While life in this country can be crazy and unpredictable, there is one thing about my experiences that will always be true: I ain't from around these parts. No matter how many Thai words I learn to pronounce correctly (currently I can do about four)or how many fish ball soups I slurp down, I will never be mistaken for anything close to a local. I am and forever will be a "farang", an alien chick weaving my way through busy Bangkok streets.
At first, I felt some frustration with my foreigner status. The stares from little kids on the subway were off-putting, as was the "Welcome to Thailand, you want buy sex DVD?" line I got everyday on the walk home from my teaching course. I mean, really. Does being from a Western country automatically make me a sex-DVD sale candidate? Do I LOOK like I want to buy a sex DVD?
...Anyway. Those were the feelings of frustration I felt during my first few weeks here in the Land of Smiles. But after being here for four months, I've found that I'm pretty used to my status as an alien visiting Bangkok from outer space. In fact, I think I've grown quite attached to it. I've now realized that being a "farang" is actually extremely liberating. Look at it this way: in the eyes of the Thai's, whatever I do is weird/fascinating/hilarious, and a whole list of other adjectives. So I might as well do whatever the heck I want. Let's say I'm walking to work and I feel like singing along to a random Christmas carol that pops up on my iPod's shuffle. What do I do? I sing my freaking heart out. The people surrounding me are Buddhist and I'm blonde; for all they know today is Christmas day and I'm the next Britney Spears. Or maybe I'm at the park, and I start to feel the delirium brought on every-so-often by the Bangkok heat. Gosh, those sprinklers spraying over the lawn look pretty refreshing. Maybe I'll just take a few quick paces through them, just to avoid heat stroke. Twenty minutes later I'm soaked and playing a game of tag with a group of ten year-old Thai boys. Whatever. I'm a "farang".
So in my quest to "blend in" to the best of my ability, I've overlooked one key thing: being a foreigner in this country gives you a status of complete and utter freedom. You can sing in public, run through sprinklers, and pick your nose on a crowded metro(not that I ever do that...awkward...), and pass it off like it's just how we live in our native "Farang-Land". And the Thai's are none-the-wiser. Sometimes being an alien pays off.
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Oh my God, you are hilarious. And thank you so much for your "ex-pat" perspective. Your father has always been one, but unfortunately he could pass as a native, so people got confused when he took his pants off in class. He would just smile at them with that "it's what we all do in Yorkshire" kind of look that made everyone hope they would never be forced to travel to Huddersfield for any reason.
ReplyDeleteI, on the other hand, have felt like an alien in my own home town but tried to cover it up by avoiding sprinklers -- though I did jump in the fountain at Longwood Gardens once -- with all my clothes on, of course.
As for Sex DVD's, I am actually quite grateful for them, as they probably are the reason that the capitalists of Bangkok ended the demonstrations which might have eventually impacted Sex DVD sales. Count on business to foster world peace when it is convenient. Maybe that is what we are doing wrong in Afghanistan??? But that is definitely a topic for another day.
Your comments are funny and enlightening. Knowing your mom, it hardly surprises me. I am also taken with your traffic photo; it is not unlike the view I see coming up Wilshire Blvd. to see my daughter including the Samsung sign on the right (there is a very similar one on Wilshire.) So, while you may always be unique, much is becoming more the same. However, I applaud your freedom of self expression and would love to be able to have that no matter where I am.
ReplyDeleteBootie!!!! You are a wonderful writer. Keep it up! I laughed my way through the post, and shared it with Elizabeth and Louisa. You may hear from them as well! Whenever you are ready to come to Barnstable.............
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