Analyze this.

 

            Living among a culture where you truly have no idea what’s going on or being said 98% (I like to give myself credit for that 2%!) of the time puts one in an interesting position.  You go from being a full participant in society to more of an observer role.  Observation becomes the name of the game as there really isn’t much else to do.  I find that I’m constantly standing back and observing facial expressions, social interactions between co-workers, students, restaurateurs and shop owners with their customers as well as behavior between the opposite sexes.  In order to be successful in another country, I feel that you must become a keen observer.  It is somewhat of a monkey see monkey do situation.  You learn to watch for standard behavior and follow suit. 

            For instance, when people tell me “Thais always do this” and “Thais don’t like that”, I like to then look for examples of that within my daily life and compare the notes to find whether the generalizations are true or not.  While I’ve never been big on generalizing an entire group on people based on the opinions of a few, even if they are Thai themselves (I mean come on, I was a freaking Women’s Studies major in school!), I have to admit that many of these sweeping statistics have turned out to be true in my own observations.

These are a few of them:

-Thais don’t understand you when you speak Thai unless it’s absolutely 100% perfect.

You will swear that your pronunciation is correct but they will look at you often like “what the heck did you just say??”

-Thais can easily fall asleep anywhere! 

Even on 12 hour bus rides when they blast annoying poppy Thai music at midnight.  Those Thais just keep on sawing logs.

-Thais are very generous people.

This is utterly and completely true.  Thais give gifts and strangers offer to pay for your meal constantly.  They’re very giving people.

-Thai children AND adults pick their noses in public as it’s not considered rude here.

Yep, this one is very true and pretty comical (although a little gross in my opinion) to see!

-Thai couples don’t openly show affection in public.

I have not seen couples so much as hold hands in public which is fascinating to me!

-Thais love their King.

I haven’t met one who doesn’t.

-Thais don’t like expressions of individuality.  Sticking out as an individual is not considered a good thing.

I find this to be true particularly in the education system.  The Thai teachers teach the students that you don’t ask questions because that’s disrespecting authority (usually they are hit for this), and both your handwriting and uniform must be absolutely perfect (even university students wear uniforms).  Imagine demanding that 6 year olds (especially boys!) don’t get their uniform dirty or disheveled?  Yeah, um… good luck with that one Thailand!  Also, the students are taught to use a ruler to write everything so a simple writing assignment can end up taking the entire class period which is frustrating when you’re trying to move through a lesson. 

-Thais laugh at nearly everything.

This also seems to be true.  Even when you’re telling a serious story.  They particularly laugh when a farang attempts to speak Thai!  They think it’s hilarious when I attempt to say anything beyond “sawadee ka”.    

A few that I absolutely do NOT find to be true:

-Thais don’t like loud noises.

My students would prove otherwise.  As would the crazy amount of fireworks that people set off daily, often right next to you as you walk by.

-Thailand is an extremely conservative country.

While I think this is somewhat true, Thailand is full of dualism and contradictions.  While showing shoulders is considered supposedly scandalous, Thai traditional clothing often shows one shoulder and Thai women often show enough leg in daily life to put L.A. girls to shame.  Another observation I had on Sports day at my school was that the girls from Prathom 1 through 6 were dressed scantily clad in revealing cheerleading outfits and covered in enough hairspray and makeup to make them look like little, I hate to say it, but baby prostitutes.  It was very similar to that pageant show "Toddlers and Tiaras".  Sorry if it’s awful and offensive to use the word "prostitute" to describe little kids but honestly it was strange to see them dressed in such outrageous clothes AND do provocative dance moves with their hips gyrating all over the place.  I felt like I was watching a Pussycat Dolls performance or something but instead I was at an elementary school!  Thailand is also a country where human trafficking is a serious issue and prostitution is rampant from the massage parlors to karaoke bars to the streets.  Prostitution is everywhere, not just in Bangkok but even here in my little town. 

Another and probably the most uplifting observation I’ve made in the time I’ve been here is that there are expressions of love that are the same despite cultural difference.  While Thais are not known for openly expressing emotions in public, I see examples of love all over my town.  I see delighted grandmothers cuddling and laughing with their baby grandchildren, young friends at school holding hands and skipping down the hallways, and families having picnics down by the lake—savoring each other’s company along with their food and openly expressing affection with one another.  When I witness these and other examples, even on my most lonely days, I can’t help but smile.  It is nice to be reminded that love is a universal phenomenon that despite our differences unites and connects us all.