You probably missed the part where I said, "Sure there is a certain sense of friendship and folk in the village are very friendly." Don't get me wrong, I love the village folk. They are great and nice people.

Didn't miss it at all, why did you then go on to bad mouth them?

"me farang, me come from big metal bird in sky"

Wrong attitude.

I can live with all kinds of people, be they rich or poor! Granted, many Thais, particularly the alluent ones, are a pain in the arse! Just make them feel good, and I don't see anything wrong if we act politely and maintain our integrity! When snow comes to shovel give it to them even in an unruly way!!

Some people are extroverts and some are introverts. Extroverts generally feel more comfortable in social situations than introverts. 

When in the States I never go out on New Years Eve, 4th of July or any holiday where there are a lot of people drinking and driving. 

In addition some people want to be part of the community and to others it doesn’t matter so much. Maybe they are missing out on a party or Songkran but are connecting with their neighbors or community in different ways. I am not a big party person but love to connect with the owners of the restaurants and stores I visit. I really don’t believe that their are many expats that come here and intentionally have as little to do with the Thai people as possible. 

Language is a huge issue. If you can’t converse it is hard to communicate. If you don’t drink-well it is like going to a bar and drinking soda water all night. Not exactly the same as when you drinking along with the group. 

Thread is 6 years old why dig it up?

On 4/17/2013 at 10:37 AM, johnmcc6 said:

how is it that some people choose villages like this one to call home, build huge properties with equally huge fences and then shut themselves out of the community they call home?

To not be bothered anymore by people who ask too many questions.

 

 

13 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Thread is 6 years old why dig it up?

Good question. I didn’t see that it was 6 yrs. old. Better question is how did it show up in my forum featured threads a couple days ago.

On 4/18/2013 at 4:47 AM, caykay said:

Disrespect is a pretty strong term for politely refusing an invitation. I usually don't go for all the reasons listed above, but the other issue is conversation. I can speak Thai and English and it's the same reason I don't usually chat with farangs in tourist areas. I get tired of saying the same thing again and again. "I am from ______. I have been here x years, I like this thai food, I work as a ________" It gets boring no matter what language its in.

THIS!!!

On 4/23/2013 at 3:13 PM, canuckamuck said:

If you are of a similar personality type to those throwing the party, go have yourself a time. People know me here, and I know them. I live here full time, I treat everyone with respect, but I have very few illusions left about breaking their stereotypes. If you really want to assimilate go for it, I like who I am already.

 

It's not so much about breaking stereotypes but about being part of a society, and enjoying the cultural events.  Presumably a major reason to come here in the first place.

On 4/17/2013 at 11:22 AM, Thaddeus said:

You can easily counter this by saying "Why do some people insist that everyone joins in with their definition of fun?"

I agree on this one.

Some people just want to live here peacefully, travel around Thailand's nice beaches and nature,

but want to be left alone. And I respect that.

Is it obligatory to join every New Years' party and local festival, just because you live somewhere?

Do you have to eat Thai food the rest of your live, because of living somewhere in the jungle?

I know many Thai folks who don't even like Songkran anymore. They did when they were young kids, and now they just stay home, away from the crowd and rather relax.

If you were to live in an Arab country, would you feel obliged to go to the mosque every 5 am?

I mean to say, what is it to you? Each to his own.

There's millions of people living in Farang land that are not actively engaged in their local communities. And why should they?

Live and let live, and you do what you want to do.

On 4/17/2013 at 11:22 AM, Thaddeus said:

You can easily counter this by saying "Why do some people insist that everyone joins in with their definition of fun?"

or, why do some people insist that everybody understands their sense of humour, and complain when they don't!

I thought there was a script that locks threads that have not had a reply after 12-24 months

18 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

I thought there was a script that locks threads that have not had a reply after 12-24 months

 

What benefit would that serve?  Just forces people to start the same topic over and over again.

7 hours ago, WinnieTheKhwai said:

 

What benefit would that serve?  Just forces people to start the same topic over and over again.

 

Several forums (including TVF) does this).  Forum threads that get too long will often not get read all the way anyway.   So if the original problem has been solved or not discussed in some time, it is likely better to start a fresh thread that will include more up to date information.

Very interesting and hilarious arguments. It is so funny that there exists always one apple who stir up the whole pot no matter where we are. Usually a type of overbearing persona who is overly civil and doesn't know how to keep mouth shut. Those personality want conformist society to their way. What happen to individuality? Each and everyone is different and it is not matter of right or wrong. Why one can't just mind own business?