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The Expat Divide...


villagefarang

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I get around my village area a lot. I know the farangs who live within a 10k radius and chat socially occasionally a beer, but in town 20k away I often see farangs I have never seen before and assume they are mostly tourists or fly in farangs. Almost always they look the other way and refuse to make eye contact, its as if they thought they were off the beaten track (which we sort of are) and they resent that others are here. Those in that further afield zone that I have talked to are invariably living here, mostly German or Scandinavian which means friendly but no real communication in most cases. No farang has ever personally sought any local knowledge off me (except one from Thai Visa on a farming issue) but the occasional Thai has come to see me about some farang issue. So the expat divide comes down to people, I think most of us that are living alone in a Thai community would take the opportunity to have a conversation with someone in their own language. However some people aren't like that.

fly in farangs? did you walk or swim?

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I think it depends where you are.

If in Patts/BKK/CM etc there are hundreds of expats/farangs walking around. I do not bother interacting with any of them.

Out in the boonies it might be different.

Every time a farang has initiated contact, they were always after something (money).

When I was an expat in the Marshall Islands I enjoyed the expat community there and joined in events. In Thailand - never.

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That was a well thought out article. Makes a change from the usual rantings on TVF.

Whether you fret about what other farangs think or not, the point is surely that as a foreigner in a foreign country, you naturally relate to other foreigners in a way that is different from what you do when surrounded by your own kind in your own country. Just a different expression of the human herd instinct.

I agree, then the first reply is WHY

This is the expat divide in a nutshell.

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Hey, Villagefarang - a very beautiful peace of writing! You reinstated my belief in Thai expat humanity and made my day!

I thank you for and value very much the time you invested in this refreshing and throughout positive article. Shocking were some of the comments here though, with the worst two being "why" and "too long, didn't read" - how low can people go? And back to base one we are: at the expat divide...

Keep up the good work and simply ignore any obnoxious comments coming from those few old and bitter TV forum imbeciles! I bet most of them couldn't even copy a sentence from a "good night story book" for toddlers without a fair amount of spelling mistakes in it... smile.png

EXACTLY my point, some are pathetic, just hope they realise it..

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Thank you very much for this reply.

In regards to the OP, I have sometimes wondered where I "fit" in the expat community, and the only answer I can honestly come up with is: I don't fit. And, even more honestly, I don't want to fit. I'm open and friendly, known to actually start conversations at times with other foreigners I meet in restaurants and such, but bottom line is I like my privacy, and don't like anyone to intrude on it. I know half a dozen other expats, but only have interaction with one who has similar interests in bikes, but even that is limited. I'd rather be on a CBR, cruising mountain roads here in the north and north east, stopping at road side restaurants and shops, laughing and talking, or at least trying to talk, to the locals I meet, than a room full of farang and their wives, no matter how well intentioned they are.

I meet men here who are Vets, and who try to get me to join the VWF. Sorry, but that simply reminds me of the Springstein song "Glory Days", with a bunch of old men sitting around talking about how important they were, or their "war time experiences". I spent 18 of my 20 years in the Marines in Recon & Force Recon. End of story. When people find out, and start asking questions about what it was like, I change the subject. That was another life, a different "me", not forgotten, but not rehashed at every opportunity I get. I don't live there anymore.

Now my life is quiet, some would even say boring. I help my wife when I can with a new business she is starting, and I fight every day to get back the strength in my legs that I lost from a pinched sciatic nerve, followed by a stroke last October that temporarily took away my left arm and both legs. I've reached the point to where I'm looking to take a 3-5 days bike trip through the north/north east on a new Forza once rainy season is over. If that goes well, I'll start looking at the new 300cc CBR or Kawasaki for more fun.

We live in a small moo ban of 100 houses about 18k from Chiang Mai city, and that's fine with me.. Two other "farang" here. One is a German who thinks his $hit don't stink, and the other is a pot head American recluse. Both are on different soi from me so I don't have to deal with them. I love my Thai neighbors and get along well with them.

I don't drink, so the bar scene is out for me, as are other forms of "nightlife", other than dinner at a good restaurant from time to time with my wife. Some would say I'm a recluse. They're entitled, if that's what they think. It doesn't bother me. I know who I am, and what I am, as does my wife, and that's all that matters.

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In regards to the OP, I have sometimes wondered where I "fit" in the expat community, and the only answer I can honestly come up with is: I don't fit. And, even more honestly, I don't want to fit. I'm open and friendly, known to actually start conversations at times with other foreigners I meet in restaurants and such, but bottom line is I like my privacy, and don't like anyone to intrude on it. I know half a dozen other expats, but only have interaction with one who has similar interests in bikes, but even that is limited. I'd rather be on a CBR, cruising mountain roads here in the north and north east, stopping at road side restaurants and shops, laughing and talking, or at least trying to talk, to the locals I meet, than a room full of farang and their wives, no matter how well intentioned they are.

I meet men here who are Vets, and who try to get me to join the VWF. Sorry, but that simply reminds me of the Springstein song "Glory Days", with a bunch of old men sitting around talking about how important they were, or their "war time experiences". I spent 18 of my 20 years in the Marines in Recon & Force Recon. End of story. When people find out, and start asking questions about what it was like, I change the subject. That was another life, a different "me", not forgotten, but not rehashed at every opportunity I get. I don't live there anymore.

Now my life is quiet, some would even say boring. I help my wife when I can with a new business she is starting, and I fight every day to get back the strength in my legs that I lost from a pinched sciatic nerve, followed by a stroke last October that temporarily took away my left arm and both legs. I've reached the point to where I'm looking to take a 3-5 days bike trip through the north/north east on a new Forza once rainy season is over. If that goes well, I'll start looking at the new 300cc CBR or Kawasaki for more fun.

We live in a small moo ban of 100 houses about 18k from Chiang Mai city, and that's fine with me.. Two other "farang" here. One is a German who thinks his $hit don't stink, and the other is a pot head American recluse. Both are on different soi from me so I don't have to deal with them. I love my Thai neighbors and get along well with them.

I don't drink, so the bar scene is out for me, as are other forms of "nightlife", other than dinner at a good restaurant from time to time with my wife. Some would say I'm a recluse. They're entitled, if that's what they think. It doesn't bother me. I know who I am, and what I am, as does my wife, and that's all that matters.

Good post. The way I see it is if you aint a drinker then having friends here is pretty much a waste of time. Many will disagree of course..

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