I
have expressed this before in previous posts, but as my fall semester in Chiang
Mai has now come to a close, I am overcome with one feeling in particular:
gratitude. These past four months have
been truly life changing; probably even more so than I already realize. I have learned so much and am eager to learn
even more for the rest of my stay here.
This past month has been so busy as we were wrapping up our classes and
generally just rushing around trying to make the most of our time here. It feels like everything was really just now
starting to click. The set up of the
city itself has become more familiar, I am beginning to be able to distinguish
the tone of Thai words I hear, and it feels so comfortable living here. I’ve caught myself in certain instances,
noticing how vastly different the given scenery is from what I knew before, and
how at home I feel within it.
There
are plenty of instances where we have noticed how acclimated we really are
here. It is so rewarding to feel that
growth! The best part of this past
month, however, has been the people.
With our program being so big, there were many people that I still
hadn’t gotten to know until recently… just in time for everyone to leave for
home. Still, I can’t be anything but
glad for getting to enjoy time with such an amazing group of people. I truly have never felt so surrounded by love
and positivity as I have in this group.
So
here are a few highlights since the last post: making Frosty the Snowman with
blind Thai students, visiting Doi Inthanon (Thailand’s highest peak) with my
program, eating delicious meals, and making a Thai rap video.
For
this next month in between classes, I will first be journeying to Nepal where I
will trek in the Himalayas with a group of four of my friends. With so much anticipation leading up to this
trip, I can’t believe it is actually here.
I leave Chiang Mai tomorrow for the Bangkok airport to catch our flight
on Tuesday. After two weeks in Nepal, I
will return to Bangkok for New Years Eve and meet up with two of my awesome
adventurous friends, Jesse and Adisson.
From there, we will go explore the South of Thailand until I have to
return to Chiang Mai for another semester in this incredible country.
Below
is a paper that I wrote for my Thai Society and Culture class. It basically summarizes my take on Thailand
and Thai culture after my first four months here:
It
has been such a unique and special opportunity to observe and participate in a
culture so unlike the one that has surrounded me for my entire life prior to
this experience. Life in Thailand is
distinctly different from life in America.
Still, after only a few months of living in this kingdom, I must really
think hard to remember what distinguished Thailand from “home” in the first
place. As I am reflecting, I think it
must be because it has become a home itself.
To me, Thailand as a whole has been just as accommodating as its
people. Ironically, many of the aspects
of Thai culture that so contrast the culture of the United States have been the
very characteristics that have made the transition to living here so easy. Here, smiles come at no cost. They are exchanged freely between superiors
and inferiors, friends and strangers.
Time is not “money” here, like we say in America. It is loose and free flowing, unbound by the
rigid definitions we place on the numbers of a clock in the States. Freedoms like these are inherent in all who inhabit this land – from the
cats and dogs who roam the sidewalks without restriction to the motorcyclists
who weave through traffic with both carelessness and deep consideration for
those around them. Paradoxes like the
motorcyclist characterize Thailand best to me; this country is at once chaotic
and peaceful, free and suppressed. But
to me, at the heart of it all, there is a balance that I have yet to experience
elsewhere. Realizing that my perspective
of Thailand is skewed by incredibly fortunate circumstances, a foreign
upbringing, and an innocent optimism, I offer what I consider the most
fascinating and important facets of Thai culture. Below is a discussion regarding Thai
communication habits, values, behaviors, and their significance according to my
observations whilst living here.
Because our thoughts and perceptions
are vastly influenced and limited by the structure of the language we speak, it
is incredibly worthwhile to consider Thai language in order to understand the
Thai worldview. There are different
forms of Thai depending on the region you live in but the official language of
Thailand, which is Siamese or Central Thai, is most commonly spoken and taught. In comparison to the round about and flowery
way we tend to speak in English, Thai is quite direct. For example, in America we might say to our
waitress “I think I will try your Pad Thai, but without scrambled eggs in
it.” In Thai, you would say “Ow Phat
Thai mai sai khay,” which basically translates to “take Pad Thai no put
egg.” I think that this example
exemplifies the worldview of Thai people, which seems to be pretty to the
point. This also illustrates a Buddhist way
of thinking, simply seeing reality as it is instead of overcomplicating the way
we do in the West. To speak in such a
direct way in America might be interpreted as rude, but Thai people would never
see it that way. To Thais, it makes the
most sense to speak as efficiently as possible using the least amount of words
necessary – there is nothing rude about it.
In fact, politeness is actually implicit in spoken Thai, where nearly
every sentence or question ends with “kha” for women or “khrap” for men. These words can mean “ok” or “ya” in certain
contexts but their primary function is just to add politeness to a given
request or comment. Another point I want
to make about Thai language is that it is tonal, which means that any given
word can take on many meanings depending on the way it is said and the context
it is used in. For example, “kow” can
mean he, white, rice, and more. There
are five different tones in Thai language, but sometimes a word will have a
couple of meanings for the same tone so words are not limited to only five
definitions. This can make speaking and
understanding Thai for foreigners very difficult! Another thing unique to Thai language in
contrast with English is the presence of familial terms that are used to
address various acquaintances when speaking.
The words “pii”, which means older brother or sister, and “nong”, which
means younger brother and sister are used frequently by Thais to address people
with no kinship to the speaker just to indicate some sort of relationship. For example I might address a man who works
at a café I frequent as “pii” and he might call me “nong”. This exemplifies the big family culture in
Thailand, where friends are brothers and sisters and elders are aunts and
uncles. It’s also an illustration of the
collectivist culture Eastern societies as opposed to the individualistic
culture of Western nations. While in
America, we tend to favor individuality and benefit for one’s self, cultures
that value collectivism are more concerned with the benefit of the whole. Another thing that use of the words “pii” and
“nong” illustrate is the hierarchal system inherent in Thai culture. I would never call a superior “nong” and vice
versa. Uses of words like these
reinforce a social hierarchy that is such a part of everyday life in Thailand
that it is never really questioned.
It
is also worth mentioning the wai
while we touch on the social hierarchy here.
The wai is a gesture used by Thais everyday, in which the two palms are
brought together in the center of the body and then raised either to the chin,
forehead, or above the head (depending on your status and the status of the
person you wai to). The wai is most
often used as a greeting but can be used to say sorry or thank you as
well. The inferior always initiates the
wai and the superior may either return the wai, merely bring hands together at
their chest to accept the wai, or smile and nod. As a farang, I have very little experience
using the wai in everyday life. I am
quite evidently a foreigner and Thais know that it is not customary in Western
cultures to use the wai, so it is never expected of me. Some of the Thai guys that I play soccer with
me will wai to greet me if I do first, and I have had one random little kid wai
me (awesome moment), but other than that the wai is virtually nonexistent in my
reality here besides when I observe other Thais interact. To me, the wai reveals another paradox. While it is ultimately reinforcing a
hierarchy, wais are actually really polite and establish some sort of equality
between the communicators.
Another
form of nonverbal communication that is a vital to the fabric of life in
Thailand is the Thai smile. Nicknamed
the Land of Smiles, Thailand will use almost any excuse to flash their kind
grins. We are used to seeing smiles as
expressions of happiness, humor, and even good manners, but in Thailand it has
even more functions. A smile might show
embarrassment, apology, forgiveness, or one I have grown used to identifying,
which means “I have no idea what you are saying to me right now.” In my opinion, the Thai smile is one of
Thailand’s best attributes.
It
is nearly impossible to overlook the role that Buddhism plays in Thai
society. The Five Basic Precepts of Life
are known unanimously, and even those that are popularly ignored or adjusted
have influence. Buddhist philosophy maintains
that you should not take life, steal, commit adultery, tell untruths, or use
intoxicants. Thai people most typically
do not kill beings including insects, but they do eat meat. The average Thai would not steal either, or
be very outwardly promiscuous, but Thais will lie to avoid conflict or
awkwardness if it is convenient and many Thais consume alcohol. The basic teachings of Buddhism are widely
known and play a huge role in the Thai worldview and the laidback attitude of
Thai people. Basically, the Buddha
taught suffering, the root of suffering, and how suffering could be
overcome. Another major theme in
Buddhism is that the world is always changing and impermanent. Life is a constant cycle of birth and
death. To see the world in this way is
somewhat liberating; accepting the impermanence of life can help you to value
your present reality much more. Also, if
there is no fixed and enduring soul that continues on after life, then there is
no need to take one’s self so seriously.
Like Robert Cooper says in his book about Thailand, “All Thais know that
life is suffering and almost all Thais seem to enjoy life to the full.” Theravada Buddhism is the branch that is
practiced in Thailand, but Thais definitely have their very own flavor of
Buddhism. Thais typically believe in
reincarnation, which isn’t technically Buddhist, and will “make merit” in
different ways to earn better future incarnations.
One
way that Thais might make merit, aside from following the Five Precepts, is to
give alms to monks early in the morning.
Buddhist temples are incredibly common throughout Thailand and among
their many other functions, serve as homes and schools to monks and novices of
all ages. All monks in Thailand are male
and wear orange robes. Every morning
between 6 and 7, monks walk through the city with an empty bowl to receive
alms, or offerings of food, from laypeople.
After placing the offering in the monk’s bowl, they will wai and bow
while the monks chant a blessing. The
virtue of giving and generosity is fundamental to Buddhism and Thais are well
aware of how giving benefits both others and one’s self. Monks receive the highest amount of respect
in Thailand, second only to the King.
While
the Royal Family in Thailand doesn’t necessarily hold any legislative power,
their influence is unprecedented. The
King is adored in Thailand, and while there are controversial rumors and
conspiracy theories regarding the King, I think he seems like a pretty good
dude. King Bhumibol is very interesting
– he was born in America, studied in Switzerland, plays amazing jazz music, and
has done loads for the country in terms of pioneering for better education and
helping combat drug problems, particularly with opium abuse. When the national anthem plays in Thailand,
everyone stops what he or she is doing to stand still and pay respect to the
King. This happens before any movie
begins and also happens during the evening in various locations. I was surprised the first time I heard it
play when I was at Chiang Mai University’s football field playing soccer. It took me a second to realize why everyone
had suddenly stopped playing and stood still but it has become something that
I’m quite accustomed to. It is illegal
to speak poorly of the King or to disrespect his image in any way but Thais
truly seem to love him anyway. A
photograph of the King or Queen is typically displayed in any restaurant or
shop you visit.
Without
understanding the weather here, you would be missing a key driver of culture
and behavior in Thai society. There are
three seasons in Thailand: hot season, rainy season and cool season (or as the
Thais would joke, hot, hotter, and hottest).
It is very hot and humid here; especially of course during hot
season. Songkran festival – where Thais
and farang all participate in a nationwide water fight – takes place in April,
the hottest month of the year. Hot days
see many Thai students drinking iced coffees, teas, and smoothies and tucking
themselves away in their air conditioned rooms or cafés. I think the weather is also responsible in
part for the major popularity of scooters, or “motorbikes” in Thailand as
well. A large part of life on hot days
is finding a way to cool your good self down and the breeze from a scooter ride
just about does the trick. One thing
that weather doesn’t affect as much as you might assume is dress. While it is common to see younger women in
sleeveless shirts and short shorts now, Thais generally dress pretty modestly. Students in university wear a button-up
collar shirt with either black trousers for a male or a long black skirt for a
female. A final thing I will mention
that weather certainly permits in Thai culture is appropriate conditions to
make nearly all food restaurants outdoor seating. Many spaces here are created with merely a
roof and seating underneath and a kitchen.
Fans will be placed strategically around the area to keep guests and
workers at the facility cool. I have
found that Thailand makes good use of fans, which are sort of underutilized now
in America. I also like the open-air
diners a lot for their free flowing nature and lack of distinction between
nature and the “human realm”. This is
just one of the elements that makes for a different dining experience in Thailand.
This
leads to my next topic of conversation, which is of course, Thai cuisine. Rightfully so, this serves as many people’s
favorite aspect of Thai culture. Thai
food utilizes a large array of herbs, spices, meats, vegetables and methods of
cooking to create what is in my opinion one of the best cuisines in the
world. Thai food is just as much about
it’s appearance as it is about its flavor; showcasing a wide array of colors in
many different tangles of texture, making it almost as fun to look at as it is
to eat! Aside from the intricate
preparation and flavors of Thai food, the way it is consumed is unique as
well. When eating, Thais typically hold
their spoon in the right hand with the fork in the left. Thai food is prepared with veggies and meats
already cut into bite size pieces so it is not necessary to eat with a
knife. You use the fork in your left
hand to help scoop food onto the spoon in your right hand. This makes eating a lot more effective and pleasurable
in my opinion; it is a style of consuming food that I think America should
follow! When eating things like noodle
soups in Thailand, you will likely use chopsticks and a special kind of
soupspoon that is unique to this country.
Noodles and rice are very important pieces of cuisine here, with rice
serving as the fundamental piece that most meals are built around. In Thai, when talking about going to eat
food, Thais will say “kin khao” which literally translates as “eat rice”. Out of respect for rice, the giver of life,
people don’t tend to leave any leftover rice on their plate – they eat it
all. If there is any rice left on a
plate, it is fed to the dogs so that none goes wasted.
The
stray animals that roam the streets of Thailand offer another stark difference
between Thai life and American life. Not
only are animals here seen
differently, they without a doubt are
vastly different from the dogs and cats we find in America. Thais view dogs more as protectors with a
responsibility to the family that feeds it, but never an actual member of the
family the way we oftentimes see our pets in the States. Dogs are typically not allowed inside and are
completely free to roam the streets and go where they please without the
intervention of an outside entity like Animal Control in America. Because of the freedoms they already have
here, dogs act much more relaxed than many in the States, where when a dog sees
another dog it often loses its shit and tugs at its leash to try to run and
greet the other. Dogs here generally
exist peacefully with humans although some show a little hostility toward
farang that they aren’t used to.
As
I said before, getting to know Thailand has been and will continue to be an
absolute blast. In one of my classes
here, we were recently discussing the apparent contradiction of time here. While the days seem to last longer here, time
as a whole seems to absolutely fly by.
My farang teacher offered an explanation for this phenomenon; being an
American himself, he too was perplexed by time after his initial move here. The conclusion he came to, which has rung
incredibly true in my life here, is that this is because everyday is such a
pleasure to live that you aren’t always looking forward to the weekend or
something else in the future. In
Thailand, you begin to find yourself enjoying Thai time, which is unbound and
moves naturally without force.
Punctuality is valued, but not strictly unforced and you start to notice
that for various increments of time, which seem to increase as the days unfold,
you are blissfully caught up in the moment.
The intoxication of Thailand is one unlike any I have experience and I
am so thankful to continue to ride the high for another five months.
