Farang cannot know Thai-ness

[dutchboy]

People that are so convinced of their own uniqueness will never accept that "others" can understand them.

Typical conversation between I'm unique, and I am on open minded eager to learn person:

I'm unique: You know, here in Thailand we are a very tolerant and friendly people, all 100% what you're saying.

I'm open minded: I hear what your saying, I understand where you're coming from, but I tend to differ a bit on this opinion, for the following reasons:
1
2
3
etc

I'm unique: If you don't agree with me you cannot understand

End of discussion

[mutley]

Ah, yes, the master race. Well, we all know what happened to the last master race. Don't the Thais teach world history!

[blackbauer]

As far as I'm concerned, this country's pros continue to outweigh its cons by some considerable margin . . . for the time being at least. Even as a black Brit, I very much like living here but I will NEVER, EVER lose sight of the fact that Thailand is - and likely to remain - a third world country which, when mentioned by name elsewhere in the world that so many Thais choose not to understand, evokes reactions ranging from mild disdain to utter ridicule however undeserved it may be.

Still, it does take a great deal of effort to turn a blind eye to the debilitating ignorance so many of them seemingly revel in displaying when broaching any topic that is not Thai-centric.

Frankly, "Thai-ness", for lack of a better word, is BS of the highest order and were I to even dream of embracing it, I'd force myself to wake up and apologise to the world at large.

[Voice]

Thai-ness is what they do when it suits them and no one is going to impost your ideology of my way of life. What is better to do it tomorrow rather than doing today this is the way of Thai-ness. I don’t think any foreigner could understand when they try to live their life in the foreign land by brought their own culture with them. Yes foreign culture is good if it doesn’t have to get out of your way to do it or imposing it on another as many Thai would think like you but they still want you to do it their way so they can pick and choose whatever and whenever its suits them. The best way to live with Thai-ness is just to let it be.

[wicdo]

I subscribed to this topic to see other points of view, but the most of the topics I see, with all my respect, are childish affirmations in the way of : Thai-ness is this or Thai-ness is that, posted by people than, in most of cases, spent long time in this wonderful country without having even learnt the basics about his culture, traditions, history, religion, language and so on. It's just a collection of particular experiences, blaming in Thailand or Thai people any negative results of that "own" experiences. Would be the same in Cambodja, Vietnam, Zimbawe or Peru.
This days I'm reading an old travel book, written by a Danish writer called Erling Bache. The book is called something like "White man in the tropics", it's about travels in Indonesia, Singapore, Siam (yes, Thailand was called Siam at the time), etc. written on 1940/42, and I cannot avoid the temptation of post its prologue here. Sorry about my poor translation.
"I've seen the world and I enjoyed the most precious gift: freedom. I've lived life as it should be lived, because the humanistic has been my teacher.
Others have made the same trip that I, and yet may not have found what I found.
It's because a country, and his people, only gives in return what he gets."
I totally agree.

[professor]

In general, farangs do not make any effort to try to be Thai in their outlook and way of life.
This is because most of them come here for work or for meeting girls.
The number of farangs who are well educated and want to adopt local ways amounts to a few people.

People above/below have written dismissive things about the people and culture.
I have tried to learn from Thai people about being patient, jai-yen, being considerate, not talking too much, being a good listener, being a good friend, and about being polite.
I have worked with younger Thai colleagues and to this day ask myself: How can they be so patient? How can they be so cool and smiling, and not losing their temper and raising their voice?

At the airport I met a lady who moved here from Taiwan and asked her to compare Thais and Taiwanese and she said "Malayart" - no one can beat the Thais for being courteous.

I have a better education but Thai people I have known from the country know about so many things from the cost of things, to land, to all about farming and farm products, to fixing all sorts of cars and repairing and restoring things,

Lots to learn from the people here, folks, get out of your go-go bars and chamber of commerce golf events.

[wicdo]

Well said, professor. Thank you.
Sometimes is comforting to read something from the point of view of tolerance, humbleness and intelligence, instead of the narrow minded, "westerncentric", and simplistic that one can see often. I couldn't express the same opinion in such a good manner.
B.W.

[falangsur]

Of course people can understand other cultures - but Western values and Thai values are indeed very different - and hence it is difficult when one tries to live in the other culture. My Thai mother-in.law loved the book "Thailand Fever" as it helped her understand things she heard about farangs. Thais value serenity, interdependence, sanook, and hierarchical relationships - the use of the word "jai" in so many phrases also is an important part of understanding the importance Thais place on things of the heart/emotion. Westerners value independence, achievement, scholarship, and logic is used in far more of life's decisions verus emotion. I recognize everything I have written is a generalization and Thai's from Issan are different than Thais from the South - and Westerners vary by country, region, religion, etc.

[ccarbaugh]

I just spent 20 minutes waiting for a "Tuk-bus" at Sukhumvit/Ekamai.
In that time, 4 (younger) ladies cut in from of me and about 15 others
that had been waiting "in-que." No one (other than myself,) said anything
to them- even though when the "Tuk-bus" came, it was immediately filled
and half of the remaininng queue were left standing there.

This happens very frequently - most often at a "7," or in a bank.

- Just an observation - where's the "jai-dee?"

[prajna]

Perhaps it's not too overgeneralizing to state that every culture has its own idiosyncrasies. Just like we each have our quirks.