Quick update, there has been a struggle between the political opposition and the government here in Thailand. I am OK, no need to worry. My next post will be about the situation and hopefully help to explain it to foreign audiences. This situation is as confusing for Thais and it is for everyone else.
So two weeks ago, we had a lecture by a man named Tony Zola. He’s a American from upstate New York who came to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer and never left. He’s an international businessman working in agriculture here in Thailand and in bordering Laos. He’s the prototypical international citizen that Thomas Friedman and Fareed Zakaria would use as proof of the “flat” and “post-American” worlds. His task was to talk to us about living and working in Thailand. Here’s what he had to say along with my color commentary.
-“Be Patient”
-Everything is delayed. We, as a Fulbright group, have already become used to Thai time. You will never miss anything in Thailand by being five minutes late.
-“Have a sense of humor”
-This is the only thing that has made the America to Thailand adjustment at times.
-“Be humble”
-This goes beyond eschewing visible arrogance, rather it reflects a difference between Thai and American culture. Let me give an example. In the US, if someone were to compliment the shirt I was wearing, I would say “thank you.” I would say this to express gratitude and implicitly affirm their compliment. In Thailand, one would respond to such a compliment with something like:
-“Oh, this shirt is old.”
-“Oh no it’s not”
-“Oh it’s not mine. I borrowed it from a friend.”
In Thailand, you would never simply accept the compliment but you would deny vehemently, at times to a degree bordering on the ridiculous. That is how you show humility in Thailand.
-“Be helpful and show concern for others.”
-One must show the most Victorian of manners at all times. This is how one shows they are polite particularly as a farang (Thai word for foreigner). I have no proof of this but my sense in Thailand as been that it is assumed that farangs are universally less polite than your average Thai. So as a farang, it is my sense, one must work extra hard to dispel that. Further one must show instant empathy to any hardship that someone else is going through. If someone’s relative has died offer immediate condolescences. Again, this is not optional.
-“Seniority and hierarchy count for a lot”
Before I left, my mom (born and raised in Nigeria) remarked that America has always seemed strange to her because of the relative lack of importance of seniority and hierarchy. At the way that a 20 year old and 40 year old can and do address each other as equals for example. “Age just doesn’t seem to count.” I have thought about that a lot since I arrived in Thailand because there is a clear hierarchy here based on age and authorityand you are expected to know your place within it. Whenever I met a Thai person who was older than me, they would always ask me how old I was. I thought this was just them trying to get to know me but I later found out that Thais ask this of each other all the time whether they seem to be of the same age group or not. They do this to know who is above them and below them in this age hierarchy and whether to address them as Pee(older sibling) or Nong (younger sibling). Age determines who should say hello first in a first meeting, who wais (I’ll explain that one later) and how low someones bows while they do.
-“Go to the market to practice your Thai.”
Totally true, that’s where I’ve gotten the most practice particularly around buying food..
-“Never say anything negative about Thailand or Thainess more broadly.:
-The amount of national pride is prodigious particularly over the fact that Thailand was never colonized.
-“Deal with conflicts individually, never in meetings. Someone could lose face.”
-“Saving face”, making sure that no one is embarrassed or their reputation besmirched in public, is a defining concept of Thai culture. Among adults, bringing up a conflict or problem in a group setting is taboo because someone could lose face in the process. You might win the battle but lose a relationship by burning a bridge. This disinclination for public conflict permeates the country to the point where no one speaks about the fact that a mob has occupied the Thai equivalent of the White House for almost two months (more on that in next post).
-“Mai bpen rai” (Thai for no problem or it doesn’t matter)
-Being flexible is key. Never ever get visibly mad over changes in schedule or delays. They will happen and if you get visibly, you are the one who loses face and no one else.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Old Capital City
Our entire Fulbright crew initially had very grand plans for our first weekend in Bangkok but we quickly succumbed to our jet lag and spent that first Saturday and Sunday sleeping ourselves into sync with our time zone. So the weekend of the 27th, we decided to be more ambitious and we decided to make about two hours north of Bangkok to the city of Ayutthaya, one of Thailand’s capital cities.
Thai history can be divided into three periods; the Sukhothai period (about 200 years long), the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), and the Rattanoskin or Bangkok period (1782-present). Each period of history is marked by the move of the capital city to Sukhothai, Ayutthaya or Bangkok. Ayutthaya now is one of Thailand major historical sites outside of Bangkok and huge tourist attraction.
We took a train from Hua Lamphong (the Bangkok Grand Central) an hour and a half north to the city. We rode in 3rd class for 30 baht (35 baht=1 dollar). However, 3rd class has no air guarantee for an actual seat and no air conditioning, the latter point makes for an uncomfortable ride in one of the most humid countries on the face of the earth.
When we got to the city, we decided to go on foot and see what we could see. We quickly became disenchanted with this because we realized that Ayutthaya was way bigger than it looks on a map and also it had at least ninety degrees that day. However, we ended seeing our first wat (Thai word for temple or holy site) of the day. This wat easily covered an acre and the ruins of the wat that once stood there rivaled many of the buildings that I used to walk by in New York. There is no way see these ruins, to walk among them and not feel incredibly impressed and also incredibly small. That feeling stayed with me the entire day as we saw about four other wats that day in the city. In regard to the wats was a profound sadness that most Americans have and will never get to see these sites, never get the awesome proof about what a deep history Thai people, and Southeast Asia as a whole, have. Instead of a proud people, Thailand may simply remain a place from whence comes pad thai and Thai iced tea or one of those places that they confuse with China on a map.
Alongside the powerful history that one will see Ayutthaya you will also see a heavy western tourist influence in the city. When we took a tuk tuk (small Thai taxi that looks similar to a golf cart) to the main street in Ayutthaya to get some lunch, we had our hearts set on some type of Thai food. That proved difficult to find however but the eating establishments that proved plentiful were Thai adaptations of KFC, McDonald, and the other food chains that we all know and love/loath. I was initially surprised but I shouldn’t have been. For better or for worse, this is a product of globalization what I hope to study when I get back to the states.
As we went to each wat, those tourists who Buddhist would wai the Buddha figure, get on their knees and commune with the universe about their place in it. Most of the foreigners who were there were by and large very respectful, almost never taking pictures of people at prayer (or the Buddhist equivalent) and always asking before they took photos of everyone else. There was a respectful gingerness of the tourists even as they walked through the wats which gave me a certain amount of comfort. But as I walked past the monks who temples these were I wished my Thai were better. I wished it were better so that I could ask them how they felt about their holy sites being a tourist magnet? Did it interrupt or fray how they lived their lives? If it did, how did they feel about that? Was it always this way? If it wasn’t, would you go back if you could?
Chike
Thai history can be divided into three periods; the Sukhothai period (about 200 years long), the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), and the Rattanoskin or Bangkok period (1782-present). Each period of history is marked by the move of the capital city to Sukhothai, Ayutthaya or Bangkok. Ayutthaya now is one of Thailand major historical sites outside of Bangkok and huge tourist attraction.
We took a train from Hua Lamphong (the Bangkok Grand Central) an hour and a half north to the city. We rode in 3rd class for 30 baht (35 baht=1 dollar). However, 3rd class has no air guarantee for an actual seat and no air conditioning, the latter point makes for an uncomfortable ride in one of the most humid countries on the face of the earth.
When we got to the city, we decided to go on foot and see what we could see. We quickly became disenchanted with this because we realized that Ayutthaya was way bigger than it looks on a map and also it had at least ninety degrees that day. However, we ended seeing our first wat (Thai word for temple or holy site) of the day. This wat easily covered an acre and the ruins of the wat that once stood there rivaled many of the buildings that I used to walk by in New York. There is no way see these ruins, to walk among them and not feel incredibly impressed and also incredibly small. That feeling stayed with me the entire day as we saw about four other wats that day in the city. In regard to the wats was a profound sadness that most Americans have and will never get to see these sites, never get the awesome proof about what a deep history Thai people, and Southeast Asia as a whole, have. Instead of a proud people, Thailand may simply remain a place from whence comes pad thai and Thai iced tea or one of those places that they confuse with China on a map.
Alongside the powerful history that one will see Ayutthaya you will also see a heavy western tourist influence in the city. When we took a tuk tuk (small Thai taxi that looks similar to a golf cart) to the main street in Ayutthaya to get some lunch, we had our hearts set on some type of Thai food. That proved difficult to find however but the eating establishments that proved plentiful were Thai adaptations of KFC, McDonald, and the other food chains that we all know and love/loath. I was initially surprised but I shouldn’t have been. For better or for worse, this is a product of globalization what I hope to study when I get back to the states.
As we went to each wat, those tourists who Buddhist would wai the Buddha figure, get on their knees and commune with the universe about their place in it. Most of the foreigners who were there were by and large very respectful, almost never taking pictures of people at prayer (or the Buddhist equivalent) and always asking before they took photos of everyone else. There was a respectful gingerness of the tourists even as they walked through the wats which gave me a certain amount of comfort. But as I walked past the monks who temples these were I wished my Thai were better. I wished it were better so that I could ask them how they felt about their holy sites being a tourist magnet? Did it interrupt or fray how they lived their lives? If it did, how did they feel about that? Was it always this way? If it wasn’t, would you go back if you could?
Chike
Khao, Khao, Khao, Khao, Khao (How are those all different words)
Our Thai language instruction has begun. Our teacher is Soison Saksorat, but we call her Pee Nan. Nan is her nickname and Pee means big brother or big sister in Thai. As we have begun to learn, once you enter a familiar relationship with any elder in Thailand they will allow you to call them by your nickname. Pee Nan got her Ph.D in London and has been teaching in Thailand for a number of years. She is exceedingly enthusiastic, patient and kind. She has taken a lot of time to teach us Thai but also answer questions about her culture and her country. And boy, do we have a lot of questions, myself in particular. But she takes them all in stride.
So good things about the Thai language.
No plurals
No verb tenses or conjugations
No verbs at all in some sentences
So frustrating things about the Thai language.
Forty-two consonants and twenty-one vowels
The Thai understanding of vowel and consonants is totally different from English
Five tones, each tone can give each word a radically different meaning
Direct translation from Thai to English is very difficult.
So I’ve gleaned some things about Thai culture through studying their language. These are just generalizations that I have formed in my mind after being in their country for only a week. I put them forward with the disclaimer they may be disproved later and flow only from my short experience here.
There is a constant emphasis on being polite and making sure feelings are never hurt. As Pee Nan tells us almost every lesson, we are learning the “polite way” to say things. No disagreement should ever be voiced to sharply and or any request to forcefully. The concern for the feelings of others reflected in the Thai language is alternately refreshing, particularly as someone who has spent the last few years in New York City. At the same time, I have chafed under it because I feel that many tensions that bubble below the surface are either not voiced or voiced in a much more subdued way than is warranted. These are my observations so far and they may prove to be totally wrong later but I’ll stick to them now. More posts on the way.
Chike
So good things about the Thai language.
No plurals
No verb tenses or conjugations
No verbs at all in some sentences
So frustrating things about the Thai language.
Forty-two consonants and twenty-one vowels
The Thai understanding of vowel and consonants is totally different from English
Five tones, each tone can give each word a radically different meaning
Direct translation from Thai to English is very difficult.
So I’ve gleaned some things about Thai culture through studying their language. These are just generalizations that I have formed in my mind after being in their country for only a week. I put them forward with the disclaimer they may be disproved later and flow only from my short experience here.
There is a constant emphasis on being polite and making sure feelings are never hurt. As Pee Nan tells us almost every lesson, we are learning the “polite way” to say things. No disagreement should ever be voiced to sharply and or any request to forcefully. The concern for the feelings of others reflected in the Thai language is alternately refreshing, particularly as someone who has spent the last few years in New York City. At the same time, I have chafed under it because I feel that many tensions that bubble below the surface are either not voiced or voiced in a much more subdued way than is warranted. These are my observations so far and they may prove to be totally wrong later but I’ll stick to them now. More posts on the way.
Chike
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