In short, Thailand by far has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life so far. This culture, its people and the environment that surrounds me everyday fits perfectly with what I need and want in my life at this point. One of the best ways to describe this culture is by one word... SMILE. Thailand and Thais, in general, are described as the friendliest people in the world and being here for almost a month, I will attest to this fact. Whether its walking down my dorm hallway or meeting a Thai for the first time, they always greet you with the biggest smile with friendliest demeanor possible. Living in Thailand has really shown me how mean, rude, loud, obnoxious and unkind our american culture can be. I have yet to meet a Thai that has shown any animosity towards me because of my foreigner status; in fact they show patience, respect and gratitude towards me. Imagine if a international student came up to you in the states and tried to introduce themselves in horrible broken english? How long will you stay patient?
The Thai culture is like nothing I have ever seen before. Their social norms, tendencies and attitudes are completely different from American and western cultures; however you can see a taste of globalization in many Thais. Thais are very materialistic. They love having the trendiest clothing and accessories. For instance my roommate insists on wearing his tight black jeans and fresh designer shirt along with a brand new pink watch followed by brand new red NIKE shoes to school (whereas I just wear the generic black pants with a tie and white shirt and black shoes) everyday. Furthermore, Thais are very vain. Every time you go into a bathroom or see a mirror there will always be a Thai doing themselves up. It was very odd for me at first to get onto an elevator with a bunch of Thais and see them all turn towards the mirror behind me and stare at themselves while fixing their hair the whole way up. A Thai friend of mine even takes a small mirror out with him so he doesn't have to get up at dinner to check himself out.... In American culture this would be considered strange, even gay but here everyone does it, it is their social norm. Another aspect that baffles me everyday is the fact that Thais think white is beautiful. They all want white skin. They fear the sun, because they do not want to be tan. When you walk through a convenience store soaps, lotions and body sprays all have WHITENING agents in them. I understand that this unique phenomenon not only occurs in Thailand but all throughout Asia. These social norms like I listed are just some of the few I see on a regular basis. Everyday I learn and see more and I hope to be able to explain and tell you all about them.
As I mentioned before briefly, the people and this culture are truly amazing... incredible. I have been very lucky with being set up with a great roommate and meeting tons of Thai friends. I know many kids on campus and go out with them all the time. In fact I have their numbers and they text me 24 7 (a Thai thing...they love using their phones and texting). I have also befriended an amazing kid by the name of Champ. Champ is a 22 year old senior here at Payap. He speaks perfect English and loves going out and showing me the best places to go. When I go out, Champ brings me to the best places to go in Chiang Mai (where there are zero westerns). Through Champ I have met so many great Thai people. The other night I went out with Champ and he brought three of his girl friends who are also seniors at a local university by the name of Chiang Mai University. These girls spoke good english and were very fun. In fact, two of these girls that we met brought us to the top of the Doi Suthep (a huge mountain the overlooks Chiang Mai). We watched the sunrise and I got home around 8:30 in the morning; another unique aspect of the Thai culture is they stay up all night long and party. I thought, as a college student, I knew how to party but the Thais are professionals. Below are a few pictures of my long night atop a Thai mountain. My trip to see the sunrise really justifies how nice and friendly Thais are.
-let the sun set
-conclusion
Champ is the man.
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haha yea man hes hooking me up
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