absolutelyBangkok archive · Being farang
Originally published Nov. 8, 2007
Call it an “Instant Guide to Thai Culture”. Or “Thai Culture in 60 Seconds”.
Following icons were designed by Yang Liu (sometimes spelled Liu Young), born in China and educated in Germany.
She calls the series: “East meets West” — “Differences of German & Chinese”.
A multi-appliable, pan-Asian approach.
Blue stands for German, red for Chinese.
Or blue can stand for any Caucasian. And red for Thai:
Opinion
Way of Life
Punctuality
Contacts
Anger
Queueing
Me
Sundays on the Road
Party
In the Restaurant
Stomach Ache
Travelling
Handling of Problems
Three Meals a Day
Transportation
Elderly
Shower
Moods & Weather
The Boss
What’s Trendy
The Child
New Things
Perception of Others
Are cultural difference that simplistic after all?
We think we’re unique.
To me at least the icons look not too unconvincing.
Be it Blacks or Hispanics or Asians or Caucasians: People are the same. Or so they say. At least their genes.
Westerners and Asians couldn’t be more different though.
Remember Lee Kuan Yew’s famous Asian values? They may be a cause for concern, but –
Being at being different: Read Joe Studwell’s book “Asian Godfathers”. Fascinating.
Asians are different. Period.
As they’re conditioned by another environment. Period.
By other people, other values, other heritages, traditions.
What makes us pretty much predictable. Even though we insist on such pusillanimously illusionary concepts as free will or self-determination.
After all the attempts of trying to be oneself, there’s mainly predictability, or so it seems.
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