Entries categorized as ‘Thai Culture’
The other day my friend and I went to see Mira Nair’s The Namesake. We both grew up in Thailand, made our way here and for better or worse are here to stay. She is however a double first generation immigrant. Her parents immigrated from Taiwan to Thailand where her family now lives. And so we find ourselves going to movies like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “The Namesake” subconsciously trying to find our stories in others and perhaps on an even deeper level trying to find answers to the questions that plague us as first generation immigrants.
Things are not quite the same as the movie. I think that we probably have more in common with the sons and daughters of the first generation immigrants. I grew up in different countries…in fact I have spent the majority of my life outside of Thailand. I never thought of myself as being particularly Thai until I am far away from it and I grapple with my self identity here. I hold on to my ‘good’ name refusing to change my last name in marriage. I patiently spell out all 20 letters that make up my entire name to confused telephone operators. Changing my name would make things so much simpler…but I am afraid that people would think I am white. That in time I would lose all my connection with my roots.
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Categories: Immigration · Life in general · Movies & Entertainment · Thai Culture
Last night I got a call from my friend in Thailand that started with “Do you want to hear the good news first or the bad news?” As I had suspected, the bad news was that she was getting a divorce from her husband of nearly 10 years. It was not such a surprise, in fact (and I probably shouldn’t say this….) she should have left him long ago. However right after they got married, she became a mother and the family moved back to Thailand.
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Categories: Life in general · Thai Culture
So Thailand has been hitting the headlines a lot recently. What ever happened to those quiet days when you never heard about Thailand and was quite happy to be from the country with good food, good weather and good boxing? (oh alright…good prostitutes)
So YouTube has been banned in Thailand? Why? A video of the showing the defacing of a King’s picture and later that same person stomping on it has been posted. After reading the post on DailyTech (which was not so surprising) I read the comments by the readers. At this point my thoughts are racing. Yes, I am upset here’s why.
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Categories: Technology and Software · Thai Culture · Thailand
An interesting news story caught my eye today on the BBC.
Malaysian monks face ant dilemma – A group of Buddhist monks in Malaysia is appealing for help to solve a problem with ants.
Living in rat/mice infected New York, I have often come across this dilemma myself. (Well not exactly animals biting me during meditation…but sharing domicile with other animals not of my choosing) I have tried live traps, thinking that I can release the critters animals in the park but for some reason, those damn traps just aren’t as effective as the torturous glue ones! I want to buy the ultra sound generating devices…but I am sure that those things will eventually turn you psychotic (I mean if it can drive animals anyway…it probably has some unconscious effects) How many bad karma points do I get when I slap down those really noisy mosquitoes that buzz around your head at two in the morning? Do 50 mosquitoes equal a mice and will I be reborn as a mosquito each time I ruthlessly crush them with my handy red plastic fly swatter that I got a favor from a friend’s wedding? Its at times like this that being a Buddhist seems to complicate life.
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Categories: Life in general · Thai Culture
A few days ago I got an email from a college student asking for help on one of her papers.
“…quick question…okay so i am writing a research paper on types of slavery that sitll occur today, sexual exploitation being the focus. My research shows that the highest occurances are in the Thai culture. They say that young girls, who do not have opportunities for education, use sexual favors as a source of income to provide support for their fam. Have you heard anything about this, or if it was an issue in Thailand when you lived there? I am just interested in hearing the opinion of someone who wasn’t IN the environment that bread such horrific acts, and see if it played a role in her life at all. “
What follows is my answer :
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Categories: Life in general · Thai Culture · Thailand
The other day my friend and I went to see Mira Nair’s The Namesake. We both grew up in Thailand, made our way here and for better or worse are here to stay. She is however a double first generation immigrant. Her parents immigrated from Taiwan to Thailand where her family now lives. And so we find ourselves going to movies like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “The Namesake” subconsciously trying to find our stories in others and perhaps on an even deeper level trying to find answers to the questions that plague us as first generation immigrants.
