Welcome to Maha Sarakam!
(a few things to know during your stay here in Thailand, as well as
some useful phone numbers, maps, and locations
Thailand
might famous for its huge variety in vacation spots, for its laid-back and
smiling people, probably too some of its colorful and spicy cuisine, but the
Thai culture itself can be quite complex.
There are many unspoken ‘rules’ going on, some of which might be a bit
hard to understand at a first glance.
I have
done my best to remember the things which I was happy to figure out after my
own first months in Thailand. I
discovered these mostly for myself, as you may also learn over time, because
part of the Thai etiquette also involves a lot of ‘saving face.’ This means that you will rarely be corrected,
but may frequently witness silent laughter for, say, stepping on or around a certain
unmarked, yet very special area (like that around a spirit house), or wondering
why one could receive a glare after simply asking the price of an item and then
moving on without buying said item. In
an effort to help things go easier in this transition, however long it may be,
I welcome you to Thailand with a few of the following reminders.
(The
explanation behind all of these things may take some time, but in my opinion
the learning process, and all the stories that may arise along the way, is one
of the beautiful parts of traveling among/working with people from other
cultures in the first place! So, without
saying too much more, here is a brief list of recommendations for your time
here. Enjoy!
How do I give a Thai
greeting? (this is called a “Wai”)
Always be
ready to offer a polite Wai to anyone you meet, just once is fine J
Thais give and receive a small sign, a ‘Wai,’ whenever they
interact with another person for the first time that day. The ‘Wai’ may also be given on departure as
well, but unless you are already close friends, people will give and receive
‘Wai’s’ with anyone they meet. A good
‘Wai’ can go a long way! Just place your
hands together, slightly nod your head as you say the words “Sawadee Krap” if
you are a male, or “Sawadee Ka” if female, and then smile. Younger people will always give the greeting
first, and the older will receive it by reciprocating the gesture. Hands together at chest height signifies the
mutual respect of an equal or younger person than yourself, and the hands raise
higher with the level of respect, until one may have one’s hands at forehead
level or even nearly above the head when greeting a monk or a high dignitary.
What do I do with my
Feet?
Feet are
something we need to be mindful of…
Oppositely from the hand-height changing according to respect
when giving or receiving greetings (wai), things low to the floor, most
importantly of which are our feet, are seen by the Thai as unclean. The feet should not be used as ‘extra hands,’
in the way that I sometimes think of them, performing tasks such as turning
on/off an ever-present floor fan (Thailand can get pretty hot sometimes!),
using feet to move items within arm’s reach, or raising one’s feet while
relaxing in the presence of, really, anyone else at all. The head, and items which are kept at head
height (hats, glasses, food (because it goes in the mouth), pillows) should
never come in contact with the feet.
Very Important! Never try to catch a fallen coin or bit of
money by trapping it with your feet. The
Thai King (and his huge family) is held with the utmost respect. Touching an image of his head with one’s feet
is disrespectful in the extreme, even to the point of danger if you are seen
doing this in a public setting.
What about all the Shoes in front of the door?
Be ready to put on and take off shoes frequently…
Similar to many Asian countries, there are often a pile of
shoes found outside the front door of an office or a home, and a smaller pile
of slippers or ‘house shoes,’ inside the door.
You don’t have to bring your own, and wearing your own socks is fine (as
well as going barefoot inside), but please do not wear shoes inside unless you
see others doing the same.
What to do about
Making Plans?
Be ready
for plans to change at a moment’s notice.
It may seem that nothing is certain…
Thailand seems to have a laid back approach to everything,
whether during holiday time or not, and this attitude may include the work
environment as well. Know that there
are, in fact, always goals, always a purpose, but that these things may just
take a bit longer than anticipated. Thai
people do a very good job of taking care of each other’s feelings, maybe at the
cost of things working a little less logically or straight-forward than an
outsider may desire. After asking of
another’s opinion, Thai will also consider the seniority (both by age and/or
job title) of those present, and then proceed from there. Plans are rarely clear at the start, if ever,
but with patience, you may begin to enjoy the slower style of life which this outlook
brings.
How do I get from
here to there?
There is
always a way, but how long will it take, that’s the more important
question…
Like most developing countries, there are many forms of
available transportation. You may have
noticed how the motorcycles, just a few cars, and some bicycles seem to be
perfectly fit for Thai society. You can
rent each cheaply by the month, a bit less cheaply to rent by day, you can pay
someone else to take you by motorbike (taxi), or you can wait for a student to
take you somewhere for free! Thai are
usually very willing to offer each other rides on the backs of the motorbikes,
and if you’re lucky you may even see 3, sometimes even 4 students, squeezing
together on a single motorbike.
If you are only travelling in and around our campus, bicycles
can be borrowed from the MSU Green Bike Club (located near the student
dormitories, behind the one called ‘Kut Rang’).
Daily rentals are free, and a monthly rental fee can be paid at the
student services office.
Besides the motorcycle/motorbike taxi, there are also the larger vehicles running
down most major roads, in our town, as well as from province to province.
Pickup trucks (“Rot Song Taew”) which carry passengers in the
covered rear truck bed, can be hailed with a wave of the hand. They run along all main roads of town, the
BLUE truck will take you from the University to the Bus Station in downtown
Maha Sarakam, and the YELLOW truck will take you from our University (called
“Maw Mai”) to the downtown campus (called “Maw Gaow”), as well as passing by the
Serm Thai Shopping Complex. 8 Baht per
ride, 10 Baht after 8pm, and these stop running around 9pm every day.
Inner-University Tram, the white, open-air vehicle, makes its
rounds every 15 minutes. It starts and
ends at the Student Market (“Thalad Noi”), and passes most large faculty
buildings. (This service is FREE)
The Pink Bus, (“Rot
See Chompoo”) runs from Roi-Et Province, through Maha Sarakam, on to Khon Kaen,
and finally to Udon Thani. These are the
4 provincial capitals, all large cities, nice places to visit for a day-trip or
a weekend to travel somewhere new. The
cost for a ticket to Khon Kaen is 48 baht, and there are buses leaving every 30
minutes from 5AM-6PM. You can board the
bus at the station (take the Blue Song Taew, this will guarantee you a seat),
or at the end of the University’s entrance road, the town of Ta Kon Yang (both
the Blue Song Taew and Yellow Song Taew can take you there. You can say, “Rot See Chompoo”)
Some Basics of Thai
Language!
As with
any new language, getting the pronunciation right may be difficult at first…
There is no way around it - Thai is a tough language for
Native English speakers to master. The
tones that accompany every word are a part of the word’s meaning. Most of the words in Thai have just a single
syllable, and so the tone can often be just as, if not more important, than the
word itself.
Luckily, Thai people are incredibly happy whenever a
foreigner manages even the smallest phrase in Thai, giving great confidence and
support to those who try their best to use even just a bit of Thai language. Furthermore, here in Esaan, they speak a
dialect of Thai a bit different than the Central Govt Language, which can bring
its own fun ways of expression (or confusion J )... So don’t worry too much! Learning just a few phrases will take you a
long way, and if you wish to go further, you will notice that Thai people will
be more than willing to help out – I guarantee you will be amazed at how
helpful any Thai of any age will be.
The most
important phrases to begin learning would be something like…
Hello – Sawad Dee Krap
Are you
good today? – Khun
Sabai Dee Mai
Yes – Chai No – Mai Maybe – Ahh-Ja
Can Do – Tam Dye Cannot
Do – Tam Mai Dye
Lets eat!
- Gin Kaow Thank you
– Kawb Khun Very much – Maak Maak
Welcome - Yin Dee
Big – Yai
Small – Lek Like – Chawp A little – Nid Noi Spicy – Pet
Easy – Ngaai Difficult
– Mai Ngaai
Do you
want to eat? – Gin
Kaow Mai Krap (food/eating is
of utmost importance J ! )
Did you
eat yet?* – Gin Kaow
Reu Yang
à
(For Thai, this is usually asked in place of “How are you?”)
Where do
you come from? - Khun
Maa Jaak Tee Nai I come
from (country) - Pom Ma Jaak (---)
Where do
you want to go? - Khun
Yaak Bye Tee Nai I want to go
to (place) – Pom Yaak Bye (---)
University
– Maha Wittaya Lai Hospital – Rong Baan Police – Tham Ruad
Market – Thalaad Home/House
– Baan Restaurant
– Laan Ahaan
Passport –
Passport J Airport
– Sanaam Bin
Emergency – Chook Chern
Help
me – Chuay Duay
See you
again! – Jer Gan Mai
Good
Luck! – Choke Dee
(also, there
is a map of the campus in English, you can find it on the blog post “Map of
MSU New Campus”)
