What Christy needs to know about Thailand!

Jenny and I have some great news!! Another one of our friends and sorority sisters from UCF, Christy, is moving to BANGKOK!!! We are so excited to welcome her to our amazing vibrant City of Angels. Pretty soon we are going to be able to start our own Kappa Delta EO alumni group in Bangkok :) So in her honor we decided to put together a list of the top 10 things you should know about Thailand and its culture. Here it goes....

1. Long Live the King: NEVER EVER talk bad about the King. Everyone in Thailand loves the King very much. He is actually the longest reigning current monarch and the world’s longest serving head of state. All over Thailand you will find huge posters and billboards of the King and Queen similar to the one in the picture below.

2. The Wai is how Thai people normally greet each other. The Wai is done by putting the hands together at the palms, raising them somewhere between the chest and forehead (depending on who you are greeting), and nodding. The higher the level of the hands the more respectful the Wai is for example when Wai-ing Buddha images the hands would be brought all the way up to the forehead, but if you are wai-ing a friend then you would keep your hands at your chest since you are equals. All of the students at my school Wai the Thai teacher, but they don’t normally Wai the foreign ones unless they are in trouble then they might Wai to emphasize their apology.

3. The difference between Ka and Kap. The Thai language is extremely difficult. They use tones so one word could mean like 5 different things depending on the tone, but one part of the language that is very easy to figure out are the words “Ka” and “Kap.” If you are a female you say “Ka” and if you are male you say “Kap.” These words are used to end just about every sentence or word you say in Thai. As Pom say’s “it softens the sentence” and makes it more polite.

4. Shoes and feet are evil. Ok not really, but for some reason Thai’s hate feet. They believe that since they are the lowest part of the body its rude to raise or prop your feet up on anything. Shoes indoors are also considered a no no. We have shoe racks outside the classrooms at my school for the students. I prefer to keep my shoes on while I teach, but at Jenn’s school they require her to take them off.

5. Spirit Houses and Trees. The spirit houses are found on properties all over Thailand. They are built to house the spirits that could cause problems for the people that currently occupy the land. People leave offerings of food and drinks to appease these spirits in front of the spirit houses.

6. Street food: all over Bangkok and Thailand high so low so any society class of people eats street food EVERYWHERE in front of the nicest mall in Thailand (which mind you is easily comparable to any nice mall on 5th ave in NYC and this mall even has a live coral reef in it's massive aquirium) there are vendors selling everything from hot noodle soup to fish balls & fish cakes to fried bananas on a stick. All over Thailand street food is a way of life, and it's notoriously cheap and also claimed as where you'll find the best Thai food. Outside the vendor stalls are little tables and chairs or even teeny short stools with taller stools as tabels. We both really enjoy the fried chicken & sticky rice stands which rivals taco bell and slices of pizza for late night food.

7. Monks, in this city of angels there are monks everywhere & as women it is disrespectful to look at them in the eye. Also on the skytrain (above ground metro) mrt (subway) and even on the boat taxis, there are signs stating that if theres a monk you need to give up your seat. My favorite monk sightings are when I see them in 7-11 buying ciggarettes or using their black berries outside the temple... On a side note, in most grocerery stores there is an entire isle dedicated to Monks, mostly filled with monk baskets full of all the things a monk might need (umm lots of orange robes, extra vitamins, soap, lots of incense, and a buddah statue?)

8. Red pens are bad. Never write anyone’s name in a red pen apparently they believe its bad luck. One time at school I filled out a copy request form with a red pen and they wouldn’t even accept it. I had to get a new one and start over with a blue pen.

9. The pinky nail…a symbol of status? Thai’s tend to grow out their pinky nails to show that they are above the working class. They figure you can’t have long nails and do the work of the working class. I think this is, believe it or not, more common among males.

10. Transportation (This is such a big one we are just going to give it a blog of its own. Keep an eye out for it coming soon!)

xoxo,

Nichole and Jenny