Memoirs
of Thailand
2010
- 2012
“There is a limit at
which forbearance ceases to be a virtue”
says Edmund Burke. I begin my ‘Thai Memoirs’ with this quote quite simply because I have
come to realise that whilst forbearance is an essential quality of the heart
for anyone living in a foreign land, it is by no means a positive stance when
certain elements of what one must ‘forbear’, so to speak, is plain ignorance of
another’s culture, race or language. This is said with reference to my
experiences of living in the Isan town of Surin; a largely rural part of
Thailand situated in the Northeast of the kingdom close to the border with
Cambodia and where agriculture dominates the local economy and way of life.
Now, coming to teach in
Thailand is rarely as rosy as it is made out to be by online recruitment
agencies or volunteer organisations plugging it to fresh graduates in search of
a ‘new experience’ but it does have its rewards. Please don’t assume at this
stage that I consider myself one of those people, for it was after more than a
decade of correspondence with my dear Thai pen pal Nui that ultimately brought
me to the shores of the “land of smiles” as the TAT (Tourism Authority of
Thailand) likes to trumpet. It was not without prior knowledge of Thai culture
that I came here, although admittedly, it was indeed the first time I had ever
set foot in the country. Rather, thanks to the gracious manner in which Nui
presented Thai culture, heritage, religious belief and etiquette I was
relatively well armed with information prior to arrival.
Like any other country in
the world, Thailand has its own ways of doing things, its own contradictions
and hypocrisies and its own sense of national pride. There are also certain
restrictions, or perhaps more diplomatically expressed as sensibilities, that
foreigners (particularly Western) should be aware of and at least attempt to
observe for the sake of harmony and ‘integration’, as much as that is possible
for a foreigner in Thailand. Living in this country bordered by the Mekong
River and the other soon to be member states of ASEAN is an eye-opening
experience and, if one has the chance to visit Thailand’s neighbours, allows
for a most insightful comparison to be made. Furthermore, being an English
teacher and interacting with young people and local teachers presents a fertile
ground of experience that is simply not accessible to the occasional traveller
who just passes through observing everything as if a pleasant dream. Becoming
part of (or not as the case may also be at times) the local community thrusts
one into the direct firing line of a barrage of opposing forces.
Happily, the majority of
those educated people with whom we worked were the epitome of kindness and
generosity. It is really outside of my range of perception how many times
little words of comfort, a warm smile or a gift of fruit brightened my day.
Even the country folks, who are quite unused to interacting with foreigners,
demonstrate an earthy form of hospitality, that to the untrained eye may well
seem like mocking but, I’ve come to realise, is in fact their own down to earth
way of saying “maa gin khao” or “come and have lunch”!
If I were to compare
Thailand with some other countries, I’d say the attitude and mentality is laid
back and relaxed. There are not many countries which are still developing where
you can be gay and live in relative ease, wear skimpy clothes and not be
admonished (that happened to me in France!), celebrate Valentine’s Day and it
actually be encouraged (look at the Muslim world) and generally not fear for
your life just for being a British caucasian. Despite these aspects of Thailand
there is a lot of racism even towards other Asians, particularly if they have
darker skin. They consider white skin to be very beautiful and seem to look
down on Indians, Africans etc. Their hubris is sometimes very ugly.
Towards westerners, many people have a tendency to be unnecessarily rude. There
has not been a single day in Thailand that I have not been yelled at, laughed
at or stared at just for being cuacasian. I think they impose on us whatever
pre-constructed opinion they have of westerners and assume we are all the same.
Try speaking to me in a polite and respectful manner and they may learn that
I’m a Buddhist Englishman teaching their own children because I wanted to make
a difference locally whilst practising meditation in a Buddhist country. ‘Don’t
judge a book by its cover’ would be a very apt thing to say at this point.
It has without doubt been a
difficult two years, this cannot go unsaid. The Thai education system is in
dire need of reform and if the country is to open up and integrate successfully
with the ASEAN Community from 2015, then some serious changes need to be made
soon. During the entire period of my two year contract at Surawittayakarn
School (the main provincial high school of Surin) I have witnessed great
disinterest in the English language, a totally chaotic system of grouping
students (they are not grouped according to ability in each subject!) and a
lack of self-discipline with regards to learning what is presented in the
classroom (nothing new amongst teenagers anywhere). These negative factors
combined with a preference for shows and entertainments over academic
achievement in school as well as a reinforced attitude of racism towards the
Western teachers contributes to the most bizarre situation I have ever come to
witness.
Of course, the situation in
which the unfortunate students and Thai teachers find themselves (i.e.
ridiculously oversized classrooms, low salaries & poor facilities) only
exacerbates the problem. Nonetheless, hope is not lost and indeed many of the
students who are in the upper classes of each year tend to benefit more from
the resources which are available. For example, during our first year the
status of ‘World Class Standard School’ was bestowed upon us. This lead to
investments in improvements to the school and a lot of funds going towards
Surawittayakarn School’s first ever British style pantomime of Cinderella,
adapted and directed by Richard as well as an increase in available laptops and
sports facilities. Despite this windfall for the school, most students remain
in classrooms without any technology. The prestige of the ‘world class’ status
is, sadly, in name only.
