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

[BigJohnnyBKK]

When did the white only Australia policy stop?

Officially 1973.

True multiculturalism has had its ups and downs, been mostly down over the past couple decades since I left, apparently large segments of the population would like to bring it back.

But it's certainly as or more multi-cultural as the US, the Aussies just haven't quite found the right formula to take advantage of it for the purposes of innovation in driving global business development forward.

But the worldwide trends in commodity prices over that period have allowed them some slack in that regard, both agriculture and mining have been generally trending pretty well on the back of the more fundamental development of BRIC-type countries.

[Pseudolus]

To fully integrate I would have to give up the following personality traits;

1. Ability to reason logically
   
2. Sense of self accountability
   

I would also have to forget the following;

1. Anything about world politics and history
   
2. Any learning at all basically
   

And finally would have to start accepting

1. Bribery, extortion and nepotism is the only to advance my life;
   
2. People with more money than me are right, and their values are to be admired and respected
   
3. I can go to a temple once a year and then not have to think about or take accountability for any bad things I have done in the previous 360 days.
   

As I am not prepared to do any of the above, the answer is a categorical no. I will not integrate into Thai society. I will add value to it, be pleasant to it and not cause trouble, but I will treat the country as I treat a rented apartment; nothing more.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

This sort of thing makes it hard for people wanting to intergrate.

Thailand is a classic example of a country that does not want multi-cultural integration, bottom line is they want to keep Thailand for Thais.

And that's their choice, I think they're cutting off their nose to spite their face but. . .

[edwinclapham]

When did the white only Australia policy stop?

Officially 1973.

True multiculturalism has had its ups and downs, been mostly down over the past couple decades since I left, apparently large segments of the population would like to bring it back.

But it's certainly as or more multi-cultural as the US, the Aussies just haven't quite found the right formula to take advantage of it for the purposes of innovation in driving global business development forward.

But the worldwide trends in commodity prices over that period have allowed them some slack in that regard, both agriculture and mining have been generally trending pretty well on the back of the more fundamental development of BRIC-type countries.

Can you explain further please?

[TomTao]

This sort of thing makes it hard for people wanting to intergrate.

Thailand is a classic example of a country that does not want multi-cultural integration, bottom line is they want to keep Thailand for Thais.

And that's their choice, I think they're cutting off their nose to spite their face but. . .

This is why I think a large portion of the Thai population will receive a major shock when they discover that they are not the center of the universe in 2015.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect App

[bubbagoes]

No way, besides even if I wanted to, the Thais don't want us to integrate, as a culture. I've been on holiday for 10 years and its more fun that way.

I probably know more about Thai history than most Thai's do, in fact, I'm sure of it, I used to teach. I can speak some, and I'm always trying to improve it to enhance my experiences.

But I am not one of them, and always wil be different, I kinda like it that way, most of the time..except for those times when I just don't want to think, I wish I could get into that space.

Isn't it just more fun to sit back a ways and cherry pick your interests?

[pomchop]

to fully integrate one must be able to fluenty communicate and that means you need to be fluent in Thai which i am not and doubt i will ever be ....i know enough thai to know how much thai i don't know.....as others said just enjoy the nice positive vibes that so many thai people put out and learn to avoid the parts that irritate you...there is a lot more good than bad...it's not hard to find......meantime the thais live their lives and you live your life and usually everyone is happy...

Edited June 17, 2012 by pomchop

[Billmont]

I tend to hate 'yes' or 'no' surveys. As I get older I find myself seeing both sides of almost every point of view. Maybe 'integrate ' isn't the right word, maybe 'making an effort to understand, and not annoy, too many people around you' is more like it. This isn't a Thaivisa question, it's a question you get confronted with every day wherever you live.

So, my definite, convinced and cogitated answer: dunno.

I used to be indecisive but now I am not so sure!

[samsiam]

I am an ethnic minority....loud n proud.

[bendix]

This is why I think a large portion of the Thai population will receive a major shock when they discover that they are not the center of the universe in 2015.

I dont think Thailand will care on iota, and why should they?

Thailand is doing fine by its own standards and will continue to do just fine with or without globalisation, integration and multiculturalism.

Don't forget the key guiding principle of the country's monarch is self-sufficiency. And long may it continue; the impact of federalism, globalisation. multiculturalism in the western world over the last decade or so have not set shining examples for places like Thailand to follow.

I'm just grateful to be allowed to spend as much time here as my life allows. Integration? Not importance. Fawning acceptance? No no no.

All I ask for is peace and quiet to live my life as I want, in someone else's country. What more should I expect?

[Trembly]

To fully integrate I would have to give up the following personality traits;

1. Ability to reason logically
   
2. Sense of self accountability
   

I would also have to forget the following;

1. Anything about world politics and history
   
2. Any learning at all basically
   

And finally would have to start accepting

1. Bribery, extortion and nepotism is the only to advance my life;
   
2. People with more money than me are right, and their values are to be admired and respected
   
3. I can go to a temple once a year and then not have to think about or take accountability for any bad things I have done in the previous 360 days.
   

As I am not prepared to do any of the above, the answer is a categorical no. I will not integrate into Thai society. I will add value to it, be pleasant to it and not cause trouble, but I will treat the country as I treat a rented apartment; nothing more.

Brilliant. Absolutely mongtastically windowlickingly brilliant. Would you like a laboon?

[NoshowJones]

A yes/no answer is impossible, for me at least.

When I first moved here then yes, I looked forward to integrating.

Now, a few years later, I accept that this will not happen and am no longer interested in integrating - I just do my best to ensure that I am not disliked!

FIfanatic, your posts sums it all up for me, I do not wish to follow Thai driving mentality, I do not wish to ride my motor cycle down the sidewalks or through the markets, or on the wrong side of the road, or down one way streets. I wish to wait my turn in queues, I do not wish to put peoples life at risk by throwing water at passing motorbikes during Songcran etc etc etc. So a yes/no answer is also impossible for me too.

[NoshowJones]

I voted no. Integration means to me a desire to become Thai and to hold Thai citizenship and I have no aspirations in these 2 matters.

That does not mean I am averse to learning Thai and to try to understand local customs/culture partly as a mark of respect to my "host" and partly to make life easier for myself whilst I am here.

I guess if I am a guest here and feel like one (which is not a bad thing) then I suppose I am not in an "integration" frame of mind.

Doggie888888, we are not guests in this country, if I treated a guest in my house the way Thailand treats me, that person would not be a guest for long, with all it's faults though, Thailand is still a far better country to live in than the very highly taxed and crime ridden UK.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Try this one for size:-

Social integration requires proficiency in an accepted common language of the society, acceptance of the laws of the society and adoption of a common set of values of the society. It does not require assimilation and it does not require persons to give up all of their culture, but it may require to forgo some aspects of their culture which are inconsistent with the laws and values of the society. In tolerant and open societies, members of minority groups can often use social integration to gain full access to the opportunities, rights and services available to the members of the mainstream of society. Bugger All!

I am still pondering the "common set of values" bit.

I think if you accept of the laws of Thailand in the sense of actually trying to obey them, and even take it to the extreme of refusing to accept the illegal behavior of the police and officials that are in theory supposed to be enforcing them, then you are not only going against the local culture, but you put your physical safety and local assets very much at risk.

I think that part needs to be revised as:

going along with what is expected wrt local laws and their enforcement (or lack thereof).

[hotandhumid]

Absolutely no interest whatsoever in intergrating....do me a favour!

Best of luck to those that try....just think, you will have 'thai friends'

Ha ha ha.

[robertson468]

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?

With the level of unemployment and the state of Spain/Euro's financies, you might want to choose a better example, but not Greece, Southern Ireland, Italy or, or, or

[puipuitom]

A yes/no answer is impossible, for me at least.

When I first moved here then yes, I looked forward to integrating.

Now, a few years later, I accept that this will not happen and am no longer interested in integrating - I just do my best to ensure that I am not disliked!

From 1993 I tried to get integrated, in 2006 I gave up any hope for that. NEVER, NEVER and NEVER a farang will be accepted by a Thai as equal.

[drdoom6996]

For me integration is to accept Thai culture and practices such as endemic corruption, so no. Will of course endeavour not to offend Thai people and respect of individuals.

I agree, all my money has been spent here for 25 years anyway.

[Pseudolus]

To fully integrate I would have to give up the following personality traits;

1. Ability to reason logically
   
2. Sense of self accountability
   

I would also have to forget the following;

1. Anything about world politics and history
   
2. Any learning at all basically
   

And finally would have to start accepting

1. Bribery, extortion and nepotism is the only to advance my life;
   
2. People with more money than me are right, and their values are to be admired and respected
   
3. I can go to a temple once a year and then not have to think about or take accountability for any bad things I have done in the previous 360 days.
   

As I am not prepared to do any of the above, the answer is a categorical no. I will not integrate into Thai society. I will add value to it, be pleasant to it and not cause trouble, but I will treat the country as I treat a rented apartment; nothing more.

Brilliant. Absolutely mongtastically windowlickingly brilliant. Would you like a laboon?

Ummm whats a laboon? lol

[samsiam]

Don't forget the key guiding principle of the country's monarch is self-sufficiency. And long may it continue;

That has worked really well for them thus far.....

[cardholder]

To fully integrate I would have to give up the following personality traits;

1. Ability to reason logically
   
2. Sense of self accountability
   

I would also have to forget the following;

1. Anything about world politics and history
   
2. Any learning at all basically
   

And finally would have to start accepting

1. Bribery, extortion and nepotism is the only to advance my life;
   
2. People with more money than me are right, and their values are to be admired and respected
   
3. I can go to a temple once a year and then not have to think about or take accountability for any bad things I have done in the previous 360 days.
   

As I am not prepared to do any of the above, the answer is a categorical no. I will not integrate into Thai society. I will add value to it, be pleasant to it and not cause trouble, but I will treat the country as I treat a rented apartment; nothing more.

If there was an award for the best post in this thread I would vote for this one.

I think that Pseudolus has succinctly captured the fundamental differences between Thais and Westerners. Understanding those differences (and conducting yourself accordingly) will help significantly in your enjoyment of a relatively peaceful existence in Thailand.

[hotandhumid]

A yes/no answer is impossible, for me at least.

When I first moved here then yes, I looked forward to integrating.

Now, a few years later, I accept that this will not happen and am no longer interested in integrating - I just do my best to ensure that I am not disliked!

From 1993 I tried to get integrated, in 2006 I gave up any hope for that. NEVER, NEVER and NEVER a farang will be accepted by a Thai as equal.

It actually took you all of 13 years to realise this??

[StreetCowboy]

To fully integrate I would have to give up the following personality traits;

1. Ability to reason logically
   
2. Sense of self accountability
   

I would also have to forget the following;

1. Anything about world politics and history
   
2. Any learning at all basically
   

And finally would have to start accepting

1. Bribery, extortion and nepotism is the only to advance my life;
   
2. People with more money than me are right, and their values are to be admired and respected
   
3. I can go to a temple once a year and then not have to think about or take accountability for any bad things I have done in the previous 360 days.
   

As I am not prepared to do any of the above, the answer is a categorical no. I will not integrate into Thai society. I will add value to it, be pleasant to it and not cause trouble, but I will treat the country as I treat a rented apartment; nothing more.

Brilliant. Absolutely mongtastically windowlickingly brilliant. Would you like a laboon?

Ummm whats a laboon? lol

We'll take that as a "yes", then, shall we?

Me too, I'd like one as well

SC

[tinfoilhat]

if integration means giving up the us vs. them mentality, i reckon im doing ok.

I dont think of "them" as "thais", but rather as people, be they in service or friends.

I dont spend alot of time distinguishing

[cardholder]

if integration means giving up the us vs. them mentality, i reckon im doing ok.

I dont think of "them" as "thais", but rather as people, be they in service or friends.

I dont spend alot of time distinguishing

For genuine integration "them" would have to do the same as you are doing.

.......and I don't see a lot of "them" doing that; which makes it somewhat one-way traffic.

[bridge2bridge]

I have lived in Thailand for 4 years, and while making an attempt to speak Thai, and having a wonderful Thai lady in my life.

I do not think it is possible to " INTEGRATE" wholly and solely.

I do think that MOST Thai's do not want US to " INTEGRATE with them.

So i just do my best to fit in with the customs and try to be as friendly and helpful as i can.

I DO LOVE LIVING IN THAILAND.

[thaibeachlovers]

Seriously, why would I want to?

I am reminded every 90 days that I am only a temporary visitor, and not actually "wanted".

[hotandhumid]

No

Making the effort to integrate into a society that grants me little more than basic human rights seems like folly.

I like it here but have no desire to integrate into a country that is - with good reason - an utter laughing stock around the world.

Good point that.

[chops]

Knock knock! The only people who practice large scale multicultural immigration are western countries! Nobody else does this!

I think they do it because they fear being labeled racists.

[thaibeachlovers]

Knock knock! The only people who practice large scale multicultural immigration are western countries! Nobody else does this!

I think they do it because they fear being labeled racists.

Or because western governments are now run by bleeding heart idiots.

None of the countries that the immigrants come from would allow western people the same rights as they expect when emmigrating to the west.

Saudi Arabia for instance only allows foreigners to stay on a work permit, and they go home after their contract ceases. Best system I know, and the west should emulate them. Why should an immigrant be able to bring their entire family in to get free benefits just because they stay in the UK for 5 years? It's insane, IMO.