I arrived back at the Suvarnabhumi the other evening, right in the middle of rush hour. As i live on the Thonburi side, I told my taxi driver to take Kachanapisek around Bangkok and then in the short way to my home instead of going in through Bangkok proper and fighting the traffic. The driver kept complaining that this way was too far (going this route adds about 5 km to the trip, but then again, there is no traffic of which to speak.) I tried to explain to him that he will be getting more money on the meter while taking far less time, which is obviously to his advantage. Yet he still wanted to go through town, repeating the mantra that my way was too far. Finally, I just gave him no choice, and as I sat back, I will admit, the thought of "stupid Thai taxis drivers" flitted across my mind.And in reading this forum for several years now, I find this to be a trend amongst some posters here. One Thai woman cuts off her husband's member, and this is something all Thai women do regularly. One Thai woman with a foreign boyfriend has a Thai boyfriend on the side, and all Thai women in relationships with foreigners do the same. One Thai man abandons his pregnant Thai girlfriend, and all Thai men do that. One Thai man gets drunk each night in the village on cheap Thai rotgut, and all Thai men do thatBut when I consider my thought of "stupid Thai taxi drivers," too dumb to understand when something works out in their favor, I have to remember how stupid some people in my home country can be. You only have to go as far as "Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader" on TrueVIsion to see that the US has some pretty stupid people as well. Or when you stand in line after giving a cashier at the grocery store $11.75 for a $6.63 bill and watch her screw up her face in confusion as to why you gave her the extra $1.75 over the $10 bill, then try to figure out your change.Unless you are fluent in the local language, and maybe not even then, I think it is very difficult for a foreigner to really feel like a full-fledged member of a host culture. So there is always a little bit of an us-vs-them attitude present. And I think we tend to gloss over what is wrong within our home cultures, when we see the same things in the host culture, we brand that specific action as endemic to everyone in that culture. An American drunk driver who hits and kills a family of four back in Ohio is considered a bastard, a criminal, a social deviant who needs to be locked away. But a Thai drunk driver who hits and kills a family of four in Korat is just proof that all Thais are drunks, that they drive and drink, and that this is a reflection on Thai society. I know it is hard to do at times, but I think those of us who live here would lead happier lives if we didn
I arrived back at the Suvarnabhumi the other evening, right in the middle of rush hour. As i live on the Thonburi side, I told my taxi driver to take Kachanapisek around Bangkok and then in the short way to my home instead of going in through Bangkok proper and fighting the traffic. The driver kept complaining that this way was too far (going this route adds about 5 km to the trip, but then again, there is no traffic of which to speak.) I tried to explain to him that he will be getting more money on the meter while taking far less time, which is obviously to his advantage. Yet he still wanted to go through town, repeating the mantra that my way was too far. Finally, I just gave him no choice, and as I sat back, I will admit, the thought of "stupid Thai taxis drivers" flitted across my mind.And in reading this forum for several years now, I find this to be a trend amongst some posters here. One Thai woman cuts off her husband's member, and this is something all Thai women do regularly. One Thai woman with a foreign boyfriend has a Thai boyfriend on the side, and all Thai women in relationships with foreigners do the same. One Thai man abandons his pregnant Thai girlfriend, and all Thai men do that. One Thai man gets drunk each night in the village on cheap Thai rotgut, and all Thai men do thatBut when I consider my thought of "stupid Thai taxi drivers," too dumb to understand when something works out in their favor, I have to remember how stupid some people in my home country can be. You only have to go as far as "Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader" on TrueVIsion to see that the US has some pretty stupid people as well. Or when you stand in line after giving a cashier at the grocery store $11.75 for a $6.63 bill and watch her screw up her face in confusion as to why you gave her the extra $1.75 over the $10 bill, then try to figure out your change.Unless you are fluent in the local language, and maybe not even then, I think it is very difficult for a foreigner to really feel like a full-fledged member of a host culture. So there is always a little bit of an us-vs-them attitude present. And I think we tend to gloss over what is wrong within our home cultures, when we see the same things in the host culture, we brand that specific action as endemic to everyone in that culture. An American drunk driver who hits and kills a family of four back in Ohio is considered a bastard, a criminal, a social deviant who needs to be locked away. But a Thai drunk driver who hits and kills a family of four in Korat is just proof that all Thais are drunks, that they drive and drink, and that this is a reflection on Thai society. I know it is hard to do at times, but I think those of us who live here would lead happier lives if we didn
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