I figured it was an American cultural thing to strive for independence. It takes travelling abroad to see what an American I am. JayBee's comments about Euros being more sensitive are also interesting. Maybe this is why the world over hates US tourists, because we are so unaware of the rules of the face game, which may even be played on a lower level in Europe, etc, that we appear disrespectful even when it's not intended?
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jaybee,your quote about family has me thinking. being from the east coast, living out in the west coast, do you think there is a more sense of family in the east, or no
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I also live on the West Coast- originally from Virginia. One theory is that (I think) more Americans emigrate East->West coast than emigrate to West->East coast. Thus, more people are living 3000 miles away from their families on the West coast, and may be a little less tightly knit with their families... Just a theory.
Obviously, I gotta learn how to deal with the face game in Thailand, and I am a newbie (only a 6 week trip). Another theory I had was that in the nature of most of my interactions with Thais (BGs, restaurant, owners, tourist services, etc.), I probably get to have the "Big" face as the rich tourist. So when I say that thais see I'm not playing the game, so they don't play either, maybe I'm just naive. Maybe they are playing the whole time, and I may or may not be stepping all over their face, but since I'm on top, part of the game for them is to not let on that I'm insulting them?
Ugh- I see how it gets confusing. I do feel that overall it strikes me as distasteful, though.