LetsCleanUpTHAILAND

On 2/7/2020 at 2:39 PM, graemeaylward said:

 

I think that I would prefer to follow advice from medical experts such as the World Health Organisation rather than this ignorant little man

The WHO doesn't make sense. They say the make is for caretaking an infected person or similar. they also said that there's NO evidence that the mask protects. So why where it? viruses (and bacterias) are almost as small as PM2.5, so a hospital mask wont work. You have two jet streams of contaminated air flowing under the bask into the side of your mouth. Best to use a pollution mask because they form a 360 degree seal around your mouth and, therefore, are used for purification. Secondly, "general public"? So being in a crowded city area or on the BTS is where infected and non-infected general public are but the mask isn't needed? Loads of people cough without covering their mouth. So we should just inhale their mystery virus? Sounds like roulette game of "What's that virus?" Is it common cold or Conora? What do you think of the WTO's contradicitons? 

On 2/4/2020 at 1:43 PM, faraday said:

If you can't speak or write or read Thai, how on earth could you advise a Thai Municipality?

 

I'm really intrigued....

 

Edit: I see Mattzon already asked you

Yeah, Any farang solution for Thailand will NOT be adopted by anyone in Thailand. Thai's are proud of never being imperialized. For any farang business to be successful, a Thai must be the face of the business and the communicator. So even if I learned Thai to fluency, it would be a waste of my time. Farangs should be the brain of the business, a Thai should be the face and the mouth. Correct?

On 2/4/2020 at 1:18 PM, Matzzon said:

Ok, first! Can you speak Thai fluently? NO, you can´t! You will need that to communicate with Thai municipalities. Was that helpful enough?

 

Your profession falls under something that is considered as a prohibited Thai profession. However, you might in some way find a way to get around that.

 

As a single consultant you can not get a visa and work permit.

 

Your only chance is to start a Thai LTD. To work there yourself, you must employ a minimum of 4 Thais.

 

Yeah, after that you must be ready to put out a lot of money out of you own pockets to be able to land the contracts. Here no contracts at that level goes for free.

 

Then you must have a good contact net, so other authorities will not try to get a piece of your cake. As you are working with Thai authorities you will always be very vulnerable.

At last! Good Luck! So, go on now! Make the One Farang Difference. I have already created the shortcut OFD!

Your comment was as gentle as an anal exam, but insightful. Thank you very much good Sir ????

Just now, sawadee1947 said:

So you don't speak Thai but want to communicate with Thais? 

Silly. 

You don't have any qualification? Just inspired by "Yes I can"???

Silly. 

Mate, I think you should not dream but face reality : there is no need for you here. 

(1) ive interned in the west and in thailand - both dead-end despite my hard work. (2) millions of other graduates are stuck in a catch-22 of not having professional work experience and not being able to get it because most employers only want to hire experienced professionals (even for entry-level positions) (3) Thailand is thai-land, not farang-land. Any ideas by a farang will not be adopted. Any business must be headed by a thai. 

Just now, Airalee said:

You come to Thailand with an ego that is bordering on Narcissistic Personality Disorder thinking you’re going to ride in and save the system.  You tell me that I don’t understand the culture yet you are the one who seems to have the problems.  If any employer here saw what you say about Thais here on Thaivisa you would become persona non grata quite quickly.

see? attacking the person again. and you have no facts to back up your claims. if you give people your negativity, you will get negativity in return. and your lesson learned today is what? 

5 hours ago, justin case said:

woehahahaha

 

good luck with that one

 

one tip: forget common sense, does not exist here

thank you sir. youre my inspiration in life. 

3 hours ago, PatOngo said:

There seems to be a distinct shortage of rocket scientists and brain surgeons!

you included because you are unable to give me any useful information... as for your claim, not true. Haven't you hear of SpaceX? 

1 minute ago, Airalee said:

Check your ego.

check your brain. anyone can insult someone, not everyone can think of a rebuttal. 

2 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

I've worked for the World Bank, several multinationals plus 2 NGOs and here's my honest & brutal opinion:

Not only will you have to already read & speak Thai, but you'll need to be able to write & present reports using Thai technical jargon.

Honestly, in your 30's with no technical degrees nor Thai language ability, nobody will hire you.

The road you'll have to take is first get an advanced degree in a Western Univ. while minoring in Thai language.  Excell in your studies so your profs notice you, THEN you'll be able to find semester abroad possibilities sponsored through your university.  With perfect grades and a couple projects in Thailand when you graduate, THEN you'll be marketable to international business/consultancies in Thailand. 

Btw, you'll be competing with 22-23 year olds with multiple degrees, some already with a few patents under their belts.

Thank you for your insightful reply. This is actually useful! What about this --> I've come to notice that any farang solution for Thailand will NOT be adopted by anyone in Thailand. Thai's are proud of never being imperialized. For any farang business to be successful, a Thai must be the face of the business and the communicator. So even if I learned Thai to fluency, it would be a waste of my time. Farangs should be the brain of the business, a Thai should be the face and the mouth. Correct?

2 hours ago, recom273 said:

When you realised the ESL game is a trap, that would have been the time to start your degree course. 
 

Plenty of people have started with nothing and ended up with a decent career after taking a degree Or masters in Thai language. 

Decent careers in consulting? Any farang solution for Thailand will NOT be adopted by anyone in Thailand. Thai's are proud of never being imperialized. For any farang business to be successful, a Thai must be the face of the business and the communicator. So even if I learned Thai to fluency, it would be a waste of my time. Farangs should be the brain of the business, a Thai should be the face and the mouth. 

On 2/4/2020 at 1:16 PM, Airalee said:

You want to consult Thai municipalities but don’t want to take the time to learn Thai?

You think you are smart, but you clearly don't understand Thai culture. Any farang solution for Thailand will NOT be adopted by anyone in Thailand. Thai's are proud of never being imperialized. For any farang business to be successful, a Thai must be the face of the business and the communicator. Get it? So even if I learned Thai to fluency, it would be a waste of my time. Please read my post in full. If you aren't going to be helpful, then don't say anything. 

Hi Everyone, 

A co-worker suggested I talk to 'yall for your collective wisdom on getting a non-teaching job in Thailand. 

My career goal is to be an Environmental Consultant in Thailand. The job description would be something like: an individual who works with Thai municipalities to audit existing waste management infrastructures (if any) then consult the municipality about how they can install and manage a sustainable waste management system that will keep their city cleaner than before. 

The Thai national government has already hired Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as of late 2019 to do this for the nation, but I want to either start my own consultancy, to intern or to work for an existing consultancy in Thailand to build my resume for being a waste-management consultant. 

I have NO education background in environmental issues. However, I do have internship experience (I was a researcher for waste management for 6 months with an international non-profit in Bangkok) and I have already led a successful yet small online campaign that pressured an institution to properly manage their waste. <-- Yes, one farang in Thailand CAN make a difference! I had support from three Thai. 

So how can I escape the ESL trap and get into my aforementioned intended career in Thailand? I'm American, upper 30's, driven, hard-working, ambitious and I never give up (apparently, after almost 10 years of ESL teaching while unsuccessfully side hustling into the consulting industry). 

Thanks! I look forward to your answers. It's been a long 9 years of trying my best and I'm fresh out of good ideas. The only thing I can think of is to get an online Masters Degree from the USA while living in Thailand and to do my internship with it with an international organization in Thailand that could have career opportunities for me. I've already applied for WWF, Greenpeace, UNESCO and none of them want to hire a farang because (1) work permit isn't easy and (2) they want someone who can speak Thai. Learning Thai to speak at a level good enough for consulting would take YEARS! So telling me to "just learn thai." isn't very helpful. 

-LCT 

13 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

I'm certainly not suggesting that thai people should be fluent.

I'm suggesting that ANYONE who wants to do business internationally will be better placed to do so with a smattering of English. the OP seems to suggest that this is not needed. However as anyone from Netherlands is well aware the languages spoken by most citizens there are a great help to the countries trade Ove the centuries and subsequent wealth.

 

Historically, the Dutch have always had strong ties with Thailand. This is a reason why Thailand was never colonialized by a western power. To maintain this economic partner ship, THAILAND's ambassador learned to speak the language of their European partner. There wasn't a big "To Do Business With Thailand, you must speak Thai" painted on the fortress wall of the Kingdom of Ayuthaya (Siam, former Thailand in the 1500's).

No one is talking about fluency in English. We are all talking about how Thais should have a basic/foundational level of English for Tourism. Most Thais in the tourism industry don't understand "Can I have some ketchup." Let me give you another example. Most Thais outside of city areas will answer you "I'm ____ years old" if you ask the question, "How are you?" Are you telling me that's not a problem for a country that, as of the past 20 years, has transitioned from a farmer economy to a tourism economy??? Thailand is in tough competition with EVERY country in SE Asia and they are currently losing millions of tourism to less linguistically stubborn countries. In SE Asia, Cambodia and Thailand are the dumbest countries about English. That's not a problem?

On 1/20/2020 at 12:04 PM, ravip said:

Please explain. Very difficult for the common man to understand your unique and extraordinary post.

Actually, many people here agree and like it. Me too. There's no excuse for people of a small country with a language that less than 1% of the world speaks to complain about the foreigners who complain about their inability to speak a sufficient level of English for their customers. This is Business 101. Do you think that Ebay is going to say, "don't complain about our customer service if you..." NO! They'd lose all their customers to Amazon and Alibaba. Guess what? Foreigners aren't coming to Thailand anymore. I support cultural and linguistic sovereignty, but if your business is for foreigners, then ENGLISH is the language to speak because it's the language of the world. Most Asians and Europeans learn English as a second or third language. English is NOT a superior language. No no no! I actually prefer to speak Spanish. I enjoy speaking Thai because I feel more polite. I'm currently learning Chinese. Not bad for an American, right? The point is that (1) Thais are lazy, they have farmer DNA (2) Thais just want your money, not your language (3) foreigners are minorities and influence-less in Thailand (4) Thai "kindness" is 100% fake. I know because when Bangkok Thai's travel around thailand, the Thais in their country don't treat them with the same respect. I'll reference #2 - Thais just want your money. Can any expats or Thais confirm this?

On 1/20/2020 at 11:34 AM, samsensam said:

 

if someone complained about my second language ability, for example my french, and especially if i was using that language in order to be successful in business, i'd work hard to improve my language skills. that would be common sense/good business sense, wouldn't it?!

After living 10 years across three provinces in Thailand in the non-profit industry, tourism industry and education industry, I can say with confidence that "hard work" and "thailand" are like oil and water.

If I was the police, I'd alert every gold shop in the country of the types of jewels stolen (Robinson will have record) and then give the gold shop owner a reward for alerting the police if a customers bearing such gold tries to sell at their shop. Good plan?

On 1/8/2020 at 9:15 AM, webfact said:

nothing to do with a woman or conflict over business

So these are acceptable reasons for gun violence due to their high frequency of motive in Thailand? It's disappointing to see Thais becoming cowardly cowboys like the Americans. In the land of Muay Thai, it would be far more awesome to see people violently solve their disputes with head-severing kick, chin-shattering elbow uppercuts and head bashing right hooks. In Japan, police don't use guns so much because they undergo vigorous training in Martial Arts. Guns are for the weak. Anyone can SQUEEZE a trigger. What do you think is the best form of violent conflict resolution? Guns or Martial Arts? 

On 1/8/2020 at 3:01 PM, yellowboat said:

Nail 'em.  Make them import more bourbon, wine and cheese

well said. Especially the cheese! I been surviving on 25BHT Ham& Cheeze at 7-11 for my dailee cheeze fix. (spelling errorz on purrpose haha)

On 12/30/2019 at 8:57 AM, ezzra said:

i"m just wondering when are you supposed to notice this sign, when you're sober yet or when drunk already? and if drunk already, how do suppose to pay attention to a rad sign at all?...

In Thailand, there are two forms of communication (1) public eye and (2) undercover: the government tells people what they want to hear on TV and online, but sends the real message via print media in text big enough to see with dancing drunken eyes.  haha 

I don't see why police can't be forced to do their job... this is a country of "doing your duty" so why don't the police do theirs? Give them a quota - give 20  legitimate tickets a day to traffic law offenders or the officer gets penalized. 3 penalties = fired from royal police. Simple. 

Thank you for starting this forum.  My blood is hotter than a climate changed summer because, at my workplace, the cleaning ladies comply to turn off the power strip which causes me to lose important work on my computer. I just complained to management and they cited that "it's policy" despite NO logically explanation as to why we keep the refrigerator powered on 24/7, but turn off the computers. This a serious problem because if you kill the electricity on a computer enough, you will cause irreversible damage to the hard-drive. 

Has anyone had success at influencing policy at their workplace? If so, what did you do? 

I'll try to explain this the best I can... 

At my Climate Change English Camp, I will have a workshop where students will bring an old t-shirt of theirs and I will iron the camp logo onto it. 

I refuse to pay for screen printing because I want to teach Thais how to re-use, up-cycle and re-purpose things they already have. 

Do you know of a business in Thailand (anywhere is fine, I'm sure I can order EMS) where I can order thin plastic iron-on patches? When I say, "patch", I don't mean a proper cotton patch. I'm referring to the thin film of synthetic material that's on screen printed shirts (except, I want to iron them on myself; i don't want screen print). 

1 hour ago, Thaidream said:

I agree with you completely.

 

Thais do not dance at funerals and most time wear appropriate clothing- dark clothes - not short pants and flip flops.

 

It's no wonder Thai people sometimes  look at foreigners with disgust.  They won't confront you but their eyes tell the tale.  

Yeah, foreigners can be ignorant about that stuff. Just when Team Farang one a point last week for saving that old BKK guy via CPR, we had to lose face with this talented dancer who brought the right moves to the wrong music and the wrong place. haha. The media has been kind to him. A change of tide for Thai media's feelings towards foreigners? 

6 hours ago, Matzzon said:

What a total douchebag. Appearently he have no clue about that that he is dancing to music played at a burial ceremony, or he is just one of those despicable persons that just do not care about his behaviour.

When I see this bad behaviour and disrespect to Thai culture, tradition and people I truly feel ashamed being a person of the caucasian race.

Yeah, your right. But on the bright side, it shows black folks that whites can actually dance!