Expats In Thailand: Is Your Goal Here To "Integrate" Into Thai Society?

[Soutpeel]

Define integration ?

Going native and moving to the wilds of Isaan to shack up with 20 year old, flat nosed, splay toed rich farmers daughter ?.....building a farang mansion, moving the family in, financing them ?

If this is considered intergration....no bloody way

[richardjm65]

I guess it rather depends on the level of the society in which you find yourself. Many foreigners enter Thai society at a fairly basic level, so why would you feel the need to integrate with farming folk if your own background is in (say) science or economics. There's no common ground.

For the more fortunate foreigners who enter Thai society at an equivalent level, whatever that may be, they'll still always be foreigners, and my 40 years in S.E.Asia have not yet persuaded me that total integration is possible or even desirable. We can always try to adapt to circumstances - integration is another matter.

[crille30]

No

[DrTuner]

Come to think of it, I don't think I ever integrated in the society of my native country either. I truly suck as a conformist.

[StreetCowboy]

I don;t think everyone needs to be the same in a society.

I try to integrate into Thai society by doing my best to fit into the appropriate pigeon-hole. In my case, the 'farang' pigeon-hole.

I reckon I do a pretty good job; I pay the first price offered, if I'm happy with it, I nod and smile when people make jokes, whether at my expense or not, and I treat the peons around me with courtesy and respect.

I could make an arse of it, as one of our anuran members has done, but I prefer not to plunge to that level of immersion, since my own prejudices, opinions and standards would not allow it

SC

[marstons]

For those who say No, I wonder why they came to live in LOS in the first place?

Better to join the Fish and Chips/English Pub brigade in Spain?

Voted No because no way on this earth will Thais let us intergrate, surley you dont need to wonder why most came to live here, and coinsidently tend to be older males. Having visited Spain many times its no where anything like here. I doubt most English ex pats dine on fish and chips non stop, think you will find thats the tourist.

As a Pattaya resident its as much fish and chip resort as anywhere in Spain i visited. Oh and i can own land and work in Spain, so its more possible to intergrate there.

[NBD]

It depends how you define integration, and what you wish or don't wish to integrate with.

A bit of background, I came here teaching, and am now running a business in Bangkok with a Thai business partner who is western educated and very "western" in his outlook. My wife is from rural Isan, where I lived for a while.

By way of work I meet a lot of wealthy, foreign educated Thais, and a fair few "proper" expats, i.e. sent here by a MNC with housing and schools paid for, and generally a lot more money than me! By way of family and friends in Isan, I meet a lot of Thais who think indoor plumbing is hi-so and khao pad goong is exotic food. Not trying to be condescending, it's just a different world.

I'm quite comfortable with the fact that by my appearance, my linguistic limitations and my general outlook I will never really be either of these. But nor am I in the happy (if you like that sort of thing) position of being able to go and drink in flash bars every night while my driver waits outside in the Mercedes and I send the bill off to Europe once a month.

In terms of learning the language and having an awareness of what is going on and why, I make a reasonable effort to fit in. I don't loaf around in a Chang singlet getting drunk all day, or go whoring on Soi Cowboy every weekend, but nor do I go to the temple or spend hours talking to the family about rice harvests and som tam.

I have a few Thai friends who are mostly quite western in their outlook, and a few farang friends who range from long term holiday makers to bilingual long timers who are aiming for Thai citizenship.

I suppose I'm busy carving out my own niche that is integrated enough to live a comfortable and easy life here, but keeping the certain "western" attributes that I believe to be better.

[cardholder]

I have no desire to integrate (it is impossible anyway) and I refuse to wai at 7/11 check out girls, waitresses/bar girls and children.

I think I do the best I can to understand my position as a visitor in this country. I am respectful to my hosts (except where no respect is due) and will continue to provide a better life for my partner than she could ever have envisaged when she left school.

[justcruisin]

I voted yes to integrate. Having said that I do prefer to go to Thai bars and I have reasonable Thai language skills.

Respect earns respect and I cringe when I see some of the biased attitudes exhibited here by westerners to the locals.

Kinda reminds me of the song "One night in Bangkok" (Murray head 1984)

A farang may never integrate here fully, and a Thai may never integrate fully into a western country.

[jamescollister]

Integrate don't think it is possible. be excepted maybe. Live in a small village near the Lao land border. Everyone knows me, but I will always be the farang. Kids born in OZ raised here are locals, but to strangers always farang noi. . I will always be what I was brought up to be. Will always try and assimilate to the local customs, but my ways are not theirs . They may bury my bones in the local Wat, but the picture on the wall will be the first white man who came to live. Jim

[TomTao]

I would have to vote No, not because I don't want to, I would love to be able to. The fact is that no matter how long we are here, we will always be outsiders.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[NBD]

I would like to, but they won't let me.

Just about covers everything.

How would you like them to "let" you integrate?

[chops]

I kind of feel like a gypsy. I move around from country to country but don't really belong anywhere. Matter of fact I never fit in when I lived in the states either(I'm not exactly joe avg ).

I am content with being a strange farang.

[Soutpeel]

I voted yes to integrate. Having said that I do prefer to go to Thai bars and I have reasonable Thai language skills.

Respect earns respect and I cringe when I see some of the biased attitudes exhibited here by westerners to the locals.

Kinda reminds me of the song "One night in Bangkok" (Murray head 1984)

A farang may never integrate here fully, and a Thai may never integrate fully into a western country.

So if you speak reasonable Thai, you would also know the reverse is true.....biased attitudes exhibited by Thai's to the foreigners....

So you believe the sum total of intergaration is drinking in Thai bars and speaking reasonable Thai ?....

[Sharp]

I would have to vote No, not because I don't want to, I would love to be able to. The fact is that no matter how long we are here, we will always be outsiders.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

Totally agree here for me I just take the road of less resistance with Thai and try to limit my expat friends and I seem to get on very well so no not interested in the least in integrating here just enjoying my version of a good life here ..

[Ulysses G.]

For those who say No, I wonder why they came to live in LOS in the first place?

I voted no. I came here on vacation in the first place and fell in love with the place, but have no desire to be Thai. Thailand is a relatively comfortable, pleasant place to serve out my time as a member of humanity, but as a Westerner in a foreign land.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[simon43]

I voted yes, because I do my best to integrate into Thai society on a general level, and I think that I've succeeded in that goal. That doesn't mean that I have to eat chicken feet, (and I don't!).

What is surprising to me (although not many have voted yet), are the number of people who have voted no. As others have said, <deleted> on you doing here if you have no interest in integrating into Thai society?

It actually reminds me of the criticism in the UK about immigrants who live in 'ghettos' and refuse to integrate into British society. (I accept that there are more opportunities to integrate in the UK - free language lessons, anti-discrimination laws etc)

Simon

Edited June 15, 2012 by simon43

[canuckamuck]

I would consider integrating anywhere to be a type of failure.

I just gotta be me!

[TommoPhysicist]

It actually reminds me of the criticism in the UK about immigrants who live in 'ghettos' and refuse to integrate into British society. (I accept that there are more opportunities to integrate in the UK - free language lessons, anti-discrimination laws etc)

Simon

Land and house ownership, citizenship, passports, etc.

[edwinclapham]

I am not sure it is really possible in the main to integrate here, not with Thai society as it is and the way the laws of the land are. There is always that uncertainty too about what will happen next with visas, uncertainty about the legal system and what seems too often a lack of basic protection.

My feelings entirely.

[samsiam]

No.

I do not wish to dumb down any more than I already is.

[kerryk]

I wear a sarong, am corrupt, have two mia nois and like Yingluck.

Splay my toes; the head man even paid me to vote last year. I didn’t vote, of course, but he thought I could.

[justcruisin]

I voted yes to integrate. Having said that I do prefer to go to Thai bars and I have reasonable Thai language skills.

Respect earns respect and I cringe when I see some of the biased attitudes exhibited here by westerners to the locals.

Kinda reminds me of the song "One night in Bangkok" (Murray head 1984)

A farang may never integrate here fully, and a Thai may never integrate fully into a western country.

So if you speak reasonable Thai, you would also know the reverse is true.....biased attitudes exhibited by Thai's to the foreigners....

So you believe the sum total of intergaration is drinking in Thai bars and speaking reasonable Thai ?....

Absolutely not.

I don't particularly like western bars, full of farangs exhibiting biased attitudes toward Thais and no I haven't been witness to any of my Thai friends exhibiting bias towards me.

I realize that I am not Thai, never will be but, try to assimilate (v.t. make similar,convert into like substance,absorb into the system)

This country may have its flaws, but if a wanted to live in a sterile homogenized society I wouldn't be here.

[Trembly]

Thais don't even care whether you integrate or not.

The best thing you can do from both your own and the Thais' perspectives is to simply get Thai culture (or at least try to) so that you might spare both your head and the wall.

[villagefarang]

One of the greatest benefits of being a Farang living in Thailand is, being a Farang living in Thailand. We are not put in the same boxes as Thais, from which it is all but impossible to escape. If you can speak Thai well and understand the strictures that limit and control their lives, then it is easy to manipulate the system to your own advantage. Some view being a Farang as a handicap, while I have always looked upon it as a major plus, allowing me much more freedom than the typical Thai.

[StreetCowboy]

I didn't go bush in England. Why would I do it here?

SC

[Trembly]

How can we integrate fully as even the process of becoming a Thai Citizen takes forever and ever and ever. And not to forget is also limited to a couple of 100's foreigners a year or so.

And whatever happens we will always be and stay "Farang"

Factually incorrect on all counts, apart from the farang bit.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Trembly

[richard_smith237]

My goal has never been to integrate into society in Thailand. My goal has simply been to live a happy and normal existence.

This means I have integrated somewhat and have many Thai friends, I have always seen more similarities between the Thai and Western Culture than differences and I try to avoid the deplorable aspects of life here as I would back home.

So, have I integrated? Probably. Was that my goal? No.

[chrisinth]

Integrate into Thai culture? That takes it to a level above what I would like to achieve here, and that is to be accepted for who I am, without the difficulty of having to try to adapt to something I would never be fully part off. I have no problem with co-existing, been doing it all my life.

Truth be known, I would have problems intigrating back into my country of origin's culture at the minute. I have been travelling/living outside my home country since I was 16 yo, and my mind-set has changed so dramatically over the years that I think I would have problems accepting their points of view.

[bendix]

For those who say No, I wonder why they came to live in LOS in the first place?

Better to join the Fish and Chips/English Pub brigade in Spain?

That's hardly sound logic. We each have our reasons for being in Thailand. I would imagine a tiny minority want to integrate into Thai society and even those that say they do are likely paying lipservice to the notion.

I'm happy to do as someone else suggested; fit in without assimilating, knowing full well full integration is a pipedream, and not even a particularly desirable one.