Farang cannot know Thai-ness

[mutley]

My Thai wife's friends won't let me sit with them because I speak reasonable Thai. Wonder why? Thainess perhaps. If it is not fit to be said, then don't say it. Something else for Thais to understand about most western 'falangs'.

[gemguy56]

I have lived here for 25 years and I do not even give a second thought about what the Thais think or the way they think.
I did not come hear to figure out the Thais or immerse myself into Thai culture and embrace this thing called "Thai-ness".
To me Thailand is just one of hundreds of place I could live and work while I would not be trying to figure out any other culture also.
I have never analyzed the Thais in any serious way becaue I do not think it is important.
I do not understand why people agonise over trying to figure Thai people out.
Who needs the frustrations of trying to read into Thai people and figure out what makes them tick.
I have no inclination to get close to any Thai people and or Thai culture and or embrace thier history.
I am not Thai.
All of what I say may seem (insensitive) but I am not here to spend my time here in Thailand debating about the mindset of the Thais while trying to understand why they do this or do that and figure out thier next move and or what motivates them.
Obviously they are are what they are because of the way they are brought up and taught to believe they should carry on being and acting like a Thai and living like a Thai person and everything else their culture entials them to abide by.
I do not care what they think of me or think of Farangs because who really cares what they think or say as we are not Thai so why even bother trying to psychoanalyse them and thier thinking.
As long as I can live here and work here and make a living and enjoy myself, as a foreigner living here, I do not really need to figure out the Thais and the way(s) they think.
Meantime I have learned to speak the language as that is one of the more obvious requirements and makes it a lot easier to get business done..but speaking their language has not helped me figure out this thing called "Thai-ness" that seemingly has all the foriegners somewhat baffled and mystified all the time and a major subject matter that seems to require the need to figure Thai people out.

Go ahead and frustrate yourselves.

[safaritony]

It's always easy to critisize (people), but I think one needs to remember why some of us are here - as opposed to still living in that other once-great country that used to be truly great prior to the 1990s. One thing we should be willing to learn from Thias is patience, and as regards driving, the standards in the UK are now much worse than in Thailand.

[safaritony]

Re "Mutley - plumbing".
There is a simple explanation for the standard of work carried by some Thai tradesmen (plumbers, builders, electricians etc.): they haven't done anything like an apprentisehip - but have learned everything/what they know on-the-job; this is why my wife now fully understands the interpretation of my statement "half-assed".
The solution to this problem is simple: all you have to do is periodically check their progress on the job' - this is if you yourself are qualified and/or know how the job should be done correctly. Needless to say, if you are qualified/have the know-how, you can place yourself in the position of supervisor. I have obviously found that the success of this operation depends on the character of the individual(s), but it can be aided if you are equally willing to get your hands dirty, and you will also get very good results if you treat it as a learning exercise; if your way of doing something is easier and saves time, it will sick like \\ //// to a blanket. (It also helps to provide refreshments occasionally).

[VetThai]

The general Thai view is that some farangs may know a lot about Thai politics, culture, way of life and so on, but they will never be able to reach the core of Thai-ness.
....................[cut]

Farangs are an asset to Thailand in many ways, including their objective view of Thai society that exposes obvious truths that are often invisible to Thais.

CHA-AM JAMAL

Having lived in Thailand for 30 years and now living back home for the last four years, I believe I have an objective view of Thailand and Thais. To say that we farung can not know "Thainess" is the biggest load of codswallop I have ever read. Does the writer really believe he (and by default all his fellow countrymen) are so "superior" that other people of the world cannot understand Thai culture?

In fact, "Thainess" is not hard to understand at all. It is based on the same mistaken view taken by bigots and xenophobes around the world. This attitude is sure to cause friction between the races...no matter which country you are in.

I find this attitude insulting, but hardly surprising. You can see it everywhere you go. The best thing to do with people like this is to laugh at their naivety and get on with getting on with the smarter people in the country you happen to be in. Thankfully, they far outnumber the bigots.

[charlesh1]

Can a Thai ever know English-ness? I would say yes.

Humans are the most adaptive creatures. In order to work efficiently as a global community we do need to leave behind the barriers and accept others into our own culture to learn, respect and enjoy what that culture has to offer.

[wangsuda]

"Thai-ness" is easy to understand by anyone who has learned critical thinking skills. What I find funny is that most Thais cannot define "Thai-ness." So how can Thais claim no one can understand "Thai-ness" when they, themselves, have no idea what it is?

[ThaiKiwi]

I have lived here for 25 years and I do not even give a second thought about what the Thais think or the way they think.
I did not come hear to figure out the Thais or immerse myself into Thai culture and embrace this thing called "Thai-ness".
To me Thailand is just one of hundreds of place I could live and work while I would not be trying to figure out any other culture also.
I have never analyzed the Thais in any serious way becaue I do not think it is important.
I do not understand why people agonise over trying to figure Thai people out.
Who needs the frustrations of trying to read into Thai people and figure out what makes them tick.
I have no inclination to get close to any Thai people and or Thai culture and or embrace thier history.
I am not Thai.
All of what I say may seem (insensitive) but I am not here to spend my time here in Thailand debating about the mindset of the Thais while trying to understand why they do this or do that and figure out thier next move and or what motivates them.
Obviously they are are what they are because of the way they are brought up and taught to believe they should carry on being and acting like a Thai and living like a Thai person and everything else their culture entials them to abide by.
I do not care what they think of me or think of Farangs because who really cares what they think or say as we are not Thai so why even bother trying to psychoanalyse them and thier thinking.
As long as I can live here and work here and make a living and enjoy myself, as a foreigner living here, I do not really need to figure out the Thais and the way(s) they think.
Meantime I have learned to speak the language as that is one of the more obvious requirements and makes it a lot easier to get business done..but speaking their language has not helped me figure out this thing called "Thai-ness" that seemingly has all the foriegners somewhat baffled and mystified all the time and a major subject matter that seems to require the need to figure Thai people out.

Go ahead and frustrate yourselves.

ignorant much? LoL..

[Labienus]

I moved from France top Thailand, and was amazed by the primitive and complicated status of Thai banking.

With my (Thai) wife, we have a joint saving passbook (Mr AND Mrs, not Mr OR Mrs, so that we are always obliged to go together to the bank to sign papers).

To just renew the passbook, I needed to have my passport (front page, visa page) photocopied as well as my proof of residence and the same applied to my wife, and then we had each to sign 12 times on several documents (I did not count how many times the bank clerk had to stamp papers and sign as well);
To be able to check the account by Internet, the same papers had to be photocopied again, and not less than 19 signatures per person on different copies had to apposed.
I do not understand why the bank cannot keep once for all the necessary identification documents, in order not to have to reproduce them again at each visit, but this is amazing Thailand as usual.

No wonder forests disappear at a fast rate....and no wonder dividends with that bank are low, as they have to employ 5 persons where one would do the job in Europe !