The "I've been here longer than you" people.

[Old Stud]

Yanks are extremely thick or extremely intelligent, no middle ground.

Yep, you are right. And both of em should stay up North whar they come from!

Yeah, you 2 guys are REAL open-minded!

Exactly the kind of people I don't want to run into - EVER.

People on TV give crap to anyone who pre-judges........wait for it........Russians, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Japanese, Thais, etc, ...... but you 2 geniuses seem to have it all figured out that ALL Yanks are either really dumb or really smart, with no middle ground! Must be nice to be you, knowing exactly how intelligent or stupid 315 million people are, congrats! Oy vey.....

To clarify, since some people don't seem to understand the original post; I was eating dinner with a British friend in Pattaya. Some guy came in and sat at the table directly across from us, he could hear our conversation whether we wanted him to or not and it was obvious he was listening and looking at us on occasion, we could see it! So my friend steps out for a smoke and the other Yank and myself start chatting, basically picking up where my mate and I had left off; it was the topic of drought and climate change, and how the price of fruits have gone up. HE spoke up first, I didn't! Since it was obvious he was either central- or western-Canadian or an American [no other countries talk like we do] I simply asked him in the course of our short conversation which one it was.

Getting the "I am from here" line tossed back at me was an eye-rolling moment, when the older guy was 6 foot 2, had pale skin and a shock of white hair, and spoke English as well as I did. He wasn't Thai, he was a midwesterner from America, so why not just admit that? Too cool to say you once came from America because you now live here, even to another American? Not getting it.

It's happened many other times in the half seasons I have been coming here as well, in fact I half expect it now when I talk to older expats. And it's boring. And I've even gotten it from Brits and Aussies and other nationalities, you know, countries with people in the middle ground, not just smart or thick

Get over yourselves, it's not a competition how long you've managed to stay in Thailand and no one gives a flying fart.

I'm a white Hawaiian and proud of it . . . and I choose to live in Thailand for who cares how long.

[Ace of Pop]

Im extremely Thick, that's why I fit in here.

[cooked]

To be honest I feel a bit embarrassed about what I didn't know when I first came here. I learn all the time, at the moment I am trying to work out why Thais never use their roof racks but never remove them.

People that claim to know everything and at the same time seem incapable of learning (Thai for instance) are below being worth having civilised conversations with.

I was in Switzerland for 40 years and never felt myself above newbies, I was interested in how they saw things and would maybe try to iron out a misconception (the one about Swiss banks for instance, UK banks in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are much more suitable for laundering money). If the conversation is a search for common ground, it's worthwhile, imposing your point of view is boring, stupid and rude.

[radiochaser]

Yanks are extremely thick or extremely intelligent, no middle ground.

Yep, you are right. And both of em should stay up North whar they come from!

Yeah, you 2 guys are REAL open-minded!

Exactly the kind of people I don't want to run into - EVER.

People on TV give crap to anyone who pre-judges........wait for it........Russians, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Japanese, Thais, etc, ...... but you 2 geniuses seem to have it all figured out that ALL Yanks are either really dumb or really smart, with no middle ground! Must be nice to be you, knowing exactly how intelligent or stupid 315 million people are, congrats! Oy vey.....

To clarify, since some people don't seem to understand the original post; I was eating dinner with a British friend in Pattaya. Some guy came in and sat at the table directly across from us, he could hear our conversation whether we wanted him to or not and it was obvious he was listening and looking at us on occasion, we could see it! So my friend steps out for a smoke and the other Yank and myself start chatting, basically picking up where my mate and I had left off; it was the topic of drought and climate change, and how the price of fruits have gone up. HE spoke up first, I didn't! Since it was obvious he was either central- or western-Canadian or an American [no other countries talk like we do] I simply asked him in the course of our short conversation which one it was.

Getting the "I am from here" line tossed back at me was an eye-rolling moment, when the older guy was 6 foot 2, had pale skin and a shock of white hair, and spoke English as well as I did. He wasn't Thai, he was a midwesterner from America, so why not just admit that? Too cool to say you once came from America because you now live here, even to another American? Not getting it.

It's happened many other times in the half seasons I have been coming here as well, in fact I half expect it now when I talk to older expats. And it's boring. And I've even gotten it from Brits and Aussies and other nationalities, you know, countries with people in the middle ground, not just smart or thick

Get over yourselves, it's not a competition how long you've managed to stay in Thailand and no one gives a flying fart.

Deaw, my post was sarcastic and I was poking fun at Thaiberius. Note my attempt at writing my response in a dialect that is not correct English. I wanted to use a poking fun emoticon, but did not see it when I looked.

My assumption is that Thaiberius is British, English, due to the reference to "Yanks" used as a reference to American citizens and he/she may not like Americans. My assumption could be incorrect as it is based on few facts.

I posted my sarcastic response from the point of view of someone who is from the "South" as in, from one of the Southern States of the United States, or, from one of the States of the Confederacy and used that as a basis for my sarcasm. Yanks are the people from the Northern States of the United States, also known as "Yankees". Growing up as a child in the South, I learned that Southerners did not like "Yanks". A leftover artifact of the "War Between the States". (as an aside, the contempt of some Yanks for Southerners back in that time, was almost palpable, a sort of racism if you will)

As to judging people, as an adult, I have learned that depends on how "I" am treated by individuals and react accordingly. If enough people of the same "kind, type, ethnic, race, or citizen of a particular country" treat me with lack of respect or treat me badly, then I will pre-judge that group as a whole. Even so, I will show the next person from that group respect, as I think they should be treated, but with some caution as I may again be shown a lack of respect or badly by that next person. If that next person from the group responds in kind with respect, then all is good with that person.

As to "open minded", as I stated, I am from one of the States of the Confederacy. I saw hardcore racism against blacks as a child growing up in the South. I did not understand it or where it came from.

The explanations I heard people use to describe why they hated "negroes" never rang true to me when I heard it. I was open minded enough to treat blacks with respect when I had occasion to associate with them for what ever reason.

Adding to "As to open minded", I am married outside of my race, have dated outside of my race, have lived with people outside of my race, have lived with and dated people from countries not of my origin. I lived in three countries before I was 14 years old, have lived in and worked in both Vietnam and Thailand as an adult.

As to intelligence of people, or lack of it. They range from absolute lack of it, all the way up to holy moly! My step mother called me stupid every day she was in the family and I believed her. Then I scored in the top ten percentile out of millions of other guys and gals that took the same test. My step mother was a bad woman!

OK, guys, parse and pick apart my response as you will! Have fun doing it!

P.S. I first came to Thailand 42 years ago! I would have stayed if I could have, then I could have said, "You haven't been here long enough"!! LOL

[Old Stud]

To be honest I feel a bit embarrassed about what I didn't know when I first came here. I learn all the time, at the moment I am trying to work out why Thais never use their roof racks but never remove them.

People that claim to know everything and at the same time seem incapable of learning (Thai for instance) are below being worth having civilised conversations with.

I was in Switzerland for 40 years and never felt myself above newbies, I was interested in how they saw things and would maybe try to iron out a misconception (the one about Swiss banks for instance, UK banks in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are much more suitable for laundering money). If the conversation is a search for common ground, it's worthwhile, imposing your point of view is boring, stupid and rude.

Thank you. I agree. We're here on earth to discover how brilliant we really are. Do you have an invention the world wants? A story to write about your life in Thailand? A skill to share? A way to help another? There are a zillion things to do while in Thailand — places to explore, questions to ask, answers to be found. My big challenge is - can I take my ability to speak this tonal language, while being tone deaf, to the next level? Bashing each other on TV and saying stupid things is only proof of idiocy. Why display stupidity? What's the point? I personally enjoy the responses of intelligent people such as yourself. TV should come up with a forum for stupid trolls only, so they can say dumb things to each other and have fun in their own nonsensical planet. One of the reasons I participate on TV is that often there are very intelligent remarks which make me think. I make it an effort to ad to the intelligent conversation even though I'm not connected to any of the readers. I am in the process of discovering my own brilliance, and the writings of other brilliant people help me to improve myself. Life, and even TV, is like a shiny new white Rolls Royce. Intelligent people say, "Wow, look at that beautiful example of automotive engineering excellence." The troll stand in the gutter and throw shit at it. Again I ask, What's the point?

[villagefarang]

When asking where someone comes from it is sometimes an attempt to find common ground and shared experience in order to better relate. I find myself trying to evaluate to reason for the question before I answer.

Sometimes the short answer is all that is required because the conversation isn’t going anywhere anyway. If, however, it looks like we may actually have a civilized, intelligent conversation then the fact that I have lived here my entire adult life and much longer than I lived in my country of birth, becomes pertinent.

A guy who found Thailand late in life and retired here with all his excess baggage probably isn’t going to get the understanding nods he expects from a guy like me who never went through any of the stuff he did.

We are not all the same, and for some that is interesting and informative, while for others it is irritating and frustrating.

[belg]

so what was your need to share this, if it is not to get some attention ?

[thailiketoo]

I've met a lot of old guys who were just lonely and wanted to talk a bit in English.

[khunpa]

I actually like the "I have been here for XX years" stories. Especially the ones who have moved here part-time on their pension. They don't hang around locals much and spend most of the time on the beach, but they are always good fun to talk with and I kind of like their good advice. I don't really follow their advice, but that only because I don't have a pension and have to mingle with the locals to survive here. But they are always good fun to talk with. Very very very experienced and have come here for many years. I love them!

[JAS21]

You mean you don't know some men prefer Thai women over others? That is the reason men move here. I don't think there is anything non PC about that yet.

That's the reason some men move here. Many of them seem oddly unable to comprehend that not everyone is here for the same reasons.

You are outing yourself

[SoiBiker]

You are outing yourself

Huh?

[maccaroni man]

There is some truth in being able to read the road signs. For those of us who have been in the Los full time for 10 yrs or longer other peoples behavior does become somewhat predictable and easy to box them into what phase of life they are living in the LOS. I left a couple of years ago and am beginning to thing if I return I will be a green horn again at least for 90 days.

[KonaRain]

#192..ditto, huh?

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[KonaRain]

aloha..play nice!

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[Old Stud]

aloha..play nice!

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I'm also from Hawaii. I lived on Kauai for over twenty years, so I guess I had some bragging rights there. Truth of the matter was, as a Haole, (farang) I knew way more about Hawaii and Hawaiian lore than most of the locals who lived there all their life. I'm a novelist and investigative writer. I have only lived in Thailand for three years, but I have traveled and stayed all over the country and studied the culture and language. Yes I am an older guy, but I often wish as I sit in a cafe, writing my novels, that the young tourist looking at that map or looking a bit lost would come over to this old timer and ask for help. Say, "Do you live here? How long have you been here? Maybe you can help me." I would love that to happen. That's because I do know a thing or two about Thailand and have some great information to share. I also don't give much value to whether someone has been here two years or twenty years. I spoke better Thai at the end of my first year, than my farang landlord knows after ten years. I've met plenty of old timers here that just don't give a shit, and aren't helpful at all. I am and welcome whoever would ask the question "How long have you been here?"

[jaideeguy]

I think that happens everywhere.......in Hawaii, my old home, the locals speak a kind of 'pigeon English' and the newcomers will try to speak it and it shows immediately that they just got off the plane. I spoke pigeon fluently when I was in high school in Hawaii, as a defense tactic, but dropped it when I came into contact with decent English speakers.

[Old Stud]

I think that happens everywhere.......in Hawaii, my old home, the locals speak a kind of 'pigeon English' and the newcomers will try to speak it and it shows immediately that they just got off the plane. I spoke pigeon fluently when I was in high school in Hawaii, as a defense tactic, but dropped it when I came into contact with decent English speakers.

I stayed way away from trying to speak pigeon, but when I worked construction I knew enough Hawaiian when the local said, "Hey bra get me dakine," and I would just go get it (though it could have been twenty different things). I liked that in Hawaii it's OK to "talk story." No problem. No ego around it. I was in Kauai in March and a local pure Hawaiian friend my age said to me, "Bra - I was born here and I will die here. I'm not going anywhere. It's up to you to take the aloha spirit out to the world." And I think that's really the answer - wherever you're from, be the best ambassador you can be, and honor where you are and the people of that country. I do my best to spread Aloha here in Thailand.

[HooHaa]

its pidgin, PIDGIN!

[Old Stud]

its pidgin, PIDGIN!

Not like the bird that poops on my porch? Guess I should go back to Hawaii and brush up on the slang, you think?

[villagefarang]

A number of members seem to have spent some time in Hawaii on their path to Thailand, almost like a steppingstone. Perhaps those of us who continued heading West were somehow influenced by our time there.

I sometimes think my experience as a blond blue-eyed haole in high school and university, unexpectedly made things easier when I moved here at 23.

Edited May 9, 2014 by villagefarang

[Old Stud]

its pidgin, PIDGIN!

Not like the bird that poops on my porch? Maybe I should go back to Hawaii and learn slang, you think?

ps. I do think TV needs a good editor for all the mindless prattle. Good eye! They should hire you.

[JLCrab]

its pidgin, PIDGIN!

Not like the bird that poops on my porch? Maybe I should go back to Hawaii and learn slang, you think?

ps. I do think TV needs a good editor for all the mindless prattle. Good eye! They should hire you.

In reference to an earlier post of yours this topic: You don't find the right Thai woman; they find you.

[Old Stud]

its pidgin, PIDGIN!

Not like the bird that poops on my porch? Maybe I should go back to Hawaii and learn slang, you think?

ps. I do think TV needs a good editor for all the mindless prattle. Good eye! They should hire you.

In reference to an earlier post of yours this topic: You don't find the right Thai woman; they find you.

I don't think pigeon poop has anything to do with this subject, but I'm willing to transgress. Do you have a running data base JLCrab of who says what? I'm impressed, you;re right . . . and this would also be off topic, I think . . . after 9 pages I'm losing track of the topic. My Thai landlord tells me that the right Thai woman will find me. After three years I wonder if this is true for an old stud like me. Pattaya works, but Chiang Mai? I don't know. I happen to like women under 40. Oh, I remember the subject, bragging rights about time in Thailand. Same Thai landlord has a terrible marriage to a farang. After you see or hear about this 20, 30 or 40 times, then you've been in Thailand long enough to be careful. I watched my best friend here get worked. I had to say goodbye after he let her work him for a new scooter, money for massage, money for sex, money to pay her rent, money to buy her clothes, and finally he bought her a house! Once you see this or hear this story over and over, you've been in Thailand long enough to know better, to warn others. After falling for way too many beautiful bar girls the first two years, finding out that under that beautiful face and hot body is a vast wilderness of void, I know enough not to go in that direction. I warned my buddy who came to Thailand and totally fell in love with that bar girl, with now a terrible story to tell.

Now I'm totally gun shy. I really don't know where to meet a gal in Chiang Mai who will want to know me, love me, regardless of my age or money.

[JLCrab]

That's OK -- seems you are in good company:

[balo]

People that starts conversations with 'I lived here for xx years , I try to avoid. Most of them live here on small pensions and think they own the world.

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[poweratradio]

Every person has a desire to feel important in the eyes of others - some just don't have anything else to show off than being here longer.

How about the hundreds of ex Special Service guys who have retired to the bars of Thailand. There is a Belgian guy on Samui who tells everybody that he was seconded to the Australian SAS in Viet Nam. My mate , an ex Major, ex Aussie SAS tells me that it is all B/S as they never had foreigners seconded to them in VN.

I'd be inclined to disbelieve both of them.

Whats seconded to anything or anybody mean??????

[KonaRain]

Pidgin radio from Bamboo Ridge..Awesome acted stories..

Hey, O.S. every time I see a map, I offer my knowledge..to Europeans, Asians, Americans and Africans..(I play jazz), I'm batting around 80%.. I am obsessed.

Someone on another thread.. trying to retire here early..should by J.D.Guy's house..Alohz..Brah..

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[KonaRain]

wrong page..lol

Second as in a boxing match..helps hold the mouth guard while drinking between roundz..no pun intended..

(assistant).. alohz

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[TexasRanger]

Every person has a desire to feel important in the eyes of others - some just don't have anything else to show off than being here longer.

How about the hundreds of ex Special Service guys who have retired to the bars of Thailand. There is a Belgian guy on Samui who tells everybody that he was seconded to the Australian SAS in Viet Nam. My mate , an ex Major, ex Aussie SAS tells me that it is all B/S as they never had foreigners seconded to them in VN.

I'd be inclined to disbelieve both of them.

Whats seconded to anything or anybody mean??????

In military terms seconded means to be attached to unit you don't actually belong to, usually temporarily. Very basic answer of course.

[Old Stud]

Pidgin radio from Bamboo Ridge..Awesome acted stories..

Hey, O.S. every time I see a map, I offer my knowledge..to Europeans, Asians, Americans and Africans..(I play jazz), I'm batting around 80%.. I am obsessed.

Someone on another thread.. trying to retire here early..should by J.D.Guy's house..Alohz..Brah..

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The Kona Rain - reminds me of a Hawaiian poem I once wrote. Thanks about the encouragement to be more outgoing with tourists. When I traveled down south with my visiting Kauai buddy last winter, he was so innocent and would go up and talk these bar farang guys. It was hard for me, because often I had already heard twenty or thirty versions of the same story. Sometimes I was pleasantly surprised, but not that often. I realized that I had developed an attitude against (how this forum started) old timers who told their miserable stories about their life in the US and now their miserable life in Thailand. My buddy would listen to it, and I would be saying "let's go." I ran into my old best Chiang Mai friend yesterday. I hadn't seen him in two years, since he let that Thai gal work him — you know, pay for massage, pay for sex, pay her rent, buy new scooter, buy car, and finally - when he bought her the house I said goodbye. I figured by now he's another of those "I married the bar girl and now my life is a living hell" stories. To my surprise he was telling me how much in love they still are, two years later. It taught me again to allow people to have their lives and their stories. Some people have good lives, good stories and others have shitty lives and miserable stories. I like to read and hang out with the good stories. You know . . . the hula girls, slack string music and the balmy breeze blowing down the Kona coast. know what I'm saying, bra?