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With relation to the anecdote by LivinLOS: Not really Thai relevant, but still relevant in it’s own kind of weird way (the West vs. a third-world country).
Was in Mexico a few years back. Went to this small mountain village on route to Vera Cruz. The bus out had been delayed so I decided to check out one of the bars.
I am the only westerner in there, and on my way in, this Mexican fella greets me with a handshake and says something (presumably) in English. I find a table, sit down and order a Dos Equis, whereupon I am approached by another local. He sits down and we start communicating as best we can. My Spanish was a bit rusty, but we managed to get along. Then the first guy comes to the table and starts complaining that he was the one who had spotted me first and that he was the rightful “owner” of my companionship for the evening. They almost start a fight over who should be allowed to talk to me!
Anyway, we soon all get along and more people start joining us. Had a great few hour in there. And oh yeah I missed my bus.
Relevance you say? Well, it’s my impression that we in the West have lost our curiosity - for lack of a better word - for the unfamiliar. We may tout our freedoms and accomplishments and levels of tolerance. But on a personal level we have this superiority complex in that we really have nothing to learn from other cultures and that sharing a few beers and laughs with the “unfamiliar” might not be worthwhile.
I know that if a Mexican (or a Thai for that matter) had stumbled into the bar at my local village, they would’ve been fighting over who was allowed to kick his ****.
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