Bobbie Davies

Thing is p, I think the teacher did it unthinkingly not with malice. Yeah might be among the first things we think of, “would this embarrass the kid” (by the way, we still don’t know if the kid was actually embarrassed himself). But this is Thailand, first thought conformity. And even with a degree teachers have a learning curve. Was she new teacher? Old teacher set in her ways? What?

Ouch! I am so sorry that happened to your daughter. I would be really sensitive after that too. I would set freak.

And I am not painting Thailand as backward. That is colonial thought. They are different only. Judging their goodness or badness forwardness or backwardness on Failure to meet some artificially created Western standard or goal point standard is would be pure hubris on our part.

And that is a big difference between you and Thai people. The wai is always necessary at the proper point regardless of their personal opinion. And most times it is from their heart even if they hate the person to the bone,

No, no I am not saying your daughter doesn’t go to a good school. I’m sure she does. Like I said some schools are better than others from a Western viewpoint. Out of curiosity, does she go to a government school, a international school, private school, what?

I wouldn’t take it. But I am a Westerner. And the 16 year old you talk about would probably take it in Thailand. Some individuals might not, but many, many would. Have you ever seen the teacher welcoming ceremony in the schools in Thailand? The child goes up on a stand and scoots on their knees to the seated teachers and gives them a wreath at which time the teacher smiles at them and places both hands on their head. You would see that as groveling, they see it as a sign of respect. The same respect that is they will have to deal with their entire life. Are you aware that the kings wives and concubines are required to approach their husband on their knees? Do you know that below the king there is no one of higher status than monks and that you should never have your head higher? Or that the “wai” has several degrees based on the status of the person you are talking to? Do you know that every morning all the children stand at attention and do the Thai and Kings anthem? They are being taught respect and obedience to status symbols. Yeah the 16 year old would probably take it. On the violence we simply will have to agree to disagree. Again, we have no statements or evidence to assume that the child was traumatized only a projection that it might cause them to be traumatized. Honestly, the notes from when I was a kid did not traumatize me.

I don’t glorify them. But we are talking Western schools and Western education systems. You simply cannot make a direct comparison of the mentalities. That is one of the main reasons for schools in any country, to socialize and integrate children into THEIR society. You have a Western free thinker mentality, I do as well. But It seems there is a small difference between our viewpoints, I do not think my way is the only way. Different education systems have to be adjusted to meet the needs of their society, not ours. We and our children are guests in Thailand no matter how long we are here (assuming you do not go the citizenship route) and not the rulers. Remember Thailand was never part of the Imperial expansion efforts. We cannot claim our personal mentality is better for them, that is pure imperialistic thought. They are not savages being enlightened by our godlike ways. Many countries allow corporal punishment in their schools from standing against the wall in a squat, to full on pull the pants down spanking. And the accused action that teacher did 20 years ago was actually illegal I assume?

You put it in context of a note being pinned on a shirt. That is not violence. So how would I assume you are talking violence? And the idea that a 6 year old does not care or that clothing is not important in any country of the world. Dear you must have grown up in a different world than anyone else on this planet because that is simply untrue. YOU may think it is unimportant, but that does not mean everyone around you has that same attitude. And you are aware of this as you yourself say you give your daughter an excuse to use if you don’t get 48 hours warning.

Whoa Nelly about the never ever touch a 6 year old. That is pure projection and bias. I touch and play with my friends, neighbors, and fiancés family kids all the time. I have also, as a person and a teacher, helped kids straighten their cloths, brush their hair and teeth, helped them form letters, cleaned them up when they were sick, hugged them when they were hurt or crying, etc… Touch is a necessary part of dealing with children. There is nothing improper or wrong about a friend, family member, or teacher coming into physical contact with a child for a variety of reasons.

Hmm. I guess I was saying that this kind of stuff is not unique and should not be a huge surprise. And that the concern may not be the welfare of the child in the article but the saving of face for the parent. Naturally we would not do that today, I can’t think of a Westerner who would. But I do believe, not to minimize what actually happened, that it hardly rates as major abuse or rape. You can’t throw away a teachers entire career for a note pinned to a shirt, once. The reason I may sound unsympathetic to the child is not that I am uncaring, simply that there is no mention whatsoever of any reaction that the child may have had to this. Yes we would sue till Jesus cried for mercy if it happened to our kids. Yes, we can project our own assumptions on him and say, “Oh poor baby he may be mentally scarred for life”, but is that real or simply a projection of our own biases. Yes for us Westerners, Europeans, etc… it is a issue of child welfare. Honestly, the kid could have been skipping up to daddy and proudly showing his note, “look what I got pa, a note for you”, and the dad saw everyone looking and felt his reputation took a hit. I’m not making a moral judgement on the importance or lack of importance that Thais place on conformity, it is however a fact. As is saving face. Is what the teacher did actually against the law? In a Western country it may be depending on whether it can be seen as abuse (depending on definitions of abuse) or not. Yes, Thailand is in the middle of an evolutionary change in education and yes Thailand has some great teachers, this is undeniable, there will be some hiccups though. And some schools are more advanced than others in their instruction methods and styles. But it is not one hundred percent, and given Thailand, it may never be. No I am not bitter or uncaring, you know, I was not the only one with notes pinned it was generally done with bunches of kids. Please phones, we didn’t have em, lived in the country and didn’t even have a tv till I was 12. I never got the dunce hat, and my brother is the only one in the family that got the paddle at school. Yes my father did defend us, to the hilt, they just did not have a problem with the notes. I also certainly understand the nonconformity issue. I desperately wanted to belong at that age. And of course, we should not go back to shaming children. But that is another of my points, this was not A deliberate shaming of the child, but an attempt to communicate with the parents wrongheaded as it seems to have been.

Ah the good ol’ days. You know what? As a kid I actually did have teachers that pinned notes to our shirts or coats. Not big old signposts, but it did happen and no one cared. That said I think three things leap out at me. First, was the embarrassment issue. In Thailand, as everyone knows, big no no, but it was a parental face save not for the kid.The article does mention his (the parents) embarrassment. Makes no mention at all of any embarrassment on the part of the child. Just that other kids were looking. No mention of crying or what have you. And if the parent was making a scene, I’ll just bet they were staring. All the 6 year olds I know couldn’t care less if there was a note attached. In fact they might be thinking of it as a game depending on how the teacher presented it. Not like the dunce hats we had to sit in the corner with as children, and yes it happened. So did corporal punishment if some of you don’t remember. And sometimes mandatory haircuts. This all in the US. Second was the very noticeable fact that the teacher was not fired. Her transfer to another class was not necessarily a punishment but to get her out of the line of fire. She may have heaved a sigh of relief actually having to not teach English. You’ll also notice that the name of the Superintendent was mentioned, but not that of the teacher and the Superintendent made statements, not the teacher. Lastly, we cannot put Western non-conformist constructs on this issue. The kid showing up in the wrong clothing could be a big issue. Yes, while some schools do not necessarily strictly enforce uniformity, especially those dealing with international children, many do. Uniforms are required from kindergarten through the University years. If you have ever looked at professionals, teachers included. They tend to wear very similar outfits as their peers. Thailand has a tradition, for instance of certain shirt colors on certain days. Yellow Mondays ring a bell? Or the civil dress uniform for Thai teachers on Mondays in government schools? They start at the start with conformity. We do not even know if the teacher was present at the time. Many teachers especially in like MEP work their 4 hours and are gone. Also laziness is not the only reason a teacher may not deal with a message in person. Line is the most prevalent method of reaching parents and there is an implication that they were not even looking at the messages, let alone answering. Also we do know the teacher was a woman, she may not have been comfortable “confronting” a parent.

Ah there we are. In what particular are they wrong? More importantly, Hasish can you buy it? And if yes where?

As for second hand guilty on some. Question was Hash can we buy it? If yes any leads. No statement saying only answer if you have first hand knowledge. Which would only be possible if you yourself had bought hashish recently. I did exactly what he did by posting the subject, asked my Thai friends and fiance. Do you have any information on Hash to provide, first second or third hand? Because I certainly haven’t seen you try to answer, just trash someone who is trying to answer with rubbish technicalities, if I am wrong about the central issue then that is one thing, but you are just in it to tear down the source because they as an individual do not meet your exacting standards, making it a referendum on who is and is not a legitimate expat.

Perhaps I should say, according to my fiancé and our friends, Hashish is not really available for sale because it is not what they want and takes too much work. Also from what I see of the laws such a purchase could have consequences due to the well publicized information on the stated purposes for the legalization of Marijuana, and during this time of uncertainty of where the actual guidelines are it might be risky, as the criminalization makes personal use legal by default but not by actual legislation. They have created guidelines. The chances of a foreigner falling foul of these guidelines are from my experiences and by advisement of my fiancé and friends higher than upon native Thais. It might be best to make your own hash as it is less likely to bring things falling about your head. Better?

Uh uh, I am talking about the “possibility” of problems regarding a single thing. Hashish. And how does it not make sense when I am asking my Thai friends about it. Sure it’s second hand information, admittedly. But I would say the same if I was there because those friends and people are the same ones I live with and deal with on a daily when I am in Thailand. Only went beyond that simple subject due to request for clarification, which I provided with some examples from my own experiences.

That might work. If you do do VOA depending on where you go in Thailand would affect overall cost of reup. Travel costs. Penang sounds like a good bet.

For the above. Work permit is separate from marriage visa. Yes you can get work permit with the visa if you have employer, but not automatic with Visa. Without permit for instance you cannot help wife sell from booth, even though you have Visa do not have work permit. Of course you don’t need 400,000 you have salary that meets the requirements. Either 400,000 or, I think 35,000 a month, or a combination of the two equaling 400,000 a year. And if you are working in Thailand you are paying taxes so yes you can receive care. Unmarried Teachers get the same. It’s tied to your actual working that is the Social Security Scheme and on paying taxes not on your marriage visa or any other thing. Sorry no pink card. My answers were not on the technicality of the card process but, the likelihood of getting free medical care based on that card alone. Good luck

You think Thailand is tough, try getting A Thai citizen into the US when marriage is the goal. He is older like I am. I don’t have high income (on pension) either but am lucky in owning my home in United States and being able to buy him his home in Thailand. And yes I always have a place to go in Thailand so declare it when I enter Thailand. And rules are different from United States. All I was trying to say is that I do really think they mean it and residual Covid protocols would explain why different from last year. And I did book all that stuff when required during Covid when I had to get my fiancé out of Phuket just before lockdown. And I had a friend who had his Visa revoked for not following the rules about being where he said he was. The VOA is how they would prefer you go. You can see that on first page on Embassy site. Number 1 check if you need Visa to enter. I really do sincerely hope you can work it out. And they really are being snarky about backpackers.

And the rules do not specify foreigners. But they are not going to ding Thais for it. Same as smoking cigarettes in public places. Thais do it all the time. You light up as a foreigner in the wrong place whamo. How many times you see Thais without helmets getting pulled over? Go ahead, do it yourself.

No it’s 20,000 Baht. I dollarized it. I’m American. Send a lot of money to Thailand and tend to do that on the fly. Sorry if confusing.

Recreational use in public FOR FOREIGNERS is indeed illegal. Potential Pardon me, $700 fine and three months in jail. The purpose is medical, industrial, and money making. FOREIGNERS are not allowed to smoke in public. That has not changed. Thailand has not yet turned into another Amsterdam. By public it means don’t toke out in the park. There is a lot of winking and nodding going on but bottom line as a foreigner they are likely to smack you if you’re not inside or with a bunch of Thai friends. By the way you can be charged for the stank if your neighbors complain.

of course they have or no visa. You think they give one flying flip about how inconvenient it might be for you? Don’t know if you’ve ever been to Thailand before, but if not, and given your question, I assume not, boy are you gonna get an eye opening education. Your needs and preferences mean diddly squat to Thai officials especially if you point out an inconsistency or word things in a way that makes them seem like they are wrong or making a mistake. And how they find out is when you make reservation to show where you will be, (understand the purpose of this is to know where you are), and you check into a place, they the hotel, motel, room in house, whatever, is supposed to report your presence to immigration. Sometimes they do immediately and sometimes bundle at end of week. This is the country that makes you do 90 day check ins with proof of address on long term visas. Do whatever you want, but always remember that in Thailand you are a walking wallet. They don’t want you there because you have a pretty face. You asked for information I gave it. Not my fault if it wasn’t the answer you wanted. They aren’t going to change their policies because your wallet is a bit slim. The reason you don’t find information on gaming the system regarding that embassy is because people don’t do it. You either meet the qualifications or you don’t. If you do not book in advance that embassy will not give you a visa, period. You chose to enter from KL and not from your home embassy which has different regs. Thailand is a beautiful country with beautiful people including my manfriend/fiancé but don’t assume that because you are from the EU, America (as I am), or elsewhere that you have freedom to not follow the rules. I truly hope your trip goes well, but not sounding promising so far. Sadly it’s people with that attitude of standing up for what I want no matter what that gets foreigners a beat down by every Thai within yelling distance.

Since smoking is discouraged for foreigners I would be cautious in the obtaining or use of hashish. It is a marijuana “product” whose purpose might be and likely will be seen as purely recreational. They are also looking at concentration of THC. As such could lead to that 700 Baht fine and maybe jail time. As my manfriend said the other day “just because you get some eggs, doesn’t mean you can eat the chicken”.

Just what I was going to say. Rounding it up big time to a thousand doctors out of all the doctors in Thailand? Sweeping condemnation. And not basing on science or effect of weed itself, but the tired old corruption of youth schtick? Love it. How many of the doctors were Muslim?

Let people argue all they want. Here’s the deal. Every Immigration office is a little different. The same with every agent. Take everything Yellow Book included as well as your wife, a copy of her information and all your information, including your drivers license from your home country. That way if they ask, which they might or might not do, this is Thailand after all, you have it ready to hand. Don’t hand them anything they don’t ask for. But seriously, if you are doing this for free medical care not going to happen. Might help with double pricing in some places though.