Foreign husbands bring big changes to Isaan

[Norseman]

Many Thai women in the Northeast who have married foreigners are now keener on eating pizzas and hamburgers than somtam and prefer celebrating Western holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day to traditional Thai holidays, a Khon Kaen University study has found.

Cross-cultural marriages have caused major social changes in the Northeast, including less family participation in community activities, the study - released yesterday - said.

A mix of various aspects of the two cultures was on the rise, the study found. It cited the example of many Thai wives now being keener on eating Western food and almost forgetting somtam - the region's popular papaya salad dish.

The head of the study, Asst Prof Supawatanakorn Wongtha-nawasu of the university's Faculty of Nursing, said her team interviewed 231 Thai wives in Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Roi Et and found that foreign son-in-laws had caused the community-oriented Northeasterners to become the more individualistic and give less attention to social interaction.

Cross-cultural couples had less interaction with neighbours because foreign husbands faced language and cultural obstacles, while the wives tried to adjust by becoming "farang" rather than helping their husbands to be more 'Thai', Supawatanakorn said.

Thai culture in these families was thus overshadowed by Western culture, with the families' own consent, due to the pride of having foreign sons-in-law, she said.

The researchers also found most wives interviewed were either not interested or less enthusiastic about traditional Thai holidays - such as Buddhist Lent and Makha Bucha Day - compared with Western holidays like Christmas Day or Valentine's Day.

"In some Khon Kaen villages, with dozens of women marrying farangs, Christmas Day is no different from the movies with real traditional Christmas celebrations, while many Northeastern festivals were forgotten," the academic said.

On the other hand, many foreign husbands enjoyed celebrating the Songkran festival but did not understand the tradition and meaning behind it, she said.

The wives still ate somtam, which they grew up eating, but also ate pizza, hamburgers or fried chicken as a symbol of their adjustment to Western culture.

Many ended up eating both local and Western dishes, while their husbands found it harder to adjust to local food and stuck more to Western food.

Supawatanakorn said that since the wives found it more convenient to cook once for all family members including their husbands, Northeastern food - especially somtam with fermented fish - had gradually disappeared from their meals, she said.

The study found that most Northeastern Thai women married to foreigners were over 30, with an average age of 35, and had education below secondary level. More than 70 per cent had previously wed and divorced Thai husbands and most had one child from the first marriage.

Supawatanakorn said most wives saw their cross-cultural marriage as turning over a new leaf.

The average age of farang husbands was 50, and most came from Germany, Britain and Scandinavia. A fourth of those over 60 had brought their retirement funds to settle down with Thai wives who took care of them, Supawatanakorn said.

The foreign husbands had an average income of Bt60,000 a month, but most of their wives didn't know their husband's work or educational background. The wives were mainly interested in whether their husbands had enough money to support the family, she said.

The study also found that Isaan families whose members had married foreigners had changed their views on choosing spouses. From the traditional practice of parents choosing spouses for their children, the decision is now made by the individual and is based mainly on economic security. Some women agreed to marry foreigners they had never met before the wedding day as they felt that if the man had money, the villagers would eventually accept and respect them.

With the obvious increase in wealth of wives married to farang, due to their husbands' financial support, some 90 per cent of residents surveyed said they wanted their daughters to marry foreigners, Supawatanakorn said.

Some girls told the researchers they were prepared to fly overseas to marry a foreigner when they grew up.

Cross-cultural marriages were also supported by the older generation as these couples took care of their own children instead of placing the burden on the grandparents, or could afford nannies.

However, the cross-cultural marriage weakened the children's language skills as parents spoke to them in a mix of Thai and English, which confused the kids and made them less fluent in the Thai language, she said.

The children's English skills were limited to basic daily communication due to the parents' limited educational background or a less stimulating social environment.

In areas with many farang

residents there was the phenomenon of shops putting up signs for their goods in Thai and English and of English being spoken between vendors and husbands, Supawatanakorn said.

Sumalee Phopayak

The Nation

[DawnHRD]

Read this earlier. Interesting - research with no visible statistics!

And as for the part about kids in bilingual families being limited in their linguistic skills or grasp of Thai - absolute twaddle! I know from first hand experience (as I know do other members) that being brought up speaking 2 languages enhances a child's linguistic development.

Looks like a xenophobic rehash of an old, familiar theme...

[STEVE G]

Hi Norseman, generally a pretty accurate article, especially for Issan communities where many Farangs have settled.
I have to say though, that the few Farangs around Nong Ki, where we have a house have pretty much gone native, and are living Thai life to the full. Some of them are into farming or at least encourage their families to farm and generally get accepted as locals.
Also my partner eats somtan about four times a day and I can’t imagine she will forget about it as long as she lives; it’s about the only Thai food that I have trouble eating and she does have to prepare different food for me, although it is always Thai food.
In fact I have noticed that when her relatives visit from Bangkok, they eat the same food as me, and not the real jungle food!
I think that generally Farangs are accepted in the villages for one main reason, and that is because they are prepared to support girls who have a child or children from past relationships, this is something that is very rare among Thai men, in fact almost unheard of.
(There is another reason for the cynical, and that is money!)

[Terry]

Agreed Dawn.

My two lads speak both Thai and English (In fact more of the former) and as a family we celebrate both Western and Thai holidays.

Diet is a fair mixture - more biased to Thai and Mrs. T would die rather than give up at least 3 of the daily 7 or so som tams

[STEVE G]

Dawn wrote:

And as for the part about kids in bilingual families being limited in their linguistic skills or grasp of Thai - absolute twaddle! I know from first hand experience (as I know do other members) that being brought up speaking 2 languages enhances a child's linguistic development

Hi Dawn, I agree with you on the language front, my partner’s son is about the same age as your ward, and he is very enthusiastic at learning English; I can’t see how that is doing him any harm. I now have to make more effort to speak clearer English to him than I do to my partner, as it’s amazing how quickly he remembers things and I don’t want him getting into any bad habits.

[richard]

I think the article is twaddle

When I spend my time (monthly) north east of Khon Kaen I have to go with the flow and love it. Language wise, the school teachers have enough problems trying to get the pupils to speak Thai rather than Laos. English is course encouraged but difficult for a child whos family speak a mix of Thai and Laos

I think the articlel has got it wrong. Most Farangs I know who live or visit up there are only too glad to 'go Thai'. As opposed to HH,BK etc where they seem to form Farang communities

I consider myself fortunate insomuch as I can mix it. When I've had enough of the bar scene and westernisation in HH I go up country to re-establish what Thailand is really about

Westernisation is occuriing up there but that is down to TV and the media NOT Farang influence

[lomuamart]

Good points from everyone.
I was the first farang into that village in Buriram etc etc, years ago.
At the last count, there were many more, driving SUVs, building houses and so on. That was over three years ago.
Did the "invasion" help or hinder things?
I'm not sure, but people seemed a lot happier. They could speak different languages, they had more of an idea about "the world" etc etc, but they definitely still maintained their traditions. Som tam and all that.
As the older generations died off, I think that the local customs did to an extent as well. But surely that happens all over the world, dosn't it?
Help people. I enjoyed it up there, but it was years ago. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go back there.
As I'm finished with the old girlfriend, I assume I'd be chopped into little pieces

[buksida]

Agree with Dawn, the whole thing reeks of xenophobia, they want the farang dollars but don't want the farang.

[Guess]

The study also found that Isaan families whose members had married foreigners had changed their views on choosing spouses. From the traditional practice of parents choosing spouses for their children, the decision is now made by the individual and is based mainly on economic security. Some women agreed to marry foreigners they had never met before the wedding day as they felt that if the man had money, the villagers would eventually accept and respect them.

Now that really does surprise me.

So my good looks, charm, sense of humour and generous endowment bestowed upon me by my creator will get me nothing with an Isaanese woman and the whole village the she refers to as her family.

Looks like I'll stick to my plan of traveling in the opposite direction where the thickness of the wallet has less importance.

[PeteC]

Now that really does surprise me.

So my good looks, charm, sense of humour and generous endowment bestowed upon me by my creator will get me nothing with an Isaanese woman and the whole village the she refers to as her family.

Looks like I'll stick to my plan of traveling in the opposite direction where the thickness of the wallet has less importance.

He must be talking about his beer belly. Pete

[BaaBaa.]

I fear the end of the world is nigh the day Thai ladys stop eating their Som Tam.

[Norseman]

Looks like I'll stick to my plan of traveling in the opposite direction where the thickness of the wallet has less importance.

And where would that be my friend?
The South Pole?

[JD]

Looks like I'll stick to my plan of traveling in the opposite direction where the thickness of the wallet has less importance.

And where would that be my friend?
The South Pole?

Sometimes you just need to stand still, close off all the outside influences, and listen to your rhythm.

What your looking for is there.

Listen again.

Can you hear it?

Real trust and love can pass you by in a whisper that you never heard in the noise and haste of this world.

Just remember to always listen. Then when you’ve found what your looking for, don’t forget to keep listening.

[richard]

Well said JD

Go with the flow and go with your heart, but keep the brain in gear!!!

If you're happy, who gives a shit about the bankroll

Let's face it, your likely to be stung whatever part of the world your in