Why Act Like A Thai?

[actiondell4]

I was outside a Family Mart store last night in Pattaya and I noticed a British guy say in his 30 s ,squatting down, down as Thais do in Issan, eating a bowl of noodles.

He was a medium sized guy and he had both knees bent ,squatting right down where it looked painful for him as he was sweating.

He had his shirt off talking loudly in Thai to the food cart cooks.

He started talking Thai loudly then looked up at me as he was talking to get a reaction,talking in Thai to me.

He then started talking Thai to the food cart owner.

,however the food cart owner ignored him and started making my food.

I looked back at the British guy and he was losing balance on his squatting and sweating profusely trying to maintain balance whilst eating his bowl of noodles .

His knees were starting to give way.,

He then shouts out to a motorbike taxi driver "hung loong",Hung loong",waving his hands for the motobike driver to sit next to him.

He then sits in a kneeling postion.

I thought to myself,silly cow,shorely he must know he looks silly in that position.

Anyway i started telling this to a thai friend asking him about "HUng Loong" only to find out that saying ,"sit down" in Thai is actually "Nung Loong.

I wonder why some of you want to act like a Thai person.

Edited March 24, 2008 by actiondell4

[garro]

I would imagine that drinking alcohol in the sun might be a likely cause of this type of behavior.

Edited March 24, 2008 by garro

[jdinasia]

why make silly posts?

[Etrigan]

Maybe a con artist!!!

I heard the most terrible Thai from a farang on an express boat and was wondering why he was pretending to speak Thai. A few minutes later he made his move on two young tourists with offers of gem shop trips. What an idiot. Could be the same guy???

[taxexile]

I was outside a Family Mart store last night in Pattaya and I ......blah blah blah ....... ....... blah blah

blah ....... ..... blah blah blah ...... an idiot anyway.

so what ?

[Zeid]

wonder the the guy sitting like issan people, would he handle the issan whisky, i think a nice shot of that in the sun will straighten his mind out

i keep forgetting the name lao tao or lao chao.

[TheDon]

Who knows and who cares.

[actiondell4]

No your right Don,what I care about is if you have a train ticket.

"Tickets please all pissheads".

But I like your reply Don and Im going to use it,so dont ask why the train is late,otherwise you will get the same answer.

Edited March 24, 2008 by actiondell4

[Jingthing]

I agree acting like a Thai can appear very ridiculous, if it does not look natural, as in the example.

However, there certainly could be European appearing people who naturally act Thai because they have naturally become Thai or at least Thai-ish. Do you know the famous farang-Thai tuk tuk drive in Chiang Mai? He is a trip to watch.

In the US, I have certainly met Thais who are so well assimilated that their behavior is just like an American (whatever that is) and it doesn't look ridiculous at all. Alternatively, I have met many Asian immigrants who try to mimic what they think Americans are like (in many cases, from Rambo movies) and in those cases, they come off as very ridiculous, if not scary.

Edited March 24, 2008 by Jingthing

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

I have a similar problem, it often has to do with the mindset of the Thai people - seeing a Farang they rather automatically expect that, whatever he is going to say, they will not understand.

Now my Thai is far from fluent but i have again and again gotten verified that i have a very clear pronounciation - maybe because i am, as a native German who's grown up amongs Vietnamese, am used to sounds unfamiliar to native English speakers such as any word containing "uea" (like the German "umlauts") or starting with "ng" (as in MANY Vietnamese words).

However trying to converse with some people has me wanting to crawl up the wall! They don't speak English at all - and just because i am Farang refuse to understand my spoken Thai also! Specially so with cashiers at Tops supermarket. They always ask for my membership number (which is my phone number) and i reply to their Thai question with a Thai answer - the number, that is. By that time they look up, see a white face and suddenly - "sorry no understand". I then repeat in English - "sorry no understand". And by THAT time usually the person behind me in the line (who understood my Thai) repeats it to them. Crazy!

I never "act like Thai" but some of the Thai habits i was used to before even coming here - such as the sitting on the floor for dinner (Vietnamese do that too). Also when i try to speak Thai where ever possible, to improve my own skills and attempt an integration. In most cases this is well received (apart from Tops cashiers) and, sometimes, i get a genuine smile from them - that is because i, openly gay as i am, use the female "kha" to close a sentence just like openly gay Thai people do.

If YOU are planning to stay in Thailand for long time (for ever?) why not try to integrate and "become like Thai"? Of course this does not apply to those westerners who spend their freetime in pubs, watching the English football league and complain about the lack of English destination signs on buses (where in England do i get a German destination name on a bus??)

Best regards.....

Thanh

[TheDon]

Last time i was in Thailand, I picked my nose anytime i liked in public, it feels good to do that like the Thai's

[Zeid]

Thanh-BKK

i think what your saying when in rome do as the romans do, i guess if that guy sitting in the middle of the scream was eating his food quietly he will be fine and no one would have said anything.

[lukey1979]

Another whinging Ozzy...

something tell's me that this boils down to jealousy that this young guy can engage in conversant thai and you can't.

[actiondell4]

No it was the squatting position i was jealous of.

Imagine being able to have your butt sticking out like that?

Oh sorry your not gay are you.

[jdinasia]

So far it's been complaints about monks ... Complaints about Australia (hidden in a Thai vandalism thread) ... complaints about busses and being fat .. and now complaints about farang eating noodles and speaking Thai!

actiondell4 sure is happy in Thailand!

[actiondell4]

Well its the "whinging woman" in me coming out.

You d like that wouldnt you JD.

wHY DONT YOU SPANK ME.

Edited March 24, 2008 by actiondell4

[TheDon]

Aussie complain about everything, you should see what we complain about here in australia, nothing is ever right.

But we are nothing compared to the poms

[traveller5000]

Generally I think it is good when farangs try and adapt to the Thai culture, but this guy sounds like he went overboard.

[jdinasia]

Well its the "whinging woman" in me coming out.

You d like that wouldnt you JD.

wHY DONT YOU SPANK ME.

Not even using the Donz's hand

[TheDon]

Well its the "whinging woman" in me coming out.

You d like that wouldnt you JD.

wHY DONT YOU SPANK ME.

Not even using the Donz's hand

Wh is DONZ?

Its TheDon

[lukey1979]

No it was the squatting position i was jealous of.

Imagine being able to have your butt sticking out like that?

Oh sorry your not gay are you.

yes.......

[lukey1979]

Aussie complain about everything, you should see what we complain about here in australia, nothing is ever right.

But we are nothing compared to the poms

POMS meaning Prisoner Of her Majesty??

Pot... Kettle... and Black springs to mind

[Steve2UK]

I was outside a Family Mart store last night in Pattaya and I noticed a British guy say in his 30 s ,squatting down, down as Thais do in Issan, eating a bowl of noodles.

He was a medium sized guy and he had both knees bent ,squatting right down where it looked painful for him as he was sweating.

He had his shirt off talking loudly in Thai to the food cart cooks.

Shirt off? Ummm, that's about as un-Thai as it gets.......... chai mai.

Ooops - just realised............ of course, this was in Pattaya.

[Oleg_Rus]

Last time i was in Thailand, I picked my nose anytime i liked in public, it feels good to do that like the Thai's

yeah! that's a thrill of a lifetime.

But somehow, people around you expect you to be farang, and act like farang. The mockery is just ugly.

[Gimbo]

Last time i was in Thailand, I picked my nose anytime i liked in public, it feels good to do that like the Thai's

yeah! that's a thrill of a lifetime.

But somehow, people around you expect you to be farang, and act like farang. The mockery is just ugly.

What exactly is "acting like farang" ??

We come from vastly different areas of the planet, from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures. Me, I am just going to be myself, and I can promise you I will never confirm to some trumped up idea how a "farang" should behave. If then my behaviour should offend or bother someone, then my stance is that it's them, that has a problem, not me.

Act like a farang....bah!

[sgunn65]

I have heard this argument before, not, I should add, from the original poster but from an ex-pat complaining about westerners going native. He was the same guy who had earlier told me he had left England because there were too many forgeiners and complained that they didn't make any effort to assimilate!!!

Go figure!

[alaina]

Hard to know how silly the guy was without being there. There is nothing wrong with assimilating into another culture, even if it seems a bit forced at first but it's okay to choose not to assimilate too.

The only thing in the story that seems off is that the guy spoke Thai to another foreigner, especially an unknown one. That's where the guy seems smug and there are a few expats that get smug about their level of assimilation. I have foreign friends that are capable of doing many "Thai things" with minimal strain that I wouldn't dream of even attempting. They are friends because they aren't smug about it and they respect that not everybody wants to go native.

[realmadrid25]

i believe every word of the OP. i was near asoke station the other morning and saw the classic/common 'farang helps fruit vendor' attract business by standing next to her and talking to every western who walks by. "thang-mo seep baht". thanks dude. its pretty obvious she thinks you are creepy and drunk from the previous night.

[howtoescape]

But we are nothing compared to the poms

So true, thats why we call you second division England.

There is a breed of farang that do seem to bellow their amazing Thai at the top of their voices, just so everyone knows theyre no orrid scabbied ridden tourist.

Is there a word for an Asian wigger.

[Pepe']

Last time i was in Thailand, I picked my nose anytime i liked in public, it feels good to do that like the Thai's

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But then did you eat it or wipe it on your pants...