Don't get sick in Thailand

I don't want to insult the entire system here, especially with a sister in medical school (Palm!). But a recent experience has made me think twice about getting hit by cars or falling down stairs during my stay in Thailand.

My left eye was having some issues here. It would get real red and painful for a few days, every few weeks, so finally I let them take me to the hospital. Going to the hospital isn't as serious here as it is in America. People go for allergies, colds, and apparently eye pain.

When we got there (I went with a teacher from school), I filled out a short form. They had me write my parents' names on the back, but wouldn't explain to me why. They took my passport and international ID card and processed everything. It didn't take long. This all happened in a huge, open waiting room. There were probably about 50 people there, most of them staring at me.

Then they took my blood pressure and asked for my weight. I don't know my current weight in pounds, much less kilos, so they took me over to the scale. It was in the middle of the big waiting room. The whole room focused on me, but I thought luckily, they can't read the number!

"Whoa!!! 62 kilos!!!" shouts the nurse. Thanks.

Then I waited for the doctor. The teacher I came with had left me long before to visit with some friends at the hospital, so I waited with some older women who kept asking me if I had a boyfriend. That's a common question, usually from mothers with sons. These women were asking me because, according to them, the doctor I was about to see was extremely handsome!

The doctor was in a dark, dingy little room, open to a bunch of offices behind the waiting room. He was really young, and spoke excellent English. He asked me a few questions about my eye, typing all the answers into the computer. Then he said he needed to look at my eye. In America, eyes are examined by eye doctors, in sterile environments, with expensive tools. Unnecessary in Thailand! Why use expensive equipment when everyone has a flashlight laying around? So he used his bare hands, which had just been typing on an old keyboard, and prodded around my eye with his flashlight.

After all this, he concluded that my left eye is allergic to bike riding and sunshine in Thailand. He prescribed some allergy medication and told me to wear sunglasses.

The whole affair cost me about $2.60. Probably for batteries for the flashlight.

Note: My eye still has problems. My host mom wants to take me to see an actual eye doctor this weekend...I'm a little scared.

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Direct vs. Indirect Communication

Before coming here, many sources informed me that Thai people don't communicate as directly as American people. Americans have a reputation for saying exactly what we're thinking. Thai people are very careful about the consequences of what they say, I was told, and try very hard to be polite and considerate. So that was the general consensus: American-direct, Thai-indirect.

Not true. It took me a long time to figure out what the actual situation is, but I think I've got it figured out.

Americans are direct about many things. Direct criticism is often appreciated rather than horrifying. Personal feelings, like not liking a particular dish on the table or particular project at work, can be expressed in an acceptable way. Furthermore, emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, etc.) can be expressed. In these areas, Thai people are very reserved and indirect.

But there are things that Americans just don't say. If a friend's new baby is ugly, you do not tell that friend that they have an ugly baby. Anything negative that is obvious is considered rude to call attention to. I'm not sure how much sense that makes, but that's the way it is.

Not so in Thailand. For example, there is an overweight girl in the 4th grade here. The teachers don't just call her fat, they actually call her Fat. As in, "Come here, Fat." Thai people are shockingly open about obvious things, and excessively reserved about everything else.

It took a long time for me to get used to things like this, but I think it's simply stating facts. Thai people aren't offended by these things, so there's no need for me to be.

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