As you will have seen in previous blogs, I am always more than happy to respond to comments and questions, and this time I would like to thank Will for his comment on the "Tomorrow Never Comes" post, where he added.....
Maybe living in and for today is not such a bad philosophy, I've had a few serious health scares, which were just scares... but I did learn to appreciate that one of these days, tomorrow may indeed never come.
What Will has pointed out is absolutely correct, and if you can adopt this way of thinking, and live for today, then life and the people in Thailand can actually become easier to understand, and indeed, life can be better. However, one of the points I tried to convey, perhaps unsuccessfully, is that to the majority of ferang that visit the "Land of Smiles" are not normally prepared for this way of thinking, as this has not been part of our way of life for several decades now.
It has taken me just over 3 years to adopt what I would call a "Ces't la vie" attitude to life, although I am still surprised by some of what happens here. This also takes me back to a point when I first created this website, when I stated "if you are a hot-head, you will not make it here" or words to that effect, and that remains true. If you let the Thai people, with their way of life, and their way of thinking, frustrate you, you probably will not survive too well with a Thai partner.
One thing that really doesn't help sometimes is the apparent unwillingness to actually answer a direct question! This more often than not comes down to the lack of understanding the actual question, and when you get a response that doesn't answer the question, it can drive you mad! I still does with me, to this very day, but you just have to bite your tongue and walk away to get relaxed again, then carry on living for today.
I would guess most married ferang will recognise what I am saying, but if you are visiting or have recently moved here to live, I promise - you have it all to come. The only advice I can offer is "to be prepared for just about anything".
It has taken me just over 3 years to adopt what I would call a "Ces't la vie" attitude to life, although I am still surprised by some of what happens here. This also takes me back to a point when I first created this website, when I stated "if you are a hot-head, you will not make it here" or words to that effect, and that remains true. If you let the Thai people, with their way of life, and their way of thinking, frustrate you, you probably will not survive too well with a Thai partner.
One thing that really doesn't help sometimes is the apparent unwillingness to actually answer a direct question! This more often than not comes down to the lack of understanding the actual question, and when you get a response that doesn't answer the question, it can drive you mad! I still does with me, to this very day, but you just have to bite your tongue and walk away to get relaxed again, then carry on living for today.
I would guess most married ferang will recognise what I am saying, but if you are visiting or have recently moved here to live, I promise - you have it all to come. The only advice I can offer is "to be prepared for just about anything".