Saturday 17 November 2007

The land of trials


As everyone knows, Thailand is a very visually beautiful country. Its people (especially its women) are pretty, in the real sense of the word. They are immaculately presented and very graceful. The Thai pride is immense. A Thai will put enormous effort into what they do to ensure that its presentation and therefore its perception by others is of a very high quality.


A few examples;
The delivery boy will spend ten minutes in the lift doing his hair before he walks into an office.


The banana seller on the street although poor and with very little equipment will have a very well arranged, beautiful stall. A westerner would be hard pressed to do the same with a few boxes and a banana leaf.


My driver (K Sam of karaoke fame) will hand you a chilled towel a bottle of water, a box of sweets and a microphone the moment you step into his taxi.


When checking into a hotel a bowl of fruit will be beautifully arranged, with flowers in a vase and petals on your pillow.


Sounds the same the world over I hear you say, well no. In Thailand it really is different. Its about the ratio of externalness and internalness. Because of this however this visual pleasure is misunderstood by many westerners.


Ultimately from what I have worked out, presentation is the very fundamental basis of Thai culture, because perception really is everything; Doing your job is not as important as pleasing your boss. Getting an excellent outcome (on a project) is not as important as having a process that is lavishly presented and enjoyed (or at least noticed) by everyone.


Thai culture and people are truly amazing in a way that we will never really understand. On the outside we seem to be the same, but what drives our similar behaviours (smiles, presentation etc.) is harshly juxtaposed. When living and working here it often feels like we clash! This brings tension especially in a business sense.


That is why I have named this post 'The land of trials', because for a Farang like me, behind the smiles are a mass of complex behaviours thoughts and motivations that do not match those that sit behind the smile on my face (and why does no one ever frown for goodness sakes?)


So instead of trying to explain things, for now, although that is my ultimate aim, I have decided to start a series of observations. No fancy formats. I'm going to pick random topics in daily life and list ten things I love about them! Almost hoping some insight or understanding will float to the surface.
Even if it doesnt it should be fun in the meantime ...

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