Cross-cultural Marriages- Western Men Living In Thailand

[megan1514]

Hi,

I’m an American graduate student studying in Bangkok. I’m conducting thesis research on cross-cultural marriages in Thailand in order to learn more about the experiences of people who are in this kind of relationship and how they decided to settle in Thailand. Outside of Thailand, most of what people hear about cross-cultural marriages is about Thai women migrating to the West to marry. But people inside Thailand know that this is not the whole story, as a lot of Western men married to Thai women have come to live here.

If you are a Western man living in Thailand and married to a Thai woman, I would like to speak with you about your experiences of marriage, cultural adjustment and your living situation in Thailand. I want to find out the stories behind the men who are moving to Thailand in order to produce an accurate, unbiased understanding of these moves and marriages.

If you are interested in helping with my project, I will be conducting in-person interviews starting in December. The interview would last about one hour and would be arranged for a time and place convenient for you. I will travel to you. Your involvement would be entirely voluntary, and you could stop the interview at any time or decline to answer any question you do not wish to answer. All information you provide will be kept confidential, and your name would not be associated with anything you say.

If you have any questions or would be willing to help me with this project by meeting me for an interview, please shoot me an email or message me. Thanks so much for your time, I appreciate it!

Best regards,

Megan

[NanLaew]

The results should be really interesting. There's the 'old school' who are mostly ex- military or oilfield who met their wives on r&r or crew change, lived here and gradually immersed themselves in the lifestyle culture. And their will be the 'new class' that met their wives via the internet and probably feel that they have been thrown in at the deep end. Talk about culture shock!

Good luck with your thesis. I would think there are plenty willing to share their experiences but maybe the interview approach would be a bit intimidating.

[archthai]

The results should be really interesting. There's the 'old school' who are mostly ex- military or oilfield who met their wives on r&r or crew change, lived here and gradually immersed themselves in the lifestyle culture. And their will be the 'new class' that met their wives via the internet and probably feel that they have been thrown in at the deep end. Talk about culture shock!

Good luck with your thesis. I would think there are plenty willing to share their experiences but maybe the interview approach would be a bit intimidating.

There are Thai wives who married Air force military men who had 1 year tours at Ubon, udorn, NKP, Korat, Thakli, Udaphao, Bankok Airport etc... who are drifting back because its easier to retire in Thailand than the US... Mostly guys who retired from the military....

[NanLaew]

There are Thai wives who married Air force military men who had 1 year tours at Ubon, udorn, NKP, Korat, Thakli, Udaphao, Bankok Airport etc... who are drifting back because its easier to retire in Thailand than the US... Mostly guys who retired from the military....

A third demographic that I hadn't considered, thanks for that. That would be double culture shock if either partner hasn't been making regular trips back to Isaan.

[archthai]

There are Thai wives who married Air force military men who had 1 year tours at Ubon, udorn, NKP, Korat, Thakli, Udaphao, Bankok Airport etc... who are drifting back because its easier to retire in Thailand than the US... Mostly guys who retired from the military....

A third demographic that I hadn't considered, thanks for that. That would be double culture shock if either partner hasn't been making regular trips back to Isaan.

Not really a big shock, as you can take the farm girl off the farm but not farm from the girl, ie. the lady's have a net work and still eat the same foods and are in contact with various family members and speak Isan as well. In my case we have a restaurant ( Thai) as well, and all the employees are all Thai. They Know about whats going on at "home" to.

[chocolatelephantz]

hey megan,

Im doing a very similar thing for my undergraduate dissertation but Im looking at Thai Western couples in Britain. Is there any literature you could recommend as my literature search has turned up very little on this subject.

Thanks

Diana