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Originally Posted by steve@thaib
I believe that I understand reasonably well the social structure in the places I have been. Had I made any serious social gaffes then I would have had them pointed out to me. I honestly do not believe that these rules apply in the boonies; they know how pretentious they would look by standing on ceremony and getting uptight because the guy who is paying the bill said 'hello' to the wrong person first.
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Really, I think that we would need the input of a few Thai folks to get a clearer picture of the reality of contemporary LOS. I am going mostly by what my teacher said, and what I have heard from other Thais, but that is a very limited sample of people.
Obviously, the farang is going to get different treatment. As you pointed out above, they aer not stupid, and seem to know better than to be rude to the farang who lays the golden egg.
But as Paul pointed out, the concept of "face" is part of the same basic mentality. And as others who have lived in LOS for many years have said on this forum, you can live in LOS for a long time and still you will never fully understand the concept of face and how it affects them everyday in the way they relate to other Thais. You and I will probably never fully understand it. But does that mean it is a thing from bygone days. I don't think so. Not from what I have seen, and from what people say.
JayBee
