Whats wrong with you foreigners

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

How true, in fact I have sorted one bloke out at his expense, but one of my best (now) friends is an old guy who has had a heart attack, stroke, epilepsy and a brain aneurysm, we laugh and laugh over a few beers every week..Just being ME opened a lot of fun for us both and made a guy with huge problems a life that wasn't so bleak..He even likes my....

Get me right, it not about excluding everyone and be a dirtbag holding your hand over your family protecting them from the dangerous world outside there. It is just about choosing your contacts because it is a connection, not because someone want to be your friend or contact, and you feel you have to be since he is your neighbour. Simple as that is is chemistry, being on the same planet, enjoy each others company and respect other people. The respect for other people is also to leave them alone, and not traspassing their life. 

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Get me right, it not about excluding everyone and be a dirtbag holding your hand over your family protecting them from the dangerous world outside there. It is just about choosing your contacts because it is a connection, not because someone want to be your friend or contact, and you feel you have to be since he is your neighbour. Simple as that is is chemistry, being on the same planet, enjoy each others company and respect other people. The respect for other people is also to leave them alone, and not traspassing their life. 

Absolutely...

[speckio]

when I am approached by farang they are usually wearing a white collared shirt and a tie and want to talk to me about God.. I am usually polite talk for a bit tell them not interested and wish them luck. If they get pushy... I push back and tell them to trust me they don't want to speak my mind on the subject of religion.

 

I have never bothered trying to just say Hi to a farang for the sake of saying Hi... in most cases when I talk to a farang its because i see they are lost or confused and could probably use some help with directions... or i see they are having no luck talking to the locals and act as a mediator

 

I am also 100% thai but most thais assume I am a foreigner...  Not sure if its the way I dress or the way I carry myself..

 

I was born and raised in CA

[Colabamumbai]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Duck said:

Ya know, I like to break the rules. Ya know like “don’t talk to strangers on an elevator “ or “don’t talk to people on the  bts or mrt” often when sharing an elevator with someone who seems uncomfortable I will turn around and stand in a corner. A funny ice breaker. 

 

I have some muslim neighbors that moved into the place recently. They were a mother & 2 young daughters. The youngest one is about 10 years old. She is the family translator for Thai, Arabic, or English. At first if I was first on the elevator they would wait for the next one. Later another time  I jumped on just before the doors closed and used my stand in corner technique and got a laugh out of them. I suspect they fear all Americans are muslim haters. I suspect I may have changed that view, by simply being silly. They even will say hello in public now. I asked them what was a proper greeting in their language. I cannot remember, but it seems to be a starting point. 

Maybe I am just crazy. 

Salom Ali Kum is what you say to Muslims.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

The question to my self now has to be,  why does it seem I need to say Hi to any foreigners that I come across while out and about , when now thinking about it in more detail , its just become obvious to me that the Hi door is swinging only in one direction . 

Oh Lordy, that's my life. It's always up to me to make things happen, or so it seems. Could be that there are thousands of people out there I'd get on really well with, but I just haven't met them ( yet ).

Even sadder when I meet someone and think I'm getting on really well with them, but they never want to repeat the experience.

I once had a "girl friend" that dumped me for "moving too fast" although I hadn't actually done or tried to do "something" at that stage, as was early days. However, I was more upset at that because I really liked her father and of course never got to see him again than I was at not being with her. Such is my life. I meet someone I get on well with, and some other bastard stuffs it up.

 

Could it now be time for me mimic other foreigners and when I see one walking towards me,  I just lower my head and stare at the floor as I silently walk on by.  

What I do with people that studiously ignore me is look at them in the face, so they can't pretend I don't exist.

[RickG16]

The fact this is even a thread says it all... too many expats with too much time on their hands in this country. 

[thaibeachlovers]

10 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

Salom Ali Kum is what you say to Muslims.

 

 

BTW, it's As-salāmu ʿalaykum ( from Wikipedia )

 

[thaibeachlovers]

6 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

The fact this is even a thread says it all... too many expats with too much time on their hands in this country. 

Too much time on your hands then?

[Hummin]

8 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

The fact this is even a thread says it all... too many expats with too much time on their hands in this country. 

Waiting for my gf to finish shopping 

[RickG16]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Too much time on your hands then?

Nope, working long hours and happy to distract myself for a couple of seconds by looking at TV.

 

But not spending a long time pondering why passers by say hello / don't say hello to me. 

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

I am from the other side of the spectrum .

I usually have quite a positive opinion about my home Country, as well as about Thailand , maybe I just focus on the positives, rather than the negatives .

   I also find it quite repulsive talking with men about sex , especially older men talking about prostitutes .

  Some of the older ex-pats , their whole reason for being seems to be sex .

They often go to places, just to leer at females , every female with make-up on and a skirt above the knee , they will stare at her and say "coooor, id giv er one"

Sex is fun. It might be the only fun they get to have. it's certainly fun to talk about with someone else that likes sex.

If you don't like talking about sex, just don't do it. They don't force you to, do they?

[transam]

2 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

Nope, working long hours and happy to distract myself for a couple of seconds by looking at TV.

 

But not spending a long time pondering why passers by say hello / don't say hello to me. 

You fibber......

[The manic]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

I am from the other side of the spectrum .

I usually have quite a positive opinion about my home Country, as well as about Thailand , maybe I just focus on the positives, rather than the negatives .

   I also find it quite repulsive talking with men about sex , especially older men talking about prostitutes .

  Some of the older ex-pats , their whole reason for being seems to be sex .

They often go to places, just to leer at females , every female with make-up on and a skirt above the knee , they will stare at her and say "coooor, id giv er one"

The whole point is not saying but doing. They have the opportunity to act not just leer.  That is the Pattaya scene. I am not repelled by your ageism but somewhat disconcerted by all such hate speech including gerentophobia. Personally I always feel it is life enhancing to see older guys with young attractive women. It's great and gives hope fir the future. I suspect we would not have much to talk about. However, referring to the thread's main theme. I would greet you as a stranger but would disengage once you started taking about how wonderful your country is and how old men repulse you by having fun. Good luck

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

Nope, working long hours and happy to distract myself for a couple of seconds by looking at TV.

 

But not spending a long time pondering why passers by say hello / don't say hello to me. 

No problem then. Plenty of other threads to look at.

Have a nice day.

[thaibeachlovers]

5 hours ago, n210mp said:

Its  rumoured in Psychology circles that 99% of the worlds population have some kind of mental hangup or disorder yes me included.

100%.

There is no such thing as "normal" when it comes to humans. If people were all the same, we'd be like bees or ants.

Given the lives most of us have, it's amazing that most of us aren't actually clinically insane.

 

Anyway, "normal" used to consider seeing a woman's ankle to be scandalous, and now women can walk around virtually naked and that's "normal" in some places. Who can authoritatively define what "normal" is? 

[Gecko123]

27 minutes ago, RickG16 said:

The fact this is even a thread says it all... too many expats with too much time on their hands in this country. 

Hey Mr Above-It-All:

This is an important issue. There is social dysfunction in the Thailand expat community and it warrants discussion.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

A few years back there were very few ferang living in the town where I live.. I always said 'Hi'.. and usually had a good response.. and I made a couple of good friends this way.  These days there are a lot more westerners living there and I don't greet everyone but occasionally I'll start a conversation.  I've never really had anyone be rude.. a few make little or no response and move on.. but like someone mentioned above not all are English speakers.. It might make a difference that where I live there is no tourist industry.  Westerners I meet are generally married to a local lady or visiting a friend. Also, because there is no tourist industry the locals almost never approach foreigners with something to sell.  I guess it is  a bit more relaxed away from the tourist hot spots.  At immigration it might not be the best place to strike up a conversation.. you never know what is going on for the other person.. they could be a bit stressed with visa issues on their mind.  My feeling is that it doesn't hurt to smile and be friendly... 

My feeling is that it doesn't hurt to smile and be friendly... 

100%

 

Some of my best conversations are with strangers I meet on the bus. If I didn't say something those conversations would never have happened, as like most people, they rarely make the first greeting.

[sanemax]

33 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

Just to clarify , when out and about and I see an approaching foreigner coming towards me , even if he is walking alone or with some one .  My reaction has all ways been to smile , not a silly or false grin just a simple normal smile and then a non aggressive low key Hi . My intention has never been to stop or slow down the recipient of my Hi,  in the hope we can have a longer conversation , its just to try and show some sort of foreigner to foreigner friendly acknowledgment as we pass each other . 

 

Now thinking about this subject a bit more its just occurred to me that in the past when I've been wandering about be it in a shopping mall , restaurant or other public place . I don't ever recall any approaching foreigner actually saying Hi to me first . 

 

The question to my self now has to be,  why does it seem I need to say Hi to any foreigners that I come across while out and about , when now thinking about it in more detail , its just become obvious to me that the Hi door is swinging only in one direction . 

 

Could it be something to do with my childhood upbringing or may be some deep rooted desire to be accepted or recognized in some way. 

 

What ever it may be and now remembering that my past Hi greetings all seem to be generally met with a negative reaction , and of course the large numbers of comments posted here that seem to say its generally a bad idea doing what I'm doing. 

 

Could it now be time for me mimic other foreigners and when I see one walking towards me,  I just lower my head and stare at the floor as I silently walk on by.  

 

I'm feeling disheartened 

My turn for clarification : If I am walking down the street and a felang gives me right of way (on the pavement , Thais tend to never give way) , I will acknowledge that with a smile or a thanks , as they sometimes do, when I give the the right of way (on pavements only fit for one person) .

  Also , quite often , when Im walking around with my two year old boy and we see a felang family with a similar aged kid , I sometimes stop for a few minutes to say hello and let the kids study each other , if I see a couple of felangs (usually older grandparents) smiling at my boy , I will take him over , and he wais them and sawadee kahb and gives them smile and a "ahhh , isnt he cute" , reply .

   Just a bit of social interaction to pass the time of day .

Before I gave up drinking , I would quite often go into bars and a have a few beers with other drinkers , if I met some other drinkers with something in common with me , I would sit and talk with them all night and sometimes go on three day drinking sessions .

   Fair enough , BUT , walking around supermarkets saying hello to random people, not really my thing

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Grumpy Duck said:

I asked them what was a proper greeting in their language.

If they were Thais it would be "Sawatdee khap".

If they were Malay it would be "Selamat pagi" if it was in the morning and "Selamat tengah hari" in the afternoon.

Etc.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

 I am the "Daddy" of my family and if he tries to muscle in and make a challenge , we wili deal with it the way lions and tigers deal with it in the wild .

On the other hand you could deal with it by telling him politely you don't want him hanging around.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Why is he the one with problem? 

 

Some people have fixed ideas how things are and how it should be, and it is hard to convince them to ease a little bit and hang loose, and just accept people are different with different needs. 

 

It's because he thinks he is a wild animal or something.

[Hummin]

Well some are after double their testosteoron level and a box blue pills

 

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

On the other hand you could deal with it by telling him politely you don't want him hanging around.

I will just let the annoyance build up , not saying anything , as soon as he gives me a reason (being rude or something) ,  I will give him his marching orders

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

Well some are after double their testosteoron level and a box blue pills

 

Whatever makes the fun possible!

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, sanemax said:

I will just let the annoyance build up , not saying anything , as soon as he gives me a reason (being rude or something) ,  I will give him his marching orders

Hmmmm. I think any psychologist would say that's the worst possible way to deal with a problem. Let it build up and then explode. He is humiliated and hates you, your family are humiliated, and people normally regret doing that after they've cooled down.

If you don't want him around, just tell him, politely, and he'll move on, no harm done.

[JAFO]

3 hours ago, sanemax said:

Theres a good example .

I said hello to JAFO , now he wants me to go and help him  trim his Lumyai trees

LOLOLOL ^^^..... I do not believe I asked you to help me sanemax just told you what I was doing but hey if you wanna come up and hang and help I make great cocktails and throw down a good BBQ. Tonight I will BBQ some lemon pepper chicken wings and the wife will whip up some stir fried veggies.

 

Today was no yard work. I helped a guy fix his tractor. Bearing froze up and the track sheered a gear. Now I am chillaxing in the house browsing the internet for GoPro accessories...LOL.

 

How is your day? 

 

I 

[tubby johnson]

You sound like a grinning, provincial simpleton from a redneck backwater. Why bother every farang you see?

Why do you discriminate against Thais by not saying "Hi" to them too?

Do you feel special and entitled in Thailand?

[JAFO]

1 hour ago, RickG16 said:

Nope, working long hours and happy to distract myself for a couple of seconds by looking at TV.

 

But not spending a long time pondering why passers by say hello / don't say hello to me. 

Amen to that^^^^^. I pay no never mind to it all but rather laugh. I am just living life. People dive to deep into this social stuff round here. I pop on here for fun and entertainment to get out of the heat for a few hours. 

[Grumpy Duck]

36 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If they were Thais it would be "Sawatdee khap".

If they were Malay it would be "Selamat pagi" if it was in the morning and "Selamat tengah hari" in the afternoon.

Etc.

But they are Pakistani and speak Arabic the greeting is Salam Ali Kum. but what is important is the interest.

[Hummin]

33 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Whatever makes the fun possible!

True, but a bit self examination could help alot sometimes.