Warning, Don't Take This Back to the US

Post by **parrot** » May 16, 2014, 9:02 pm

I've been meaning to issue a warning to anyone who's lived here for a few years and decides to go back to their home country (visit or otherwise).

There are two things you might have learned during your stay here that would be dangerous to practice elsewhere.
One is the idea that's it's perfectly normal, actually encouraged, to call a newborn Thai baby "ugly". Actually, the translation of น่าเกลียด (naa gliiat) comes out to ugly, horrible, hate-able, disgusting, awful. I'd dare say your best friend's American wife would chuck a machete or a boiling vat of chicken fat at your private parts if you called her newly born any of that. But here, it's normal normal......."Oh, look.......น่าเกลียดจังเลย". Thais will think you've just heaped the ultimate praise on their newborn.

The second caution concerns the ease at which Thais call women อ้วน (uaan)......Thai for 'fatty' or 'fatso'. I've seen people (Americans and Thais) met by Thais at the local airports here......and the first or second word out of their mouth after "Look, it's fatso/fatty. I'd guess you'd be eating a Samsonite (large size) if you tried that trick back in the US.....no matter whether she's a friend of family member.

Our daughter married into an immigrant Italian family....the father-in-law still speaking with a thick Sicilian accent after 51 years in the US. I guess it's okay to call women there 'fat' because he still does so in the US. Knowing that a very overweight friend of our daughter was going to be at the wedding, she made her father-in-law swear that he wouldn't call her friend 'fat' at the ceremony. He obliged....but as the wine and liquor flowed at the wedding party, everyone held their breaths that he wouldn't slip.

Post by **panick** » May 16, 2014, 9:54 pm

Italians love plump/chubby women that can marry and breed!

Post by **mortiboy** » May 16, 2014, 10:06 pm

Yes It is strange. Here You can call someone fat (oo-un, or pom pooee) They just laugh. Dont bother them at all
But in the western world. You daren't say "Wow you fat b**tard! Not nice!

My missus is not fat but getting a bit. I never say, but SHE does!
I see some really Ugly babies some times.l Some look like "kin alien they do!
They say Soo-ay mai? (beautiful?) I say "Mmm sooay"
Easy say that ! Worse scenario is when they plonk it in your arms
Wahhhhh!

Post by **Sakhonnick** » May 17, 2014, 8:31 am

I really cant get my head round this post

Are you saying if one has learned these thai phrases they would go back and say it to a Thai in the states? in Thai? cause im sure any guy who grew up with English would not convert thai that they have learned and then say it in english to offend anyone, like going home and saying hey fatty or hey your baby is ugly, your western common sence would stop you, would it not?

Post by **bumper** » May 17, 2014, 12:03 pm

Not all that confusing just difference in cultures.

Post by **GT93** » May 17, 2014, 12:10 pm

All right lads. My youngest step-daughter has a 2 month old daughter. I will try this ugly baby phrase in Thai. But I might have a problem. I call the baby "Little Jen" as she looks like my Mrs, Jen.

If I don't post in the next week, my Thai family has arranged for a Thai assassin in NZ to take me out. If that happens tell Khun Paul I died legally in my country of citizenship. I have teased the law abiding Khun Paul elsewhere that he might die very frail and illegally resident in Thailand.

Post by **stattointhailand** » May 17, 2014, 12:17 pm

I doubt that too many of would

Bit like thinking they would drive the wrong way up a one way road, turn left (

right) through a red light or stop on a roundabout to allow traffic to enter .......

Then again many bring their "I know better" attitude here with them, so perhaps they would do the same when going back :-"

Post by **parrot** » May 17, 2014, 3:07 pm

stattointhailand wrote:I doubt that too many of would

Bit like thinking they would drive the wrong way up a one way road, turn left ( right) through a red light or stop on a roundabout to allow traffic to enter .......

Then again many bring their "I know better" attitude here with them, so perhaps they would do the same when going back :-"

I consider myself a mostly-traffic-law abiding driver here.....but given the quirks of driving here, I've developed a few bad habits that I have to shed before I drive back in the US. People there don't take kindly to the things that people here take for granted.
It is nice, however, to be able to drive back in the US and not give much thought to someone driving the wrong way down the highway in the passing lane. Happened yesterday at the turnaround just before Platinum 168. The car the wrong way in the passing lane, about 300 meters, to the turnaround. Very busy highway where many vehicles travel well over the 90kph limit. Absolutely amazing!

Post by **stattointhailand** » May 17, 2014, 3:44 pm

Thankfully though Parrot wrong way driving on duel carriageways is (for want of better words) a dying habit. I don't see any where near as much now as a few years ago.
It has however created another problem ......... years ago on the rare occasions that I got a tuktuk home (too much to drink), they nearly always went across the NK highway at the first U Turn north of the Tesco lights, then proceeded in the wrong direction for about 1/2km to the turn off (scarey at times), but now (3 times in the last month or so) they now stay on the correct side of the road, but do the entire journey between the first and second u-turn on the right hand side of the FAST lane ........ now I don't know if you have ever experienced being like a "sitting duck" in a tuk tuk doing 20kph with intermittently working rear lights and looking back at several large trucks in both the inside lanes being overtaken by cars doing 100km plus in the lane that you are half occupying, and wondering how much each of them have had to drink, but it certainly makes doing half a km in the wrong direction seem quite sane really [-o<

Post by **GT93** » May 17, 2014, 3:53 pm

Yes stattointhailand, following the law isn't always the safest course. The Thais know this.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/artic ... d=11256529

Don't make any assumptions about traffic safety if you're ever driving in NZ parrot. There are lots of farang lunatics on the roads here. I don't know how the traffic fatalities have been falling here for decades. The stats will be correct. Perhaps the cars and roads are becoming safer. I'm not so sure about the drivers. I also understand that per capita we have amongst the highest rates of marjuana consumption in the world. There will be more than the occasional stoned driver here.

That seems a terrifying ride home for you stattointhailand.

Post by **stattointhailand** » May 17, 2014, 4:11 pm

I could never contemplate doing it sober

Post by **JMT42** » February 6, 2015, 11:59 am

The reason they call the baby ugly is the same as they say it smells bad even if bathed and powdered, there may some ghosts listening and they are discouraging them from messing with the baby.

Post by **parrot** » February 6, 2015, 1:01 pm

JMT42 wrote:The reason they call the baby ugly is the same as they say it smells bad even if bathed and powdered, there may some ghosts listening and they are discouraging them from messing with the baby.

Yep, the kind of thing you get accustomed to while living in Thailand......but don't dare try it at home!