One of the things that people expect to see when they visit us is the beautiful smile of the Thai people. Thailand is well known as “the land of smiles”, and all visitors to Thailand agree on one thing: Thai people always have a smile on our faces. Our smile sometime not just only smile there are have a meaning behind. Smiling is a part of the Thai nature but I think that it stems from typical Thai behaviours as listed below.
1. We smile for recreation. Smiling or laughing a lot is the easiest way for Thai people that to show joy or cheer. Thai people try to see the comedy in everything. If we see someone slip on a banana skin, we have two natural reactions: to laugh and to run to help them. We laugh not because we don’t have sympathy but to show the other person that it is okay and not to feel bad. Basically, just to make a joke of it.
2. One difference to Western culture is that in Thailand we often smile as a sort of apology. If you have done something that wrongs someone in a small way then you can smile to show acknowledgement of this wrong. Generally, the response to this – to show that you accept the person’s apology – is to smile back.
For example, if you taking a long time to decide over food in a canteen, the person behind you may overtake you in the queue if they just want a drink. The normal thing to do in Thailand is to smile at them in apology and they will smile back to say that it is okay. This method of apology is a happier, brighter and less awkward way than saying sorry to someone or getting into an argument with someone. It is also a handy method if you do not know the Thai words for sorry (The word saying sorry in Thai is “kar tod”).
3. In Thailand it is very important to say thank you when someone helps you. No matter how small a thing it is the other person has done. Another way to say Thank you is to smile and nod. The other person will smile back to say: “You are welcome.”
4. Thai people also smile when they try to avoid a subject or situation. We smile instead of fighting or arguing. We do this to try and avoid doing something we may regret later. The problem with this kind of behaviour is that people from other countries and cultures become very frustrated or confused by it, but to Thai people it is a normal thing to do. It is basically like saying: “No comment.”
Most importantly, when people smile it is when they look their most beautiful and young. I hope this chapter has helped you to see that a smile for Thai people can mean more than you realise. I can tell you, I’m someone who really loves to smile, even when I cry sometimes I still smile, or if I’m angry I will try to smile. It’s not because I’m being facetious but because smiling takes away the temper from the anger and helps to calm you down; it is difficult to be rude or hurtful while you’re smiling. Also, I just love to smile.
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