was_usvirgin Posted June 18, 2007 Report Share Posted June 18, 2007 I never get that from anyone in my home country, not even from other races. Where I currently live in SoCal, nearly everyone greets each other on the street. Just a simple "hello" in passing. Makes you feel welcome to be here. When they get in their cars, they turn into complete cunts. What was it that Richard Pryor once said? "Slow that damn thing down! This is a neighborhood, this ain't no residential district!" When I was a teenager, I worked summers in Beverly Hills, and I was really surprised by the pretensiousness of the young ladies I'd pass on the street. They'd look at me while approaching, but as soon as I made eye contact, they'd look away. Where I grew up, you could pretty much tell if a chick was interested in you, or not. You didn't need a lot of "game". At least the Beverly Hills girls who came down to the beach were some of the biggest sluts around. :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 Hi, Ok, can someone please explain why I need to approach / get friendly with someone just because they happen to be non-Thai? Oh, and does this also apply to Japanse, Koreans, Africans, etc, or only to Westerners? I'm sorry, but while I would not have a problem returning a nod, I see no reason what so ever why I should hook up with someone just because we are both non-Thai. Sanuk! Indeed. That's all I'm asking, mate (the bit I put in bold): the common simple courtesy of returning a well-meaning hale saultation from a fellow man. That's all. Then it's over. Christ, the ones who read such signals as a cue to telling you their f*cking life story are the ones who break the code. They're just as bad as the c*nts who pointedly ignore a friendly nod. I know it must be more complex in a city where there are so many persons marked out as non-native by appearance and/or behaviours (and so many nutcases 10 minutes trying to have a quiet solo beer in Golden Beer bar is usually more than long eough to meet such a "I'm your best buddy" person in BKK, I agree. ) I was talking about areas where to encounter a non-native is the exception rather than the rule. I think I expressed both those ideas in my previous post (to which, I am aware, you were not directly responding. I just like stealing the limelight. ) And I'm finding it fascinating to learn how ex-pats and/or frequent sojourners in LOS feel about an issue that I deal with quite often here in another country where persons of my skin colour are a clearly marked minority. Good thread. jack Edited to add: KS, sorry, I read the complete thread now, I see you have no problem returning a nod, but you don't "initiate" salutation? That's an interesting issue (to me, anyway). Somebody's got to initiate it. A person's decision customarily to initiate or not to initiate greeting no doubt reveals more about him or her and his or her past experiences of such scenarios than any fundamental deep-rooted personality trait? Might be worth a poll? Maybe I'll start one. If no one responded amicably to the overtures of a complete stranger (but one who likely had some sort of common ground with oneself), this board would be pretty quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBif Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 Excellent post, FJ, if I may say so, deserving of a Stickmanish "Green Star"! "Get out of MY Japan!" LOL, I first came across that sort of guy in the '70s when I was literally slaving building houses at a commie camp called "Tvind" in Denmark and some well-meaning person pointed out a Scotsman to me that I'd no doubt like to meet, seeing as how we were the only two Anglophones in the joint. Well, I said something like, "Hoot mon, dude!" (not really) and he gave me a look like a dour Presbyterian Elder that made me just sort of curl up and die, and showed me his back. Maybe he was shy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 I am with KS on this one. Living outside Udon Thani there is an other farang from my small country and we visit each other every 3 days or so. Some other farangs live near by, most I never met and will not meet. Rarely one stops at my door to ask something. I go shopping in Udon every 5 days and farangs are always to be seen somewhere. Rarely one nods and I nod back, most ignore my presence, I return the ignore. Also eating food in one of the Udon restaurants 99% of farangs entering the place will ignore my presence. I have no problems with this: privacy stands above everything else. Only once have I been mistaken to be the other one of my village before I moved there!!! That was funny. That guy approached me in a shopping mall and asked if I was Belgian and lived in the village where we were building a house. It's good to be famous sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiery Jack Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 Only once have I been mistaken to be the other one of my village before I moved there!!! That was funny. That guy approached me in a shopping mall and asked if I was Belgian... Were you holding hands lovingly with an adolescent Thai boy sporting tight jeans and plucked eyebrows at the time? :smirk: Old Hippie has that problem. (It's usually a German they mistake him for, though. Apparently. ) jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kojis Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 "Underneath there are actually some dead on people in there" I just woke up and first thought you were saying "underneath there are actually some dead people in there". Couldn't agree more lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 << That guy approached me in a shopping mall and asked if I was Belgian and lived in the village where we were building a house. It's good to be famous sometimes. >> When I was a PC vol, there were maybe 8 Farangs in my city - not counting the US Army advisors, who were in uniform. For some reason, the Thais decided I was Canadian. (None of us was Canadian!) I got to be known as "the Canadian" and after a while just accepted that I had somehow become a Canuck. Plenty of worse things to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreeTime Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 I suppose we all respond to others based on our own cultural background, whether an extrovert or an introvert, the social situation, even the time of day. It is far easier to be aloof in BKK; it is a defensive mechanism in the big city, and there is too much commonality to be constantly acknowledged anyway. Removed from the city, I would have to say there is more eye contact and friendly demeanor. I fall somewhere in between as far as one on one contact is concerned; I certainly don't initiate with any great frequency, but always respond to a nod or hello unless I think I'm being set up. Thailand does attract a lot of fringe players, so caution is never out of place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 << When they get in their cars, they turn into complete cunts. >> Sounds like Thais. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaad Posted June 19, 2007 Report Share Posted June 19, 2007 FreeTime, Thailand does attract a lot of fringe players, so caution is never out of place. Can be said for many big cities of course, including Amsterdam where I used to live. I hardly ever initiate a nod unless we've more in common, depending on circumstances etc, than just our palefaces. If I receive one though I return the favor for his effort alone. P.S. Isn't this a Seinfeld episode? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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