WAI?!

At our second class meeting, we learned about the Thai custom of the "wai."  Like people in Japan bow to each other in greeting as a sign of respect, so in Thailand does one wai.  "Wai-ing" as we were calling it, involves raising hands, palms together (as if you were praying) to various heights, depending on the amount of respect.  Typically, we will need to wai so that our hands reach our chins.  If we needed to show more respect or apologize, our hands would need to reach the forehead, or the wai could also turn into a kneel or prostrated position.  

There is no equivalent custom in western culture.  It's a way of saying hello, such as a handshake, but it's also a way to appeal or apologize; a sign of respect.  It has the additional complication for us that if you wai to someone below your status (like a child or someone of a lower class) it's embarrassing.  I found the whole thing interesting because we have no similar custom in western culture, but many asian cultures (thailand, japan) do feature this sort of custom.  I suppose it is rooted in our extreme individualism that forms the basis of western culture.  We don't like prostrating ourselves or making ourselves vulnerable to another's whims. 

I think western culture is weird, or maybe just confused.  We want to be individuals and our culture and identity are very self-centric, but we still want everyone to be the same.  True individuals scare us.  Conversely, I'm beginning to learn that Thai culture, while retaining aspects of eastern, group-focused, respect-laden culture, also is much more freeing and open than western culture.  This dichotomy ties into my independent study project.  I plan on learning about and (to the extent I can) immersing myself in the Thai GLBT community.  

Thailand, and particularly Chiang Mai, has a thriving transsexual community, and there is a history in thailand of men who dress and live as women.  And the Thai culture is accepting - it's no big deal to them.  They know it is a big deal to westerners though and feel the need to warn western visitors of this aspect of their culture and ask that we respect that they respect their trans population.  I think it's fascinating and I'm really excited to spend a semester learning about the community and the culture it's housed in. And I'll get to frequent a wine bar, where one of my profs knows many GLBT people hang out - so all the better!