Cultural, er, Adjustments

By Matt 


Food: It’s been a slight adjustment for our stomach to process the significant change in diet since arriving.  Thankfully, neither of us have had major problems.  However, the once simple task of ordering food has become a long process of trial and error: pointing and smiling are often involved.  If you get the wrong thing, you still eat it.  Most of the food dishes are very, very good so it’s hard to go wrong.  And if you do, you’re only out 30-40 baht, which is roughly $1 USD.  Street food is the norm here in Thailand and few Thais eat in sit-down restaurants Americans are accustomed to.  There are a few American chains that are common everywhere including KFC (Thais love fried meats), McDonalds, and Dunkin' Donuts.  There are also a few Starbucks but I haven’t seen a single Thai person buy something there since a latte will set you back the equivalent of 4 or 5 dinners.  Thais are also obsessed with taking photos of their food (pictured below are the Som Tam Shelly has mentioned along with a plate of grilled chicken and sticky rice):

Weather: The best way to describe Bangkok weather is to imagine being in South Florida and adding in some more humidity and pollution. 


The King: With the current political situation, we’re advised not to speak about the King, the royal family, etc in any forum (not worth being thrown in a Thai prison).

The Wai: Thais have a cultural custom that requires you to “wai”, which is a combination putting your hands together and bowing to meet your hands just below your chin, at the tip of your nose or between your eyebrows based on the social standing of the individual you are greeting or speaking with.  For images of Buddha, the King, or monks, Thais kneel, bow, and meet their hands at their eyebrows.  For those that are your elders, you must bow and meet your hands at the nose level.  Both Shelly and I do this every-day to each teacher at our schools as a sign of respect.  We also have to combine the wai with a smile and greeting of “Sawatdee Kaa/Khrab”, which means Hi/Hello/Good Morning/Good Afternoon, etc.  It’s a catch-all greeting that saves us from learning more words we probably can’t pronounce properly either.