[Wr8dIAUk]

- what are the things you don't want to adopt, and you are determined to keep your farang ways?

this practice of never talking directly scares me. and even farang bosses do it! so, if our boss has a problem with my Canadian colleague, e.g. he is often late, he would approach our Thai boss, who would discuss with me and ask me to talk to him. why me? if it is really uncomfortable, I refuse. if not, we usually help out each other by talking about things. same if we want to go bottom up with a request - thus, approvals take weeks. the main problem with this practice is that things get lost in translation between languages and cultures, and it is really scary at times when you realise that there has been a huge misunderstanding. parents do the same, I am often the last to figure out that something really tiny and insignificant that could have been solved easily at the beginning has snowballed into something menacing.
sometimes I think we are living in two parallel universes without realising what the others are thinking and why. and this is even though most of my farang colleagues speak reasonably good Thai, have been living here for years, and have Thai families, so they are used to these situations!
I am in favour of direct talk, it can be tactful, I don't mean blunt and impolite. being a farang often gives a good excuse if you cut things short and make others wonder why. of course, the loops and extra laps can also be used for my advantage, and when I feel the chance, I do that too!