Paradise of sun, sand, and a lack of judgmental stares

• Source: Global Times
• [21:09 January 26 2010]
• Comments

Simply put, there are all kinds of selfish reasons people date, and the world has plenty of men (and women) who are not faithful to their spouses, but when it comes to cross-culture and age differences, who has a right to point a judgmental finger?

One of our favorite parts of the Thailand trip was Dolphin Bay, less famous and less traveled by foreigners (remember, in Thailand, Chinese are foreigners too!), but even there we met a few cross-cultural couples. One of the kids my little girl played with was the daughter of a happy New Zealand-Brazil couple. Other families, including a Korean-British couple, had something besides culture in common with our family.

A number of the "foreigners" we enjoyed talking with were also English teachers in China. Vacations aren't where you're supposed to talk about work, but we couldn't resist the opportunity to discuss and compare teaching methods and life in Chinese culture.

I guess this is one of the biggest differences between traveling to Thailand and going back to the US.

In the US, friends and family members listen intently to our fascinating stories about life in China, but few really understand from personal experience. When we talk about climbing the Great Wall, eating mutton sticks, struggling with Putonghua's four tones and helping students overcome Chinglish, it all seems so "foreign" to them. But many of the Western people we've met in Thailand understand perfectly and can identify with our stories.

So, if you are Chinese or a foreigner living in China, if you're a cross-cultural couple, or if you teach English or do other work in China, don't miss the opportunity to enjoy a worthwhile getaway to Thailand! You'll fit right in with the rest of us unique characters!

The author is an experienced English teacher in Beijing, author of Here They Come! Are You Ready? He can be contacted at mdklaoshi@yahoo.com