A Tale From A Thai
I've been reading the readers' submissions in your website for a while and thought I should write one. Unlike most of the submissions here, my story is about my life abroad in Farangland and I'm a Thai girl, a normal Thai girl of course. Maybe this will give you some ideas about my opinions of life in Farangland, more specifically, in Europe.
I'm in my mid 20s and have been studying for a Master's Degree in a non-English speaking country in Europe for 4 years already. I'm from a good family in Bangkok. My parents are both well-educated.
I'm now living in a medium-sized town in this country. There're about 200,000 people living here, and 10% of them are students. It's known as a university town with its 500-year-old university. Although it's not the oldest university in this country, it has good reputation in the international level. This town is, however, small, compared to Bangkok. My life is much more simpler here. I can walk from my room to my institute, and it takes only 3-5 minutes. In Bangkok it took me about 1 hour in the morning from home to the university and 2.5 hours to get back home in the evening.
I find this town beautiful. Yeah, it's one of the most popular domestic destinations for vacations among people here, especially in summer. In the town center there's a main street, where you can find shopping centers and restaurants on both sides, like Siam Square or Silom. There're not many things to see in town, because 90% of the town was destroyed during the second World War. There're just a cathedral, a few old buildings and museums which are interesting. The town is surrounded by the mountains, and out there the landscape is very beautiful, green nature which I can't find in Bangkok. The region here is the warmest part of this country. In summer the temperature reaches 38 C during the day. Fortunately, I have a small fan in my room. But, most of the laboratories, lecture rooms, and libraries here don't have air-conditioning. 38 Celsius without air-con…I want to die. Well, the summer is still far away from now. Here it's still cold. The spring still doesn't come. If you ask me what I hate the most in this country, I would say the weather. In winter it's damned cold. Cold and freezing. I now understand why farangs do enjoy summer a lot. Farangs like sunshine. Whenever the weather is nice and the sun shines, I usually see farangs sitting outside and sun-bathing, so that they can make their skin a bit tanned. It's the opposite to Thais. You can easily notice this in Bangkok. Yeah, Thais don't love sunshine as much as farangs do. You know, tanned skin women are not considered attractive in Thailand. But in my opinion, white- or light-skin sometimes looks too plain.
Most farangs here couldn't guess from my appearances that I'm from Thailand. Some asked me if I'm from China or Japan. Though I have light-skin, big eyes and I don't think I look like Mhuay (a Thai word for Chinese-looking girls) at all. Once I went to an internet cafe in town, a guy who sat near me asked me curiously if I'm from the Asian part of Russia (maybe because I'm tall). He could hardly believe me as I said I'm Thai…Ha ha ha, I just knew that day that I look like Russian girls.
My mom and dad are both strict. I must behave myself like a good girl while living in Thailand. No nightlife is allowed. I've never been in any bars or pubs or discotheques in Thailand. My first time in a disco and pub was here in Farangland. However, I don't enjoy going to those places. People smoke a lot, and after I'm out of there my clothes smell like cigarettes, and I can't wear them anymore on the next days. After midnight you can hardly find the bars here that are still opened. There're very few, mostly in the area near the central train station. People here don't care much whether the bars will close at midnight or at 2 am. On the other hand, they will call the police if their neighbors make a loud noise after 10 pm.
Even if I can speak 2 foreign languages fluently and don't have any financial problems, I find it hard to live here. Farang culture and mentality are totally different from Thai culture. People are cold like the cold weather in winter. I can hardly see people smile. The cost of living is high. Everything is expensive. Nevertheless, I like farangs' disciplines and straightforwardness. Thais don't criticize someone directly. It's sort of we don't want to have conflicts with anyone and don't want to make someone lose face. Sometimes I find it hard to say no to someone when they offer something to me, because I feel 'Kreng Jai' and don't want them to lose face when I refuse.
Some of your readers said Thais don't think or plan for the future and live only in the present. Well, I know, farangs do plan a lots for their futures, for instance, what they're going to do on the first, second, third…days during their vacations. While Thais usually do what we feel is sanook sanook. If we don't have fun to do that activity anymore, we'll just change to do something else and don't stick to the timetable. Planning for the future is good, but if you plan too much and can't get all those things in your plan done, you'll have stress. From my point of view, the present is more important than the past or the future. You can only learn from the past, but can't correct it. On the other hand, if you do your best in the present, you'll have a better future, so is my philosophy.
How's it to be a (normal) Thai girl abroad? Some farangs don't believe me that I come here to study. Once my friend who married a farang guy invited me to join her for lunch at home. I met one of her guests, who, at first, didn't believe I'm a student. After introducing myself, he asked me immediately if I could tell him the names of the professors at my institute, because he had a friend who worked there. Maybe he thought I came here to sell my pussy or something like that? Ok, I had nothing to lie. So I told him the names of some professors at my department (first and last name). He was then convinced. I know Thai girls don't have good reputation here, but it doesn't mean all Thai girls are hookers. Some of you just get involved only with the bargirls, and make your own conclusion that all Thai girls are like that. Prostitutions are everywhere in the world. And I can't say that farang girls are the same as farang hookers. I have read from some forums in internet that someone asked if he would have any problem with the customs at the airport if he brought 50 condoms to Thailand. Yuck, disgusting… I just wonder if farang hookers are so boring, that he had to make a 'special' fucking trip to Thailand to have his exotic sexual experience with Thai hookers.
Once I applied for my Master's Degree, I had to have my Bachelor's Degree's transcript stamped and certified by the embassy of this country in Bangkok. I went to the embassy in the morning, turned in my document, and had to wait in a room. Suddenly, a farang guy with a Thai girl came in. Maybe they had to get some documents certified for the marriage, I thought. They sat right opposite to me. The guy was young and good-looking. But the girl, oh, I don't know how to describe her. I didn't care much whether that girl was beautiful or ugly. She looked in fact like a typical bargirl. Not only unattractive, but also has bad manners. She came to the embassy, but dressed like being in a bar. She showed affection to her boyfriend as if she wouldn't care that there were also other people sitting there. I don't know how that guy could marry such a girl. How will she teach and educate their children in the future. Anyway, it's none of my business. I don't look down on the bargirls. Some of them do their jobs because they want to escape poverty, and think that life abroad would be their solution. And they can have a better life than in Thailand, where they have no future except being bargirls.
Unfortunately, Farangland is not a paradise as what they thought. Most of them come here without knowing any foreign languages, and know just only slang English words used in a bar. They get together with Thai girls from the same background, do nothing but playing cards or gambling. There're only a few Thai girls from that background, who attend the language courses or make their lives better. Some were dumped by their farang husbands and continue selling their pussy in a brothel. I don't know who can solve the problems of Thai prostitutes abroad. It would be better if someone can give those women the facts about life in Farangland before they come and suggest to them how they can make their life better and more valuable. However, as I read some articles in your website, some said you can take the bargirls out of the bars, but can't take the bars away from the bargirls. Maybe they think working as hookers can make more money than doing other jobs (yeah, it's true.), and they don't have to use their brains much.
Well, life goes on. I'm glad to have an opportunity to continue my study abroad. I've learned and experienced lots of things, including foreign cultures. However, Farangland is not my paradise, and I will immediately get out of here after I graduate. Although the weather in Thailand is very hot, the traffic in Bangkok is terrible and the air is polluted, I feel myself at home. I miss you, Thailand.
Stickman says:
Nice story indeed, and always VERY interesting to hear from Thai readers.