for anything. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted December 21, 2003 Report Share Posted December 21, 2003 [color:"red"]I was recently at a birthday party. The woman arranging the party was turning 40 years. After the dinner at around 9 pm the table was cleared and turned into a card game table. WTF? [/color] Oh, how I hate that and it happens with majority of Thais too, no matter what jobs/education they have!!! I had to do research on that to understand. I came from a family who hates cards, we don't play cards (no betting) in from of our mother period. What I found was that playing cards is a passtime for many Thai families, rich or poor. Many of these game playing have very small bets, a friend's mother (who is a well-known writer) told me about her 80 yr-old woman friend who goes to temple for meditation in the AM and plays cards in the PMs. ::Also told by a doctor that card games are good for mental health and he encourages the older ones to play to "keep their mind" active. :: On assimilation to other cultures, I find the Thais who live in English speaking countries fare better than the ones in other places like Scandinavia. I know of a woman who is highly educated who lives in Norway who cannot succeed in a corporation becuase of the language. I think I would have failed too if it was not in the States. I love languages, but I find the Scandinavian languge is way beyond my capabilities I just cannot find my tongue in those languages!!! Jasmine :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted December 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2003 Hi Jasmine, What I found was that playing cards is a passtime for many Thai families, rich or poor. Many of these game playing have very small bets, a friend's mother (who is a well-known writer) told me about her 80 yr-old woman friend who goes to temple for meditation in the AM and plays cards in the PMs. Also told by a doctor that card games are good for mental health and he encourages the older ones to play to "keep their mind" active. I have absolutely no problems with people playing cards at the right occasions, but often they turn just about any occasion into a card game session. And they definitely don`t play with small bets, lowest bet is 20 US in the game Bok, and on one occasion I saw one of them losing 5K within half an hour. Her BF really lost his plot when he found out. Often they also start fighting over the game and verbal abuse is a reoccuring event. They can play nonstop up to 48 hours (some do it on a mixture of speed, coffee, Lipo, liquor and cigarettes) and meanwhile their kids just have to look after themselves in the smokey room. When they run out of money they borrow from each other and thus entering a spiral of debts. I would assume you are right about the english language compared to a number of other languages. After all most have certain qualifications before arriving here. Sure makes it a whole lot easier. Sadly, the number of illiterates among the thai society here is alarmingly high when compared to Thailand and that sure doesn`t boost their learning. To be fair there is a substantial percentage who command danish very well although not to a degree that would allow them to e.g. get a job at an office. Only the ones coming here as a child speak that well IME. I love languages, but I find the Scandinavian language is way beyond my capabilities. I just cannot find my tongue in those languages Hehe. Well, why should you? You will do fine with english anywhere. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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