Besides for "Falang" and "Hello" Thais love to yell "I love you" to me and other white skinned folks. All people love to yell this. Men and women of all ages. It's not a come-on line, but still this has always irritated me. I have come to see the light.
I recently had my friends Jeeda and 'Wendy' over for a dinner party to show off my new Thai cooking skills. Somehow the subject of yelling after foreigners came up and I explained to them how that is "mai suppap" which basically means 'not polite.' They were shocked and asked me in all honesty what should they yell to show how much they love falangs.
And I realized how it is so true. They really do love falangs. So often I have parents getting their little babies to bow to me when we meet on the street. I generally get a lot of stares wherever I go in rural Thailand. People are always interested to see what I am doing. It can feel invasive, but it certainly is fun to be a bit of a superstar while in Thailand.
1 comment:
I remember this from when I was in SE Asia. Once I had a small child pretty much make everyone on a street turn and stare as she yelled out "Look, It's AMERICAN!" There's a pretty funny book about a Peace Corps guy (I think) in the Philippines titled "Hey Joe" that's all about this phenomena. Enjoy it. At least you're in a country that they like Americans.
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