It's pretty hard to starve in Thailand. I once heard some friends debating how long one could last in Thailand without paying for food. Months surely. Especially since we're Farang (aka Superstars!!). Basically everywhere you go people offer snacks or genuinelly invite you to join a meal. I often get invited to join a meal in progress when I'm out on a run.
The other night I was at the evening market with no real plans, so when my friend who sells coconut desserts invited me to eat dinner with her I said, "Surely." Except that I spoke in Thai and it sounded more like, "Dai, ka."
I really enjoy eating with this friend and her family because they live right at the market, so as we eat dinner and sit at (well on, really) the big table in front of their house we can watch everything going on. She's also a great cook and teaches me as we go. She cooks everything over coals, as many Thai families do.
As I was sitting at this dinner the other night I realized when food was offered to me that I didn't want I felt comfortable decining and they were ok with my answers. When I first got to Thailand I was practically force fed. If I declined food it was taken as an insult and I was offered food every 5 minutes. The frustrating thing was I would see Thais declining food, or not being offered food every 5 minutes.
Well, now, as the Blog title says, I'm thai. I have mastered all the culturally appropriate ways to decline food and not send insults. As well, they know me, and so they don't have to 'take-care' and give me food every 5 minutes.
Aaaah. I have arrived.
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