The Thai Personality - Countdown 14

Today's song is: Times .. they are a Changin .. Bob Dylan, sung by Tracy Chapman

SongKran carnage up. Songkran death toll rises to 259. http://bit.ly/1Vp3U3E #BangkokPos

I sometimes get asked what Thai people are like. I must admit, I know much more about Thai women as I know very few Thai men. I decided to ask Google (Thavorn tells me Google knows everything) and I came up with some good websites:

http://www.livingthai.org/41-different-thai-personality-traits.html
The above site seems to have an author that is similar to me.

http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Thailand/sub5_8c/entry-3219.html
This would be the politically correct description. Even quotes the Lonely Planet :-)

http://www.aswetravel.com/5-things-ive-learnt-about-thai-people-while-in-thailand/
The above if from someone who visited Thailand and thinks they got the Thai people all figured out.

Three very different websites and 3 very different (but same same sometimes) descriptions of the definitive Thai.

I mentioned in past blogs that I have coached basketball for over 30 years and 1600 games. It was only after about 10 years of coaching (5 undefeated seasons, 6 league titles) that I began to realize how little I knew about the game of basketball. With that in mind, and 6 years of Thai experience (4 years full time in Thailand) I offer up my observations of the Thai personality (mostly lo-so).

1. Thais live in the present. What happened yesterday if water under the bridge, best forgotten, and hence, little learned from. What happens tomorrow will happen, so why worry about, or plan for it. Thai will never Go Moon :-) Because of this, Thais are basically happy.

2. Thais have little ambition. I often joke with Thais that they eat, sleep, and watch TV (substitute Facebook now).

3. Thais have no concept of their place in the world. I love to show that Thailand can be dropped into Lake Superior. Their school system tells them they are superior. They have never been colonized. My brief study of Macro Economics in University taught me a country needs 3 things to be successful. Natural Resources, cheap power, and cheap labor. I suspect Thailand was never colonized because they had very little natural resources so the major colonizing countries passed them by. I would argue, that their cheap labor has resulted in economic colonization in the 21st Century.

4. Thais are resentful of others success and will talk behind that person's back. I believe this is the cause of their political situation failing so many times over the past 50 years. Ying Yang is a Chinese kind of thing that Thais do not embrace.

5. Thais will save face over everything else. They will tell you what you want to hear. If you ask for directions they will give you directions rather than admit they do not know. However, they love to demonstrate what they do know well and are always willing to help solve a problem. I think that is the karma kind of kicking in. What goes around comes around. If something is embarrassing in Thai history, it will not appear in Thai history books.

6. Thai women will do whatever is necessary for them and their family to survive. What they do will be overlooked by their family as long as they are a good provider. In Thai society, the kids look after the parents when they get older, which is very different than North American society where the kids are looking for handouts from their parents. Much of this is economics and the lack of a social system to support the aged.

7. Thais know how to have fun. They love sex and do not have religion telling them what they can and can't do. They love to drink, but sometimes to excess.

8. Thais are nosy. I can't walk down my street without Thais asking me, 'Where You GO?', 'Where Jaidan?', etc.

9. Thais are narcissistic and have embarrassed Facebook as their vehicle for displaying their narcissism. Girls can often been seen on the street or on the subway, preening to their smart phones, taking the pic and posting to their Facebook page. Whenever something is posted, then it too, is posted for all their friends to 'LIKE'. Gold is valued over money as gold can be worn to show how well they are doing in life. Next to gold, objects of desire are the latest smartphones from Samsung and Apple as well as Rado watches.

10. Thais are really honest about somethings. Do you have a boyfriend? Does he know you work in a bar? Does your momma know?, How much do you weigh?, How old are you?, will all be answered honestly.  Questions such as, You think I am handsome?, You like me? will all be answered in a manner that will tell you what the Thai person thinks you will want to hear. Thais have no problem lying to save face for them or you.

The reason for today's song is that, indeed, times are a changing and the internet is having a huge impact on the current generation of 15-45 year olds.

I guess I will stop here for today as Thavorn is bored (Did I mention Thais are easily bored?) and we have to go to Big C for some groceries.

TTYL