To all the non-Thai people on my friends list: If you come to Thailand (which is something that I highly recommend, whether it be to teach or just for a vacation), show some respect for the local culture here. Thai people are very reserved and polite and DO NOT yell or raise their voices at one another, except perhaps in very rare and serious situations. As a foreigner here, any issues that you might have with a Thai person (usually surrounding the price of something) would not justify raising your voice (as far as Thai culture is concerned). I get very annoyed when I see foreigners yelling at a Thai person. It's invariably over a very minor misunderstanding, which is more often than not the result of a language barrier and nothing more. I just had to step in and intervene when a middle aged North American man was berating a Thai restaurant manager. I was sitting at a table nearby, and I could see that the Thai man was extremely uncomfortable. He just kept apologizing to the foreign guy - of course he didn't argue back because Thai people don't behave that way - they're classier than that. In fact, that reserved, polite attitude that Thais have is one of the main reasons that I've chosen to remain in this country. Anyway, I got up and went over to the foreign dude and asked if I could help, just to divert his focus from the Thai man to me. I didn't say anything to aggravate him - I just calmly said that it's clear the Thai man doesn't understand what you are saying, and yelling at him won't solve the problem. His response? He'd "had a few" and was "pissed off" because the restaurant wouldn't deliver to his house like they usually do. I don't know enough Thai to act as a translator, so I just distracted him for a few minutes with small talk. He quickly forgot about being mad, and by the time his food was ready for take-out he was asking me to come "hang out and drink beer" with his friends. Ummm no thanks, buddy. But he did apologize to the restaurant manager on the way out, after I had that talk with him. The point that I'm trying to make by telling this long-winded story? Don't come to someone else's country with an air of entitlement...as though everyone there should be able to speak English to accommodate you. It should really be the other way around, actually! The fact that many Thais do speak English is a bonus. If you want to communicate properly with people (especially in small towns) then YOU need to learn THEIR language. Or, as I have, just accept that you won't always get exactly what you ask for at a restaurant, etc. And you can ditch your rude, aggressive, arrogant North American attitude at the border when you arrive. End of rant.