Hi. Not quite back from unintended hiatus. Heck, let’s be honest. I hit a major writer’s block, okay? It’s not like there’s a viagra for that or anything.
But, just a quick rant on the general clueless-ness of people.
#1
“So, you’re from where?”
“Thailand.”
“Ah. That’s cool. So, does all THAILANDESE speak English?”
“Not all THAIS speak it, but I learned early.”
#2
“Hey, Oakley, can you read what that says?”
“Um. That’s Chinese.”
“Oh. THIGH people don’t read Chinese?”
“No. THAI people read Thai.”
“But aren’t you a part of China?”
“That’s TAIWAN.”
“So, Thais don’t read Chinese?”
“Not everybody does.”
#3
“Muay THIGH. Isn’t that like the number one sport in your country?”
“Muay THAI *is* our national sport.”
“So…it’s the most popular sport in your country?”
“No. That would be probably be soccer.”
“But that’s everywhere.”
“Um. Duh. We do have soccer in Thailand too.”
*Sigh*…
So, what do we learn here?
Thailand is pronounced TAI-land, not THIGH-land (…as much as some of you think it is). *Addition* Here. Read my Thai Pronunciation Guide and get educated.
People of Thailand are Thais, not Thailandians, Thailandese, Thailanders (too much Highlanders for you?) or THIGHanything.
Thailand is NOT Taiwan. Two different countries.
Muay Thai is our national sports. And I’m not afraid to use it on you to cure your ignorance.
Disclaimer: I understand not everyone is well-versed about the cultures of the world. Heck, if you ask me about South Africa or Norway I wouldn’t be able to properly address that either. And I am sure all of you have experienced this kind of ignorance in some way. It’s the folks who really don’t know but yet try to correct YOU about your own culture. That is when it gets a tad bit annoying.
(But seriously. “Thailandese”? Where did you pull that one out from? Hahah!)
*Another addition inspired by BUCKY’s comment* Go ahead and share what type of misconception type thing you’ve heard about your own country. Oh, I don’t know, perhaps “You’re from Amsterdam? Must be nice to smoke weeds all the time, huh?” You know what I mean? Okay. Spill it.
