Tag Archives: expat

Jul16

Midyear Update Part II

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Here are a few more tidbits I want to share about life here in Bangkok:

We have become fairly adept at identifying ladyboys, although sometimes it’s a helluva challenge. There’s a gorgeous one at our hair salon: long silky hair, immaculate make-up, fashion magazine features, and curves in all the right places. The only visual that gave him away was the size of his feet. And later, I heard him speak in his man-voice. That, of course, clinched it. There also girls who dress and walk like dudes, who beg the question: is she or isn’t she? Or should I say: is she or is he?

It is way more common to see an expat man with a Thai wife or girlfriend, than the other way round. So, every now and then, our little family gets some extra attention. As Alaric can pass for Thai, we sometimes receive looks of interest. And I’m totally amused when the waiter presents me with the bill, like I’m the sugar mama!

It took some time to get used to being called “Madam” (pronounced as “Madaaam” in an exclamatory tone) or “Ma’am” (pronounced as “Mawm”). That said, it certainly beats listening to the laboured attempts to say “Melanie” right. Alaric is often called “Alaleek”, which is always fun to say.

When my kids make a mistake, with homework for instance, they exclaim the Thai equivalent of “Aww man!”: “Ohhhoyyy!”

The kids receive an inordinate amount of attention for their mixed-race look, as often by random passersby as by known acquaintances. Becca’s symmetrical features – particularly her nose – are “beautifoool”, and Keeran is “so cute and sooo whiiite”. Pert noses and pale skin are admired and sought. The desire for certain Western features and lighter skin are evident on store shelves, in advertisements, cosmetic surgery practices, and even salon services. In addition, looking young is widely encouraged and expected. This is the case the world over, but here, unlike North America, political correctness does not prevail. Alaric is regularly teased and called an old man because of his grey hair, even though the rest of him is unwrinkled and fit. And my hairdresser, upon seeing my stray greys, exclaimed in an alarmed and shocked tone, “Madaaam! Your hair!” With her reaction, you’d think I was walking about with the back of my skirt tucked into my waistband.

Finally, we have learnt to wai properly. Well, Becca taught us, as she learnt the right way in Thai class at school. While it’s not necessary for a farang to wai, it’s an effective way to show courtesy and respect, which goes a long way here. When in Rome, nuh?

Taken in the first month of our arrival in Bangkok

Taken in the first month of our arrival in Bangkok

 

 

Jul8

Midyear Update Part I

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I thought it time to talk about how we’re adjusting to our new environment, and about some everyday observations. But just so you know, as this is a family-oriented blog, I’ll omit red light entertainment and “sexpat” commentary. On this blog, in any case.

Life in Thailand suits us, it seems. After years of countryside and small town living, I admit it was a bit of a shock to settle in the big city for all of us. Even after eight months, the kids still ooh and aah over the tall buildings, elevators, escalators, bright lights, and creative architecture. Alright, the adults do too. We haven’t quite got used to the crowds and traffic, but have accepted them as a fact of city life.

We have learnt a few lessons too:

We know not to wear regular flip-flops except for quick supermarket runs, since dirt finds its way to the top of our feet, no matter how carefully we step. Platforms or closed-toes are our trusty friends.

We know not to leave the umbrella at home in the rainy season, because we will get soaked on the days we do leave it behind.

We know never to leave home without a little packet of tissues; it is by far the single most useful beauty product in one’s bag. From patting a sweaty face (frequently), to wiping a dubious lunch table (occasionally), to mopping up nosebleeds (rarely), these babies come in handy again and again.

Learning Thai, even a few basic sentences, has proven essential. Even in our expat-populated area, there are fewer English-speaking Thais than you would assume. Often, we tentatively say our one good Thai sentence, only to have the Thai speaker rattle off a long line of Thai, leaving us floundering and scrambling for our back-up phrase: “I speak Thai a little, a little!”

We also realize that when we do speak English, we need to adopt a peculiar dialect to be understood. We omit “the”, “a”, and the plural “s”, and say the number after the noun: “You have shirt, red colour?” or “I take Coke two”.  There are a few phrases that only work in Thailand; for example, say you want to know if the store can fulfill a certain request. You say what you want, then conclude with the all-important question: “Can?” To which the store person will reply “Can!” or “Sorry, cannot.” Or, say you are shown a red shirt but want it in blue. You say, “I want same same but different.” This statement is so popular, you can actually buy t-shirts printed with “Same same but different”. A tongue-in-cheek homage to Thai popular culture.

My friend Thereza, a fellow expat, now begins her shopping negotiations with, “I live here, give me Thai price, not farang price.” And it usually works too!

More to come soon…