Farangs Who 'go Native'.......

[DMasut]

Well in Thailand, there is room for all of us.... just know which one you are so you know how to act accordingly

BTW... RUMOR HAS IT THE THAI BAHT MAY HIT 30THB to $1 and all other major currencies... it may be time to buy more baht while they are still at 34thb - $1.

One thing for sure... the baht won't weaken in the next month or so...

long term however once the Thai export manufacturer/markets get slammed and Thai Tourism dips due to prices going up because the Baht strength... we may see another 1997 crash.... 60THB -$1 WOOO HOOOO!!!

[englishoak]

Regarding going native whatever makes you happy is fine.

I lived in LOs for 5 years and went pretty native myself according to some.

I lived with my extended thai family 24/7. 10 people in 2 pretty big houses.

I ate 99% thai food because I liked it.

My circle of friends were all Thai. Why ? I guess because I like Thai people a lot and it just worked out that way.

I learnt to speak Thai and even began to learn to write.

My socialising were 99% thai places. Yes including karaoke and sopajok etc with friends most things can be fun.

I did'nt drink lao kao often because I don't realy like it.

I did drink cheap thai rum ( sang som ) because I do like it.

I wai'd people because it's respectful ( done correctly).

My dress code varied from shorts, t shirt & FF to trousers & shirt depending on where I went. As did my friends.

I wore pakamar ( sarong ) in the house because it's comfortable dress, but not outside.

I drove around on a motorbike because it was the most useful form of transport.

Ran a small business selling to Thai's because I found a gap in the market.

I visited temples with the family and frequently went to tomboon. Another great social event.

Did I do farang things ? eg watch football, go to cinema, concerts, bars, swimming, the beach, the mountains, the jungle, tour around, visit remote villages, eat farang food, stay in hotels ? sure, I did all these things along with my Thai friends and Thai family.

Did it occur to me that I was going native ? not realy it just happened that way and felt totally normal.

I like to think I adapted to my environment and integrated with a different culture rather than going native. It happened very quickly for me by just going with the flow, when in Rome attitude.

The only thing I put effort into was learning the language and a curiosity about Thai culture/History. I don't like to look stupid or ignorant any more than offend someone by not taking the time to learn polite basics and something about anywhere I live.

All this I did whilst living in Bangkok !

There is native and there's native. But each to their own.

Edited July 10, 2007 by englishoak

[November Rain]

Regarding going native whatever makes you happy is fine.

I lived in LOs for 5 years and went pretty native myself according to some.

I lived with my extended thai family 24/7. 10 people in 2 pretty big houses.

I ate 99% thai food because I liked it.

My circle of friends were all Thai. Why ? I guess because I like Thai people a lot and it just worked out that way.

I learnt to speak Thai and even began to learn to write.

My socialising were 99% thai places. Yes including karaoke and sopajok etc with friends most things can be fun.

I did'nt drink lao kao often because I don't realy like it.

I did drink cheap thai rum ( sang som ) because I do like it.

I wai'd people because it's respectful ( done correctly).

My dress code varied from shorts, t shirt & FF to trousers & shirt depending on where I went. As did my friends.

I wore pakamar ( sarong ) in the house because it's comfortable dress, but not outside.

I drove around on a motorbike because it was the most useful form of transport.

Ran a small business selling to Thai's because I found a gap in the market.

I visited temples with the family and frequently went to tomboon. Another great social event.

Did I do farang things ? eg watch football, go to cinema, concerts, bars, swimming, the beach, the mountains, the jungle, tour around, visit remote villages, eat farang food, stay in hotels ? sure, I did all these things along with my Thai friends and Thai family.

Did it occur to me that I was going native ? not realy it just happened that way and felt totally normal.

I like to think I adapted to my environment and integrated with a different culture rather than going native. It happened very quickly for me by just going with the flow, when in Rome attitude.

The only thing I put effort into was learning the language and a curiosity about Thai culture/History. I don't like to look stupid or ignorant any more than offend someone by not taking the time to learn polite basics and something about anywhere I live.

All this I did whilst living in Bangkok !

There is native and there's native. But each to their own.

Great post. Kudos to you for living life the way you wanted to & getting the most out of your time in Thailand.

[dumspero]

We are all far more alike than different. Posers are funny. Caricatures are funny. Not wrong, just funny.

So of course Lucky Dog is right that those (whether this includes his friend or not) who go overboard trying to be Thai will be laughed at, including in the sneering way. They're not WRONG to go native, it's up to them, but it's still laughable at the extreme.

Village farang is also right re the limited literacy of NE Thais in my experience. It's not politically correct, and it enrages some to hear it, but NE kids with six or fewer years of bad school is the rule. No surprise, then, if they can't write or perhaps even read words like "geography" in Thai. (A broader reality: I suspect it's common among areas with mixed language backgrounds and poor educations that the kids can't even speak any language truly fluently. Sure, they may have hundreds of words of one language and another four hundred or whatever of their parents' native language, for example, and their pronunciation will likely be spot on in both, but let's not pretend they somehow really KNOW a decent number of words in either language. Doesn't make me any better than them, but I refuse to condescend to them and pretend it's not the case.)

[saraburioz]

I'm staying with a brother in law this week from Issan. He has a MBA from Harvard! He is also a grandson of the King Of Laos.

[Neeranam]

Your case sounds different to the OPs. He lives in Pattaya and his wife doesn't speak English.

[Luckydog]

Confucious he say " There is native and there's native. But each to their own".

Not Confucious ? Well whoever.........

Must dash. ....Off to the Wat.

[LucMee]

Confucious he say " There is native and there's native. But each to their own".

Not Confucious ? Well whoever.........

Must dash. ....Off to the Wat.

LuckyD... Are you coming around to the "Dark Side"?... You're beginning to sound almost conciliatory

[fabianfred]

what makes me chuckle is that 50 years ago.....I would have been looked down upon by the expat community for ...'having gone native'.....'letting the side down old boy'

and my kids would 'have a touch of the tar brush'

I don't care what ignorant people think about me....I have never been one to follow the crowd

[Flow]

The problem is the guy has probably lost all kinds of face through tons of cultural goof-ups by waiing younger people, using the wrong wai, etc.. They should study up a bit and ask their partner before going local.

It's not about integrating yourself, it's about commanding respect.

Agree with you totally