Farang cannot know Thai-ness

[jawnie]

I don't think it is so important whether a foreigner ever knows 'Thai-ness' or not. Frankly, one could make the same statement about any outsider coming into a different language and culture. The subtext for such an idea is almost as though one is saying to the foreigner, "As a Thai, I will never accept you."

In any case, this isn't unique for Thailand. For both sides, Thai and foreigner, it is seems most important to simply relax and just be yourselves.

[piriformis]

I don''t know if "...farang can know Thainess", but I'm convinced that the average man has a better chance of understanding another man, whether he be a Thai or from anywhere else, than he does of understanding 99.99 % of the women on the planet. And that includes his mother and his wife.

ahhhhh if only this were not true.....the film, "Alien" is as close to an accurate depiction of women on this planet as I have seen. Once we accept thier alien nature, our understanding is at least headed in the right direction.

[dao]

I guess all the Thais living abroad cant appreciate farangness too then . What a silly topic .

[wicdo]

Hi,
I'm spending three to five months a year in Thailand since twelve years ago.
I feel a deep love and respect for this country. I’ve been learning as much as I can about the Thai history, music, dance, literature etc etc. I keep on learning Thai language.
I’m Buddhist since I’m thirteen.
And I think that I know a humble little bit about Thai-ness. But of what I’m hundred percent sure, is that I’ve been treated in this country much better than good, almost always, with very rare exceptions. I have dozens of friends here, and four or five of them are just like my family, two of them are like my brothers.
And the best of all, I’ve been proved many times that they don’t want anything material from me, even more, in a couple of occasions they helped me economically, and in many , many, other aspects, while in Thailand, asking for nothing in exchange (and getting a bit angry if I insist to compensate them in any way).
So please, don’t generalize, even less if is a negative generalization. I think that if the “farang” shows interest, and over all, respect for the Thai culture, country and people, can be accepted even as one more of the family (I don't mean mariage, I'm single), without any additional profit searching.
One can loose the “farang-ness” to the Thais, but of course, one needs to do some effort.
That’s my humble experience, and is not just a coincidence, because happened to me several times.
I’m fully grateful to this wonderful country and its people.
Golden rule, here and everywhere: instead of continuously criticize everything around you, criticize yourself, your wrong thinking and attitude, like this, you don’t harm anybody’s sensibility, and you grow as human been.
Peace to all.
-Wicdo-

[sundayjam]

I’m fully grateful to this wonderful country and its people.
Golden rule, here and everywhere: instead of continuously criticize everything around you, criticize yourself, your wrong thinking and attitude, like this, you don’t harm anybody’s sensibility, and you grow as human been.
Peace to all.
-Wicdo-

Both Farangs and Thais tend to see the situation as black and white.
Humans, in general, like to cast the blame on someone else, when much of the problem is our own.

I have to admit, I enjoy the bizarre, illogical contributions of the trolls on these threads.
It is refreshing to read a genuine, well-thought out response too.

Well said, Wicdo!

[sundayjam]

Is this part of Thainess that is being talked about? I admit I did not grow up using public transportation and most of my experience has been in Thailand. So these are my pet peeves here. One, passengers in a bus who stand for fifteen minutes in a hot, stopped bus even as others are getting off. The jam ends and the bus just gets ready to go into second gear and somebody pushes the buzzer. The bus has traveled less than thirty feet! Or the converse, a bus is at a bus stop for three or four minutes. It starts to go and a person who has just been standing twenty feet away signals the bus to stop again because they were too lazy to walk the twenty feet.

Uh...
A bus stops whenever the conductor feels like it.
What mass transit have you been travelin' on in Thailand?!!!!!

Many times, I wish I were Peter Parker chasing after a bus that refused to stop with in 50 feet of a proper bus stop in Thailand!

[ibisbill]

I have read this blog many times and I think that the question must be reversed in the way:"Thai people doesn't understand
the outside world".They are only concerned with their own traditions and their small univers.Even neighboor countries
-like Malaysia for exemple-are completely unknown by the majority of bprachaachon thai.They know Burma-workers here like
slaves-Laos-nearly same language and considered as on old colony robbed by the french-and Cambodia-problems at the border.Outside that is a vast unknown desert!So what we speak about what?The use of the word "farang"came from the same origin:complete ignorance and lack of interest of what happens outsidethe small paradise.Their only view come from TV and movies are not the reality.Only a small minority -with the money to send their childrens learning abroad and who are themselves so critic about the society here-can have a other idea about outside world.But ask your thai friend about Africa,
South America ,Russia and so on ....!

[OldThaiHand]

This a ridiculous question. The whole concept of "Thainess" is an artificial construct, created by the powers-that-be over the last century, to foster blind nationalism and obedience, by brainwashing Thais into believing in one superior, homogenous culture, that doesn't actually exist.
I am a Farang professor who researched and taught Thai "culture(s)" at the top Thai universities to Thai students for many years. The ignorance of Thai students of the history of their own cultures, beliefs and rituals, and the large amount of myth that they take as truth would surprise most people (or maybe not). Unfortunately it is calculated ignorance, and a 'mythical' truth that is carefully constructed by educators with a mandate to keep the population unified through false beliefs.

As well, the whole premise of "Thainess" has been very effectively put in place, to create an "Us and them" mindset which perpetuates a false (and unjustified) sense of superiority over everyone who isn't Thai. When one attempts to challenge this with hard facts, the reaction usually is always, "You're not Thai. Therefore, you can't understand", often followed by irrational outbursts of anger, particularly if one challenges long-held beliefs.

For example, Thais have a very condescending attitude towards Laos and Cambodia. When I've pointed out to students, even with irrefutable proof, that Thai is actually a dialect of Lao (true) and that the Cambodians didn't steal Thai culture, but that in fact the Thais adopted a good deal of their culture from the Khmer (true), I've been met with strong reactions, not only from students, but from my supposedly educated Thai colleagues.

There's no great mystery to understanding Thais. They're not exactly the deepest people in the world. Like any group of people, spend enough time with them, in different parts of the country, and you'll discover that, they're not 'ONE' people at all, are in fact quite different, depending on their culture, and that above all, they're pretty easy to figure out.

[MTT]

OldThaiHand. I have the same experience in the classroom and from living here that you have. Lack of awareness can sometimes be quite unsettling and hard to understand for us. I posted my bus stop posting just as a 'yeah, but what about this..' post. Here is another. The Amazing Race Asia is a show on AXN. A couple of seasons ago there was a team from Thailand on it. Attractive couple, an actor and a model. On the last show for them (because they were eliminated) they just gave up and went to sleep in the car. The show ended by the host waking them up in the morning and telling them the race was over and they could go home. A race, on television, and being the team from Thailand - and they just went to sleep! Not only that, but it was clearly well into the morning (after sun up) when the host tapped on the car window to wake them up. Is that attitude the Thai-ness we are talking about in this thread? I hope not.

[olivia]

Right, Farang cannot know Thai-ness BUT they can learn it....if they want. As a foreign language can be learnt, as discipline can be learnt, as an art can be learnt, Thainess can be learnt and understood, specially out of passion...I am doing this for my daughter who is from Italian mother and Thai father.....We are humans and we can learn....even animals can learn, from the moment you have a brain, a heart and a good will you can learn whatever you want. Kaaaa