is gossiping part of the culture herein thailand?

[crazydrummerpauly]

Unanswerable question as to which nation gossips the most etc - all pointless generalisations - BUT, one thing is for sure, Ex-Pats in general spend most of their time together gossiping (or 'telling stories') about the problems which have beset other Ex-Pats they know, or have heard about. I mean, after the 1,000th day sitting in a bar with other stranded lost souls, what else is there that matters ? ;-)

[umbanda]

Absolutely! You are right...Thai people like to gossip and are always worried about what other people are saying about them....specially women.

Big time!

[laobali]

Most people tend to gossip when they get together socially, including here. Being African doesn't qualify you as a spokesman for all the different countries on the continent. As an African in Thailand, you are in a small minority with a somewhat dubious reputation and likely cause for local gossip. There's not much you can do about it.

[uptheos]

Bit like yourself gossiping away on TV

Snap! I was going to post something like that. But give the OP a chance... he's still a newbie!

No, he's been here 25 years, speaks fluent Thai and just lurking until now.

[yanyk]

Most people tend to gossip when they get together socially, including here. Being African doesn't qualify you as a spokesman for all the different countries on the continent. As an African in Thailand, you are in a small minority with a somewhat dubious reputation and likely cause for local gossip. There's not much you can do about it.

does being European or american qualify me then? and does being whatever you are qualify you to say Africans are dubious? are you this sick?

have you finally lost it? who said they where gossiping about a particular race ? who thought the Africans how to be dubious? do you know history at all?

i did not say the gossiped about Africans, i said they gossip.

[khrab]

Gossipers are just useless creatures even avoided by their husbands. They have no money, only debts, no education, no taste and no manners. Nothing happens in their lifes and nobody cares about them.

Desperately they pick up anything that happens outside their upmost boring lifes.

E.g.

Some months ago I was about to leave my house by car. Of course the inevitable question popped up: Neighbour: "Where go?" This is not youf f#cking business and who cares? So I said out of the mood: "Bangkok" (living 700km north of it).

When I returned some hours later, another neighbour looked at me in confusion and said: "I think you went to Bangkok?"

[willyumiii]

Lobster thank you for the input. At present America is 17 trillion dollars in debt, mostly to China.

the days when it was regarded as a superpower are long gone. it would be an idea to start learning Indian , Chinese or Brazilian as they will dominate now.

I have plenty of intelligent things to say just the clever Americans don't listen , that's why the country is up shit creek without a paddle.

Regards

ninja

What the hell does this post have to do with anything??

I think it's time you tried some different drugs Ninja!

Did you even read the OP's post?

Thank you for the input Ninja!

[JHenry]

And as an aside.... It is just as unfair for This Forum to publish comments that are unfairly directed towards citizens of one country.

Is this strictly a European Forum...that does not follow its own rules?

my boss at school actually told me that gossiping is part of the culture here, they gossip about everything, that is why they so insist that u do the thai course or know some thai culture so that u wont get offended when they gossip about you..(what my boss said) and hey i am African, a proud one at that.in my culture for example its very wrong to talk about things and people u know barely nothing about

This is the usual Thai defence line: gossiping is a part of culture, lying is a part of culture, being late is a part of culture. Beleive me it is not a part of anybody's culture and it is not a culture at all. It is just the usual brainwashing of certain indivuduals. The way the man or women cheat and lie about the money or relatioships is not culture (Thai or anybody else's) contrary to what some Thais would say. Try this "culture" back on those individuals and you will see their reaction. Culture is books, poems, sculptures, architecture, music, science but not negative patterns of the human behaviour. However, do not compare your way of life and thai way of life. It is a dangreous trend, if you do that you will not last long here. Cut them some slack too. You are foreigner and African, of course, people are curious.

Edited February 2, 2014 by JHenry

[belg]

when your life is empty, some gossip can help fill some HOLES

[yanyk]

Gossipers are just useless creatures even avoided by their husbands. They have no money, only debts, no education, no taste and no manners. Nothing happens in their lifes and nobody cares about them.

Desperately they pick up anything that happens outside their upmost boring lifes.

E.g.

Some months ago I was about to leave my house by car. Of course the inevitable question popped up: Neighbour: "Where go?" This is not youf f#cking business and who cares? So I said out of the mood: "Bangkok" (living 700km north of it).

When I returned some hours later, another neighbour looked at me in confusion and said: "I think you went to Bangkok?"

thank you Khrab, exactly what pisses me off..

[yanyk]

why are there just so many stereotypes here..African or no African, will my africanism immediately make you to be curious ?

[yanyk]

and if you read the post again, there is a question mark at the end of the sentence..meaning i am asking a question and not making a conclusion

[willyumiii]

People in every country love to gossip.

The word gossip comes from a time when people would go to a pub or tavern to sip beer and talk about each other it started out as to "go sip".

A more specific answer to the question is, yes, Thais love to gossip.

It seems most Thai conversations are either about food, or gossip.

Fact:

Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip.

[yanyk]

People in every country love to gossip.

The word gossip comes from a time when people would go to a pub or tavern to sip beer and talk about each other it started out as to "go sip".

A more specific answer to the question is, yes, Thais love to gossip.

It seems most Thai conversations are either about food, or gossip.

Fact:

Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip.

thank you so much willyumiii ,thats a great answer

[klauskunkel]

is gossiping part of the culture herein thailand?

no, it's a worldwide phenomenon

[Gillyflower]

I presume that most of you are men. Well what a lot of gossips you are. Worse than old biddies.

[Martyjustice]

If they are quite for too long they can explode.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[JHenry]

why are there just so many stereotypes here..African or no African, will my africanism immediately make you to be curious ?

Personally I am not curiuos. People around you are. In this country you are different. You look different. I am caucasian. For thai people I look different too. So what? You have to learn to live with that. After some time people around you will judge you by what you do not how you look. Give them some time.

[techboy]

If the gossip is about you possibly it is understandable. An individual who submits such a compelling post must undoubtedly be an object of endless profound intrigue.

[Billmont]

The term 'Chinese Whispers' didn't come about by accident.

I trust what I see, and take a bag of salt with everything else.

....and in the UK "The chattering classes"

[transam]

I presume that most of you are men. Well what a lot of gossips you are. Worse than old biddies.

Only those who have been here a while really understand the gossip ''thing''. It is real, in many cases it is to ''plant'' false information from the envious.

[CapeCobra]

Mildred, the church gossip and self-appointed arbiter of the churchs morals, kept sticking her nose into other peoples business. Several residents were unappreciative of her activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused George, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his pickup truck parked in front of the towns only bar one afternoon. She commented to George and others that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing. George, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just walked away. He didnt explain, defend, or deny, he said nothing. Later that evening, George quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildreds house . . .and left it there all night.

[CapeCobra]

"I have plenty of intelligent things to say... "

@Ninja

Having the effrontery for such a statement; could you give us a taster? I am willing to learn.

Otherwise, I would recommend Ludwig Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. The last sentence of the book is the easiest to understand. It's the conclusion of his thought process.

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."

[MW72]

Off topic posts deleted. This has nothing to do with the US

What about post 10? What's that all about?

Back to the topic. I'm pretty new to Thailand so I have read a bit about the culture to try and understand the people a bit more (especially the gf) and it does seem like the Thais like a bit of gossip but no more than most cultures or countries. They may discuss topics that other cultures may consider off limits but I don't think they gossip any more or less than others.

[transam]

Off topic posts deleted. This has nothing to do with the US

What about post 10? What's that all about?

Back to the topic. I'm pretty new to Thailand so I have read a bit about the culture to try and understand the people a bit more (especially the gf) and it does seem like the Thais like a bit of gossip but no more than most cultures or countries. They may discuss topics that other cultures may consider off limits but I don't think they gossip any more or less than others.

You have a lot to learn.............

[MW72]

I think it's an Asian thing actually......but say what you want but there is "A LOT" less gossip here than in Taiwan where I witnessed this for 14 years!! Before you get a key in the door to your new place there, people are already talking/whispering/asking Q's / leering at you. I moved here in August and the restaurant lady on the opposite side of the lane didn't know where I was from / what I did until about a month ago. She and all the neighbor ladies with the kids sit and play/talk all day and haven't bothered with me at all. Guess I'm lucky from what you say.

i was hoping to read this for long, i think its really an Asian thing, for example. i have a friend in the north, he went for visa runs and had some problems at the bother, he then called his director to borrow about 3000 baht to settle the problem. it was on a Monday morning and the director was conducting the assembly as usual. after he dropped the call, he told the whole school and asked them if he should send the 3000 baht to the teacher.that can only happen in thailand.

Seriously? Your friend couldn't afford the 3000 baht and he phoned his director for help before phoning his friends. If he worked at this school would he not have done the visa run at the weekend as he would probably be working on Monday morning? The director was taking assembly with the whole school and stopped to take a call from your friend then asked the students advice on whether he should lend your friend the 3000 baht?

Have you ever thought about a career in writing? This is a fantastic story. Gossip at its best.

[brianP]

Bit like yourself gossiping away on TV

Hey it takes two for gossip to be effective. Or so i am told.

[tom21]

I think it's an Asian thing actually......but say what you want but there is "A LOT" less gossip here than in Taiwan where I witnessed this for 14 years!! Before you get a key in the door to your new place there, people are already talking/whispering/asking Q's / leering at you. I moved here in August and the restaurant lady on the opposite side of the lane didn't know where I was from / what I did until about a month ago. She and all the neighbor ladies with the kids sit and play/talk all day and haven't bothered with me at all. Guess I'm lucky from what you say.

i was hoping to read this for long, i think its really an Asian thing, for example. i have a friend in the north, he went for visa runs and had some problems at the bother, he then called his director to borrow about 3000 baht to settle the problem. it was on a Monday morning and the director was conducting the assembly as usual. after he dropped the call, he told the whole school and asked them if he should send the 3000 baht to the teacher.that can only happen in thailand.

Seriously? Your friend couldn't afford the 3000 baht and he phoned his director for help before phoning his friends. If he worked at this school would he not have done the visa run at the weekend as he would probably be working on Monday morning? The director was taking assembly with the whole school and stopped to take a call from your friend then asked the students advice on whether he should lend your friend the 3000 baht?

Have you ever thought about a career in writing? This is a fantastic story. Gossip at its best.

her friend would be going to a thai embassy, that part is easy to understand

[MW72]

Off topic posts deleted. This has nothing to do with the US

What about post 10? What's that all about?

Back to the topic. I'm pretty new to Thailand so I have read a bit about the culture to try and understand the people a bit more (especially the gf) and it does seem like the Thais like a bit of gossip but no more than most cultures or countries. They may discuss topics that other cultures may consider off limits but I don't think they gossip any more or less than others.

You have a lot to learn.............

And I am willing to learn. Every day is a school day.

[srn89]

No more than anywhere than else in the world !!Nothing better to do.

Always remember '' if they are talking about you they are leaving someone else alone ""