Mixed Race Thai People

[LaosLover]

Most of the Thai people I deal with are half-American or European. They def are super prominent where I live in real estate offices and pot stores.

 

I enjoy their tales of migrating back to Chiang Mai from San Diego or their student years in an English Village.

 

'Can't say why, but I haven't met any home-grown Western-Thai people here yet. Over the years, I have read that mixed race kids get some grief in school.

 

Most posters here have much more experience with Thai people than I do, including possibly kids. 

 

-What are pluses and minus's of being mixed race here?

-Is there a pecking order say, between kids raised and the west and not or otherwise?

-Do you have any interesting mixed race-person stories to tell?

 

 

[nikmar]

my lad's 16 now and is half thai/English. We live in Bangkok.

 

He used to get some bullying -- "farang kii nok" - but after learing Muay Thai it stopped being a problem.

 

he gets a little attention from the local folk, not much though.

 

He s got a british and thai passport so that s an advantage. he s looking to live in the uK at some point.

 

He also gets asked to help with english homework a lot.

[LaosLover]

6 minutes ago, nikmar said:

 

 

He s got a british and thai passport so that s an advantage. he s looking to live in the uK at some point.

 

 

Do you think he will?

 

I know a young couple who have the right to go to the states, talk about it incessantly, but are unlikely to pull the trigger. The States are expensive and Thailand is chill.

 

Also, if he goes, do you think he'll come back? This duel mixed race couple see living away from Thailand mostly as a way to build a nest egg.

[nikmar]

2 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Also, if he goes, do you think he'll come back?

no idea really. After he s 18 he can make his own decisions, my job is to support him the best I can. He could also hate it. the one toime ive taken him to the uK, I made sure to show him the bad as well. Life in a bedsit in a northern english winter will be no fun for him.

[LaosLover]

2 minutes ago, nikmar said:

Life in a bedsit in a northern english winter will be no fun for him.

-Def not, now that the rent rates have gone mad and he will be paying Hollywood rates for the privilege.

 

What does he want to do in England? What draws him there? Would he go to school?

 

This couple want to leverage their Thai-ness and youth to get some kind of personal assistant to rich people gig and live the high life in a big city. They are wise in the foibles of the white man, so I think they have a shot.

[stoner]

not the same but

 

my step son is full thai with no accent and perfect english. we took him to canada when he was around 9 and returned to thailand after he finished high school. 

 

when in canada we spoke 0 thai with him as i wanted him to speak english the same as any other canadian. he lost all his ability to speak thai while in canada. 

 

so when we came back he was in a strange position of being a full blooded thai but couldn't speak or understand. he has caught it back pretty quick in the 4 years since coming back. 

 

he now has dual citizenship as well. gets treated quite differently once people hear his story. some of it is good some is bad. overall it has helped his life in a lot of ways. he is almost finished thammasat inter program and is being hunted by ptt for work.

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

My poor son has it doubly tough - he's 'mixed race' Lao/British but studies at a Thai school!

[JeffersLos]

53 minutes ago, nikmar said:

He also gets asked to help with english homework a lot.

I bet he's not allowed to enter English speaking competitions, while those with Chinese families clean-up in the Chinese language contests. ????

[scorecard]

18 minutes ago, stoner said:

not the same but

 

my step son is full thai with no accent and perfect english. we took him to canada when he was around 9 and returned to thailand after he finished high school. 

 

when in canada we spoke 0 thai with him as i wanted him to speak english the same as any other canadian. he lost all his ability to speak thai while in canada. 

 

so when we came back he was in a strange position of being a full blooded thai but couldn't speak or understand. he has caught it back pretty quick in the 4 years since coming back. 

 

he now has dual citizenship as well. gets treated quite differently once people hear his story. some of it is good some is bad. overall it has helped his life in a lot of ways. he is almost finished thammasat inter program and is being hunted by ptt for work.

 

 

I doubt he has totally lost his abilities re Thai language.

 

Immersion in Thai language will bring it back quite quickly.

[JeffersLos]

18 minutes ago, stoner said:

when in canada we spoke 0 thai with him as i wanted him to speak english the same as any other canadian. he lost all his ability to speak thai

What a terrible thing to do. ????

 

Being naturally bilingual and bicultural is a massive advantage in life. ????

[scorecard]

30 minutes ago, stoner said:

not the same but

 

my step son is full thai with no accent and perfect english. we took him to canada when he was around 9 and returned to thailand after he finished high school. 

 

when in canada we spoke 0 thai with him as i wanted him to speak english the same as any other canadian. he lost all his ability to speak thai while in canada. 

 

so when we came back he was in a strange position of being a full blooded thai but couldn't speak or understand. he has caught it back pretty quick in the 4 years since coming back. 

 

he now has dual citizenship as well. gets treated quite differently once people hear his story. some of it is good some is bad. overall it has helped his life in a lot of ways. he is almost finished thammasat inter program and is being hunted by ptt for work.

 

 

PTT is a good organization to work for for many reasons.

 

The management is very dynamic and keen for all of PTT (there's many subsidiaries) to become very international. They operate successfully in any countries; one good example is Vietnam where they now have a large diverse very successful footprint.

 

On the other hand some parts of PTT are still in  dinosaur mentality mode. 

 

Good luck to your son.

Edited September 12, 2023 by scorecard

[LaosLover]

Apart from being bi-lingual, they are also bi-social. Conversations with them are less awkward.

 

Caveat about all my future observations: All of the mixed race Thai people I meet are in pot bars.

 

They may be a little diff from your upstanding children. Being westerner-friendly is def a leg up for a pot store employee.

 

[dingdongrb]

37 minutes ago, stoner said:

when in canada we spoke 0 thai with him as i wanted him to speak english the same as any other canadian. 

So he essentially says 'eh' in every sentence and is calling everyone a 'hoser'?

[CDG931]

Interesting post. Good questions raised

 

Edited September 12, 2023 by CDG931

[stoner]

39 minutes ago, dingdongrb said:

So he essentially says 'eh' in every sentence and is calling everyone a 'hoser'?

that's aboot right. 

[ChipButty]

Unfortunately it will not work out well for lots of mix raced kids, I guess many don't even know who the father is, although they will be known as half/half, 

I personally know of two, me and the wife have been friends for many years, the daughter is now about 16 and her father died when she was young, he was from Holland, they had done nothing about any documents when she was born, I remember the mother talking to my wife were she stands on getting a passport for the daughter I said as far as I am aware she is entitled to one if you can prove who the father was, she still had all the the documents and death certificate, the mothers English is not good so she needed my wife, my wife contacted the Dutch embassy fair play to the embassy they were really helpful once we provided all the documents needed as proof they issued a birth certificate and passport, her mother has the brains to keep it valid, but she doesn't speak a word of Dutch and I'm not sure how good the daughters English is haven't seen her for a while.

[stoner]

1 hour ago, JeffersLos said:

What a terrible thing to do. ????

 

Being naturally bilingual and bicultural is a massive advantage in life. ????

not at all. seeing as thai is his natural tongue it is coming back very fast. he is learning to read and write again and within 2 or 3 more years will be fully fluent.

 

he also speaks english with no accent. something very valuable here.

 

if we continued to speak thai with him in canada he would never of lost the accent. he would of spent his time swinging between languages. i knew coming back here he would pick it up very fast.  

Edited September 12, 2023 by stoner

[stoner]

54 minutes ago, scorecard said:

PTT is a good organization to work for for many reasons.

 

The management is very dynamic and keen for all of PTT (there's many subsidiaries) to become very international. They operate successfully in any countries; one good example is Vietnam where they now have a large diverse very successful footprint.

 

On the other hand some parts of PTT are still in  dinosaur mentality mode. 

 

Good luck to your son.

thanks. they came after him.

 

i believe his time out of thailand and fluency in english with no accent are a huge part of that. 

 

as you said they are international and would love to have someone like him representing them around the world. 

[nikmar]

2 hours ago, LaosLover said:

What does he want to do in England? What draws him there? Would he go to school?

he s studying in a thai school now, M4 and wants to go into sports or training. He has some dreams about being a Muay Thai instructor. He can also cook so we re looking into education possibilities for him. Train as a chef or carry on with the sports training. 

 

I guess the initial attrction to going to England is it will be a new way of life, experience or adventure for him. He also says that he cant stand the politics in Thailand. Im not sure he ll be any happier with English politics!

[scubascuba3]

If a farang has good money and a good job it's got to be better to take them back to farangland for a better education and opportunities, no point going back if a shiite job, education and area

Edited September 12, 2023 by scubascuba3

[1FinickyOne]

4 hours ago, LaosLover said:

Most of the Thai people I deal with are half-American or European. They def are super prominent where I live in real estate offices and pot stores.

 

I enjoy their tales of migrating back to Chiang Mai from San Diego or their student years in an English Village.

 

'Can't say why, but I haven't met any home-grown Western-Thai people here yet. Over the years, I have read that mixed race kids get some grief in school.

 

Most posters here have much more experience with Thai people than I do, including possibly kids. 

 

-What are pluses and minus's of being mixed race here?

-Is there a pecking order say, between kids raised and the west and not or otherwise?

-Do you have any interesting mixed race-person stories to tell?

 

 

my niece's father was a cross country distance runner and her mom is a sprinter... but nobody really cares

 

ok just kidding - my kid is half Burmese and probably nobody knows. 

 

my experience is that people are much more judged individually than by race... have seen this over and again.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

If a farang has good money and a good job it's got to be better to take them back to farangland for a better education and opportunities, no point going back if a shiite job, education and area

Agreed...  and conversely so.. 

 

If a foreigner has good money and a good job here, then paying for a top tier international school will give the Child a greater opportunity than placing them in a standard school back home (i.e. UK comprehensive).

 

 

There is the language issue: 

- Studying at an international school does not help a child's Thai.

- If the child wants a future in Thailand they have to learn extra curricular Thai.

 

There is also university issue (costs): 

- Firstly a family (child) has to be in the UK for 3 years to secure UK uni fees.

- The costs can be anywhere from £20,000 to £35,000 more per year than the standard ±£10,000 for resident UK students. 

 

- But, also, IF a child wanted to study medicine with the aim of becoming a Doctor in Thailand, they'd have to study their medical degree here (then perhaps study a masters overseas) - the same for legal services (lawyer) or Dentistry etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, stoner said:

thanks. they came after him.

 

i believe his time out of thailand and fluency in english with no accent are a huge part of that. 

 

as you said they are international and would love to have someone like him representing them around the world. 

Good points but keep in mind that PTT (any international or domestic employer) is actually moe interested in the ability to apply their uni learning and work experience to create value added business, good revenue with good margin.

 

Here's an interesting twist; I worked for many years as the regional (all Asia) director of a high performance International management concultancy (world HQ in Europe), my workplace was all Asia, my office was in Bkk becaue my Thai family lived in Bkk.

 

By accident I met a farang in Bkk on the footpath on Silom Rd., about 55 years old, had just arrived to live and work in Thailand. He had studied Thai language for many years and had advanced Thai skills: listening, comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. A rather pushy,  arrogant, abrupt man, lacking in politeness.

 

His previous work in Australia, many years, was shelf stacker in a big supermarket.

 

He asked me where I worked. Next day he arrived at my office and bypassed the receptinist and interupted a meeting in the Thai GM's office with several of the company senior Thai consultants.

 

The farang interpted by saying in Thai, "you need to employee me, you will be disadvantaged if you don't because I can speak read and write advanced Thai".

 

The Thai GM asked him to wait outside. The farnag said "NO, speak to me now".

 

The Thai GM asked his Thai consutants to resume the meeting later in the day and the GM called me and asked me to join him. The Thai GM spoke perfect English.

 

Thai GM and myself tried to explain to the farang that language is not necessarily a barrier to consulting success and he had no formal business education nor any real business strategy etc., experience.

 

• (The Thai GM had 2 masters degrees and a PHD in organization / business sciences and had valuable business and consulting experience in Europe and the US. All the Thai consultants spoke advanced English, they all had 2 masters degrees from UK, or, Aust., or the US.)

 

New boy farang insisted that his Thai language skills were much more valuable and he insisted we employ him in a senior position. 

 

Thai GM and myself huddled and agreed he was not 'qualified' in any way for our consulting areas.

 

Very angry farang went away, found the tel., number of company office in China and called them demanding a job in Thailand.

 

A few weeks later he started an argument with a Thai shop assistant at Robinsons supermarket on Suk. Rd.

Eventually police were called,

 

New farang gave my name as a friend, police came to see me, I explained I was not a friend or work collegue in fact I didn't even know his name.

 

He was deported. 

Edited September 12, 2023 by scorecard

[newbee2022]

4 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Unfortunately it will not work out well for lots of mix raced kids, I guess many don't even know who the father is, although they will be known as half/half, 

I personally know of two, me and the wife have been friends for many years, the daughter is now about 16 and her father died when she was young, he was from Holland, they had done nothing about any documents when she was born, I remember the mother talking to my wife were she stands on getting a passport for the daughter I said as far as I am aware she is entitled to one if you can prove who the father was, she still had all the the documents and death certificate, the mothers English is not good so she needed my wife, my wife contacted the Dutch embassy fair play to the embassy they were really helpful once we provided all the documents needed as proof they issued a birth certificate and passport, her mother has the brains to keep it valid, but she doesn't speak a word of Dutch and I'm not sure how good the daughters English is haven't seen her for a while.

Sorry. I lost you half way through. Without any full stops it's hard to read. ????

[newbee2022]

5 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Unfortunately it will not work out well for lots of mix raced kids, I guess many don't even know who the father is, although they will be known as half/half, 

I personally know of two, me and the wife have been friends for many years, the daughter is now about 16 and her father died when she was young, he was from Holland, they had done nothing about any documents when she was born, I remember the mother talking to my wife were she stands on getting a passport for the daughter I said as far as I am aware she is entitled to one if you can prove who the father was, she still had all the the documents and death certificate, the mothers English is not good so she needed my wife, my wife contacted the Dutch embassy fair play to the embassy they were really helpful once we provided all the documents needed as proof they issued a birth certificate and passport, her mother has the brains to keep it valid, but she doesn't speak a word of Dutch and I'm not sure how good the daughters English is haven't seen her for a while.

Sorry, I lost you half way through. Without any full stops it's hard to read.????

[ChipButty]

6 minutes ago, newbee2022 said:

Sorry. I lost you half way through. Without any full stops it's hard to read. ????

what are them?

[newbee2022]

48 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

what are them?

?????

[mrwebb8825]

My 1/2, step, adopted brother is full Thai. My dad married his mother and adopted him. They moved back to the states. He joined the marines then took his college benefits and studied engineering and now works for NASA. (He was part of the design crew for the Mars rover). He wouldn't go back to Thailand if you paid him.

 

ETA: He's not mixed race, just mixed cultural upbringing - seems Thailand appeals to the old with money and not so much the young.

Edited September 12, 2023 by mrwebb8825

[Autonuaq]

Moved my son out of Thailand, at age 4 he was bullied at school and at a certain point 'start to fall often' and shortly after that was beaten up by the Thai teacher. All because he was Caucasian/Thai. The food and drinks were taken from him. Now he stays in my home country, and I have to make adjustment to work. is 8 years now and starting to become a happy child again. This was in the Bangkok area. Police and juveniele Department were involved and made it possible for him to get legally out of the country. His mother also helped him out followed later due to the needed visa for her to be able to stay long in abroad to make sure he got well again.

In general the Thai children with a foreign parent they have it tougher to very worse.

 

[Jelli]

If the person is attractive that goes a long way to kill off the scarlet letter.

 

I've taught a perhaps a dozen middle, upper middle class really pretty luk krung girls over the years and one dead handsome boy. I'd say this lot is has no problems fitting in.

 

The boy was so handsome the girls on the other side of the school wanted me to carry love messages to him as I happened to teach both. Ironically, he had a nickname that to me meant unwanted. Funny life is.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Jelli