Thailand is not called the Land of Smiles for nothing. Anywhere you go in Thailand, you interact with the Thai people and you yourself will make that same conclusion: Thailand IS the Land of Smiles.
Like everybody else, Thai people smile when they're happy and pleased. But unlike everybody else, Thais also smile when they're anything but happy. Smiles don their faces when they're sad. Even they're upset or boiling mad, smiles will still flash from their face. They smile when they're frustrated. They smile when they are embarrassed. And they smile when they don't have a single clue as to what you are talking about.
Part of My man's work in the hospital involves dealing with the problems that international patients bring up before, during, or after their treatment/experience in the hospital. Many a time My man would come home and tell me how this patient came storming into their office, screaming at the top of his lungs that the hospital staff did not, or does not, understand him. Of course the patient knows he is in Thailand and tried to explain what he wanted to say in English very s-l-o-w-l-y. Of course he repeated it when the staff did not understand him the first time. The second time. The more the patient tried to get himself understood, the angrier he got. Why???
I am bl**dy @#$% ANGRRRY! WHYYYY is he SMILING!!!
Welcome to the Land of Smiles. Where a smile can mean I like you. Or I'm going to kill you!
Foreigners have to understand that when Thai people smile, it does not necessarily mean they are happy. In the case of these hospital staff smiling at irate patients, they are just at a loss of what to say, or what to do. They either did not understand a single thing the patient was trying to say, or they don't know how to make themselves understood. Many times they experience mental block. They do not know how to communicate and express themselves in English. Their second language, a language they so desperately try to learn. And so they just smile. Not to insult or offend the patient, but because they have "run out" of words in English, and they just are beside themselves, not knowing how else to resolve the problem before them.
Having been here in Thailand for more than a decade now, I understand the Thai people and their inability to express themselves in English. But still many times, when I'm on the other side of the table, and frustratingly getting myself misunderstood, their smile still get into my nerves. I don't even have to see the smile. On the phone, it comes across as "Yes, sir. Yes Sir!" (this I don't mind--I have long accepted that sometimes I am a Sir to Thai people). Or "Ah, excuse me Sir..."
"Good morning. I'm calling to check on my credit card payment. I paid the bill yesterday."
Ah, excuse me Sir...did you pay already?
"Yes, I paid online yesterday. Will there be charges for my late payment?"
Ah, excuse me Sir...today you pay at the bank?
"No, I did not pay at the bank. I paid---"
Ah, excuse me Sir. The bank forward your payment to us tomorrow. Your payment come in tomorrow.
"Yes, I understand. Do I have to---"
Ah, excuse me, excuse me. Tomorrow I call you. Okay?
Sigh.
What do you do? Smile? The Thai way?
If you can, smile. If you can't, do what I did. Wait. Till you can.
Smile! :D
10 comments:
Oh, wow, I can see how it could be frustrating, to both sides. I like hearing about the differences in cultures though, because it opens my eyes to the fact that not everything is just like what I am used to.
lol, i work a lot with thai people and i could relate in every word you've said.. sometimes, it's really hard to get mad when you know that the thai people infront of you is trying his very hard to understand and please you..
and hey, thanks for dropping by my hideaway.. your son is almost the same age as my daughter.. hope you dont mind if i link u up ;)
Oh wow! That can be really frustrating indeed!
I'd take that over someone being all mean, shouting and cursing anyday though. LOL
i am working 90% of the time with Japanese people, and i can relate with the language barrier. if the Thai people have their smile, the Japanese respectfulness (not sure if that's a word hehe) and being apologetic for everything can sometimes be so irritating. i don't know if it's a talent and how can be this be possible, but i can understand their english or murmuring faster than anybody else.
Hello Jackie! Living in another country is a great eye-opener, makes me realize that I'm not alone in this world, and that people from different places have different ways of thinking, and different ways of doing things. What I need to do is change the way I react to things and the way people do things, then I become more accepting, and more understanding of everybody.
Analyse, hello there! Nice to see you here. Thanks for dropping by. Sure, you can link me up, I'm happy to have a new friend.
It helps a lot when people on the other side know that the Thais are doing their best to understand you and assist you. It's when they don't know the culture that they get very upset and insulted at the smile that just keeps flashing their way while they're blowing their top.
Greymom, you have a point there! It's so much more pleasing I guess to try to solve problems with a smile, no matter how uncomfortable we feel inside, than get all worked up and yell at the top of our lungs. Somewhere in the Bible we are encouraged to give a soft answer to take away wrath. Works wonders too, that way!
Zherwin, that is a talent! You must have the gift of tongues!
I didn't know the Japanese are like that! It is nice to receive an apology when you deserve it, but when people say sorry over and over again, it can get irritating!
filipinos are a bit like that, too. my boss, an Irish man, told me one time about that observation. that filipinos tend to smile out of different emotions. be it frustration, embarrassment, joy. hehehe
oh the woes of language barrier and cultural differences...
Anne, your boss' observations are quite true. Filipinos are also good in hiding their real emotions, although it's easier for them to express what they really feel or think because they can communicate better in English than Thais.
In a way, I'm thankful for these cultural and language differences/barriers. Knowing not everybody think/feel like I do helps me grow and expand my horizons, and make me more accepting of everybody with their own individual differences.
Post a Comment