Observations of Thais and Thailand

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** Thais use both a spoon and a fork when they eat. They move both simultaneously-ish; the fork is used like a shovel to move the food onto the spoon and then the spoon brings the food to the mouth.
I saw my friend Vorapat do this back in the States and I thought it was just him, but today I saw all the Thais eating like that in the mall food court (yes, I went to the mall, again).


** The skimpy T-shirt and bare midriff style of dress has not arrived yet in Thailand. Neither has facial piercings..


** There are way too many customer service jobs. Inside the department stores there seems to be someone standing next to every other rack and ready to help you pick out your clothes. At the place where you can pay your mobile and dsl bill, there is a lady who sits near the door, whose job is to push a button that prints out a number and then you wait for your number to be called to be served.


** At 6pm, when the national anthem is being played, everyone stands still! I was just entering the skytrain station today around 6pm when I noticed that no one was moving. I was so confused... I thought maybe everyone was standing in invisible lines (for the ticket machine, for the change machine, for the coffee stall) and so I stood there for a few seconds myself, trying to figure out which of these invisible lines I should join (nothing says "I'm a native" more than standing in the right line!). And then a moment later everyone started moving again. Almost as if the pause button was turned on and then off.


And this last one... really bites.

** They don't recycle. Not even aluminum cans! How can this be?!

GRr.

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Comments

[Wendy]

lines
Wow, so the whole country stands still at 6pm everyday? And there is a loud speaker that everyone can hear, the whole country? Imagine playing something as a joke over that thing.

[ann]

whats going on?
Hi, What is happining politically over there? My daughter is planning to do an exchange for a year in Chantaburi but I hear the situation is escalating to the point of a "State of Emergency"

[K. Pipat]

Observations on Thailand.
Hello, Please have my comments on your observations. - Yes, we use fork and spoon with rice dishes. We also use chopsticks when we eat noodles. - It is more likely that bare midriff dress is not well accepted here than not having arrived yet as understood. Some Thai bar girls may wear this style of dress but few other Thai women find the fashion desirable. - Fashion comes and goes but I am sure I have seen countless skimpy T-shirts in Thailand. - Probably facial/body piercing is not our taste. Thais do not find pierced noses, lips or belly buttons very appealing. Earlobe piercing for wearing earrings is always OK. - Yes, there is too much customer service in Thailand. - Yes, we stand when national and the King's anthems are being played. National anthem is played on radio and TV twice a day at 8:00am and 6:00pm when national flags at government offices nationwide are raised and lowered. The King's anthem is played at ceremonies or gatherings upon the arrival and departure of a royal dignitary and in the theatres before each show. - The Thais are a master of recycle. We have been doing this decades before this word becomes popular. That you did not see pre-separation of garbage does not mean that we do not recycle it. Disposed paper, glass bottles, plastic, metals, rubber and wood all finally go to recycle plants or are put into new good uses. Have a good time!

[judylay]

I don't know if the WHOLE country stands still...
And I don't even know where the sound (anthem) is coming from. There's *A LOT* of noise in Thailand. When I was entering the skytrain station I was also exiting the mall so there was a mixture of street traffic noise and mall music. I didn't hear it myself, probably because I wasn't listening for it.

[judylay]

What's happening in the country? Not too sure.
I was told by my friend and his family that there's a lot of protesting near the Royal Palace. If I wanted to see, sure, but don't try to get too close and get caught up in it. I was riding in a taxi yesterday and circled the area but I didn't see any protesters at that time. The metal barricades were up (like the kind at rock concerts), and there was some police presence, but it didn't feel dangerous at all. Right now my hosts are eating dinner and watching the news; they're showing protesters sitting on the ground waving Thai flags. I'm in Bangkok, there doesn't feel to be a "state of emergency". People are just going about their business.

[judylay]

Good to know re: recycle!
I didn't know that the separation happens after. So now I can throw things away with abandon?! j/k. :-) I'm having a relatively good time, compared to working.