Towards the end of last year, I was involved in a few flings. Taking the initiative to use preventive contraceptives (condoms), in the heat of moment of passion on two separate particular instances with two different partners, I allowed myself to become vulnerable and naive to the moment, abandoning the initial safety measures for the sake and convenience of natural yin yang exchange.

While definitely poor and risky judgment, ignorance could not be proclaimed. I knew what psychological battle my decision would entail, as I had made similar poor judgments in the past, thankful to have escaped with my health record in tact.
Having interrogated the recent sexual history of the first partner gave me particular doubts. She had broken up with her last salesman boyfriend because he was a ‘butterfly.’ She also admitted that she had occasionally had sexual relations with another regular gik, another butterfly–this one was a tour guide. Yet like most girls I’ve been involved with in the past, she couldn’t seem to grasp that she (and now I) was in particular risk group for HIV, if not other STDs.
At that time, I was about three months post surgery and haven’t exposed myself to unprotected sex since was pretty confident about my status. I finally convinced her to visit the clinic for a test since she admitted she hadn’t been in at least a year.
When she came back with a negative result in hand, I reminded her that it wasn’t one hundred percent sure just yet as her recent sexual instances before were pretty recent. I was particularly relieved though soon after started heating up with another ‘gik.’
This second girl claimed not to have had sex in a few years, and that her last partner had had a kid after the fact, which convinced her she was okay. In fact she was overly confident that she didn’t need a test. I bought it and succumbed half way through our first and only union session discarding the pest of rubber barrrier.
Come new year, I came down with a strong fever, worrying myself knowing that inoculation of any virus takesd a week to two, exactly how long it had been. I knew within that there was no point in stressing, interogating, blaiming, or bothering these girls anymore. In fact, it was all my doing and I would reep what I had sewn. Anxious as I was for the truth, I would have to wait three months to get an accurate result.
That time had come today, three months to the date since that last risky interaction. Going into a private clinic nearbye, I was ever nervous to make my inquiry. THe nurses on duty were serving a mother and her teenage and pre-teen daughter. ‘Oh great.’ I thought, anticipating the awkward situation I might be in.

Luckily, all three girls went in the back to do their checkup by the time I spoke to the nurse. I was informed the options: a 15 minute, one day, and five day test, respectively. The latter two were more detailed tests that needed to be sent off to a lab, while the 15 minute was a basic screening done in-house.

After inquiring with the on duty doctor, I decided to take the 15 minute test, learning that the detailed lab tests are more ideal for confirming the occasional positive result from basic screening, and that considering three months had passed, the basic in-house screening should be sufficient.

Drawing blood in the backroom was quick and sharp. Even after wrapping off circulation at my bicep, for some reason, they always have trouble locating my vein, having me squeeze my fist tight before slowly sticking the pinching needle at my elbow crevice.

Now the anticipation and anxiety would start to kick in. I wasn’t as nervous this time as I was going for previous tests years ago in the party days, but nonetheless feeling the butterflies filling my gut. Hadn’t eaten all day, I went for lunc down the road. I thought about all the possible scenarios and outcomes if I were to receive the dreaded news.
Finally, I went back to the clinic, seating and looking for hints in the blank nurses’ faces, receiving none. They pointed me to the doctors office, who had me sit down. Viola, the result was negative! I felt the burden lift as if I had just been granted parole from a life sentence, or perhaps leniency from a death sentence. While I should still go for a follow through test after a few months, I am confident of my negative result and plan to keep it so throughout the rest of my life.

Finding myself at the clinic, I let history repeat itself once, but don’t intend to let it again, for next time, my fortune could run out. I hope that others reading my story can learn a lesson without actually having to go through with it. In any case, going for the test is the only way we can be certain in times of doubt.

Emergency volunteers and police found the lifeless Swai face down, wearing blue jeans, black tee-shirt and sandals–his head in a pool of blood accounted to three head gashes. Next to his corpse was the assumed murder weapon: a meter long wooden club stained with blood.

Witnesses claim that the culprits were two teenage males; moments prior to the fatal beating, an obnoxious and intoxicated Swai was said to have been mocking the live singer of the restaurant as he passed by. The unidentified thugs are at large and being sought by authorities. It is presumed but yet unverified that the attackers’ motives were in retaliation to the victim’s offensive, public intoxicated-fueled behavior, particularly frowned on throughout the bulk of Thailand, if not the rest of Asia and the world.

Following is transcription of the news source in Thai language gleamed from Thairath Newspaper :

หนุ่มยโสธรปากพาซวย เมาปลิ้นผ่านหน้าร้านลำซิ่งย่านบางพลี ตะโกนแซวนักร้อง ถูกกลุ่มวัยรุ่นรุมตีดับอนาถ เบื้องต้น ตร.คาดเกิดจากปากหาเรื่อง -กวนบาทาแก๊งโจ๋ …

เมื่อเวลา 21.00 น. 4 ก.พ. ร.ต.ท.วิสูตร เกื้อกูล ร้อยเวร สภ.บางเสาธง สมุทรปราการ รับแจ้งเหตุฆ่ากันตาย บริเวณริมถนน นิคมอุตสาหกรรมเมืองใหม่บางพลี ม.1ต.บางเสาธง อ.บางเสาธง สมุทรปราการ จึงเดินทางไปสอบสวนพร้อมด้วย พ.ต.อ.ปราศรัย จิตตสนธิ ผกก. แทย์เวร ร.พ.บางพลี และมูลนิธิร่วมกตัญญู

ที่เกิดเหตุพบผู้เสีย ชีวิตเป็นชายนุ่งกางเกงยีนส์สีน้ำเงินสวมเสื้อยืดสีดำ รองเท้าแตะ นอนคว่ำหน้า ที่ศีรษะ มีแผละแตกถูกตีด้วยของแข็ง จำนวน 3 แผล และข้างศพพบไม้หน้าสาม ยาวประมาณ 1 เมตร เปื้อนเลือด ตกอยู่ 1 ท่อน จึงเก็บไว้เป็นหลักฐาน ทราบชื่อผู้ตายคือ นายไสว ดีดวงพันธ์ อายุ 27 ปี อยู่บ้านเลขที่ 152 ม.5 ต.โคกสำราญ อ.เลิงนกทา จ.ยโสธร

จากการสอบ สวนทราบว่าก่อนเกิดเหตุมีผู้พบเห็นผู้ตายเดินผ่านร้านอาหารชื่อ ลำซิ่ง ภายในเคหะเมืองใหม่บางพลีห่างจากจุดพบศพ ประมาณ 800เมตร โดยขณะที่ผู้ตายเดินผ่านร้านดังกล่าวในสภาพเมา ได้ตะโกนแซวนักร้องที่กำลังร้องเพลง จากนั้นสักครู่พอผู้ตายได้เดินมาถึงจุดเกิดเหตุมีชายวัยรุ่น 2 คนตรงเข้าไปใช้ไม่ช้รุมตีจนแน่นิ่ง แล้ววิ่งหลบหนีไป

พ.ต.อ. ปราศรัย กล่าวว่า การเกิดเหตุนี้อาจเป็นไปได้ว่าผู้ตายเมาแล้วอาจไปแซวหาเรื่องกลุ่ม วัยรุ่นหรืออาจกระทบกระทั่งกับวัยรุ่นละแวกดังกล่าว หรือประเด็นแซวนักร้องร้านอาหารก็เป็นได้ ซึ่งได้ให้ชุดสืบสวนติดตามหาตัวคนร้ายมาดำเนินคดีต่อไป.

Is self more important than society? In regards to intercultural studies amidst the age of globalization, this is perhaps the most commonly addressed question. Last summer, I traveled to the United States, having the opportunity to work at a popular amusement park in Vallejo, just outside of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area in Northern California. The pace and style of life over there was all new to me, much different to what I was used to in Bangkok. During this brief yet enlightening experience living and working overseas, I gained valuable insights about not only American culture, but my own Thai background in comparison. Here I present a narrative of my experience, highlighting the manifestation of the cultural values of individualism apparent in the US, contrasted with collectivism in Thailand, respectfully.

            The first week working overseas was terrifying and full of culture shock. As an employee at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom assigned to operate rides, I was bestowed the important task to greet park guests with a welcoming spech. It was hard enough adapting and orientating myself as it was, now I was ever nervous to have all eyes and ears on me right from the start.  Considering the fact that English is my second language, I was quite intimidated and insecure about public speaking to a bunch of strangers. Despite expressing doubts and concerns to my co-workers and supervisor, I received no encouragement or support. “Just don’t complain and do it!” they would say. Everyone was so occupied with their own individual tasks, they couldn’t be bothered assisting me.

If anything, my American co-workers were openly critical of me. On the job and at day’s end meeting, I received negative feedback from my supervisor. These comments were often overt, humiliating, and embarrassing as they were said to me in front of other co-workers and even guests waiting in line. “Miss Pornpetcharee, could you speed up your pace and be more energetic while you are working? Even little kids can work faster than you!” my superior would scold as frowning and giggling faces looked on.

As time moved on, adapting to American society didn’t get easier. USA was not all I expected it to be. I found myself making false assumptions about people and situations, which led to frequent missed expectations and constant frustration. One night after work, for example, I joined some colleagues to go downtown for ice cream. At the ice cream parlor, I was hesitant to order when my friends asked me what I wanted. My friends were all eager to order, but I suddenly had an incoming call from Thailand. I deferred my choice, excusing myself so I could briefly catch up with my mother.

By the time I got off the phone, everyone was seated, enjoying their ice cream. Sitting next to one of my friends, I grabbed a spoon and helped myself to a bite of her strawberry sherbet delight. Suddenly, my friend became enraged, yelling at me in front of everyone, “I already asked you if you wanted anything, which you chose not to order, and now you’re eating my ice cream!” Again, I was embarrassed and ever frustrated; I slowly exited the silenced parlor, nostalgic and homesick.

The shock, embarrassment and humiliation I felt that tough summer coerced me to reflect and contrast my previous experiences in my own culture. Particularly, an internship I did for an advertising firm in Thailand comes to mind. Similar to the US, everyone in the company had specific tasks they were individually responsible for. However, in Thailand, team work and collective cooperation was emphasized more as the status quo. If by the end of the day, for example, an individual struggled to complete his/her tasks, coworkers were more willing to assist and contribute, collectively supportive so that work was always finished as a team. If one of us ever lagged, the whole group was affected and thus was apt to pick up slack when/where needed. No matter what their individual responsibilities, co workers were approachable and willing to assist even if it wasn’t convenient for them.

During my internship at the Thai advertising firm, I observed that management style also differed from the explicit standard I experienced in the US. For instance, there was one time which I made a mistake by sending the wrong document to a client. Rather than call me out in the open like the American boss, my Thai supervisor pulled me aside to address the issue in private. Any time there was an issue, the Thai boss and colleagues preferred to handle it covertly, avoiding open confrontations which might lead to loss of face. 

Finally, in Thailand sharing food with friends and family is the norm, compared to the US where I had to learn the hard way. Whether eating out or at home, eating from another’s plate or bowl would not raise any frowns in Thailand—in fact is more common to order communal dishes where everyone shares, as opposed to US where everyone typically orders only for themselves. I have observed this phenomenon one recent occasion in Thailand in which two American friends joined my Thai friends and I for dinner.

As is the norm when eating out in Thailand, we ordered several dishes to share, but noticed our American friends were reluctant to eat communally, instead ordering separate dishes. When it was time to pay the check, we were surprised that they’d been keeping exact count of the bottles of beer they’d each drunken, requesting two separate bills, which confused matters with the waiter who’d been keeping everything on one bill. The matter complicated even further when the Americans refused to let my Thai friend treat and settle a single bill, insisting that the waiter bring three bills. Eventually, the bills were separated and settled with my Thai friends and waiter left scratching their heads.

  Arising from these experiences, observations, and reflections are several questions. First, why were my American colleagues and supervisor unsympathetic to my language disparity, unwilling to offer assistance or support, considering any adverse consequences of an inefficient job would ultimately affect the entire firm? Second, why was I so sensitive to the criticism I received from my American supervisor, colleagues and friends, even though I had received criticism many times in the past. Finally, why did my American friend become so angry when I took a bite of her ice cream?

Being that the United States is considered the most individualistic county, we can broadly assume that the cultural values there give strong preference to “self goals” over that of “group goals.” This assumption would explain particular behavior I observed in my American colleges and peers at the amusement park, ice cream parlor and restaurant. While Americans are concerned with ‘standing out,’ being ‘self sufficient,’ and ‘independent, Thais like myself raised in a predominately collectivist culture are taught to ‘blend in,’ live in ‘social harmony,’ and be ‘interdependent.’

The frustration I experienced when my colleagues wouldn’t assist me in my struggling first week can be traced to my own missed expectations. According to Hall (1976, p. 98), “…people in high-context systems expect more of others than do the participants in low-context systems.” From my background of high-context Thai culture, indeed my orientation was/is of a collectivist nature, giving recipe for culture shock upon interaction with the individualistic orientation of Americans. I initially assumed and expected that my American colleagues should and would assist me for the sake of the entire staff and firm, while their expectations of me were that I should be able to adapt on my own, reflecting the individualistic orientation towards independence and self-sufficiency.

When my American supervisor overtly criticized me in front of others, it is clear that he was coming from an individualist, low-context orientation, where it is not acceptable to ‘beat around the bush,’ (Levine 1985 p 28) but rather ‘get to the point,’ being direct and clear as possible, whatever the consequences e.g. my humility. In comparison, my Thai supervisor, from a collective, high-context orientation was covert and discrete in approaching me, sensitive to humility and thus avoiding an open confrontation and maintaining social harmony.

Finally, keeping in mind orientation of the individual versus the group, it is now easier to make sense of my observations of Americans in regards to the ice cream incident in the US and dining out in Thailand. Reasoning that individualists strive towards self awareness (e.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) through self-serving behavior, we must assume that there is less concern for communal worth as is valued by collectivists. Perhaps ecological factors play role. With the US being overall more an affluent and industrial society than predominately agricultural Thailand, communal behavior patterns are more common in the latter, less the norm in the former.

In conclusion, let us refer back to the opening question in the first paragraph: Is self more important than society? Obviously, for collectivist cultures, society is more important while for individualist cultures, it is self. As we have seen, however, there is no clear cut line to divide all individuals, groups, cultures, and societies absolutely one way or the other. As society becomes more and more global, the boundaries of culture continue to blur, blending various values and norms into a dynamic bowl of diversity. It is essential to study and internalize the various ingredients of the intercultural recipe so we can eliminate ignorance and avoid unnecessary miscommunications and misunderstandings. And thus, both self and society are equally important. Depending on the context, the challenge then lies in finding and maintaining an appropriate equilibrium.

While arguably an initiative for some consumers to start developing a sense for reusing, revenue seeking fractions of such two-fold environmentally capitalizing legislation is only starting to tap the tip of this iceberg’s much larger problem. Even more worrisome and urgent than retail packaging waste is an over-neglected burden of food packaging.

Walk into a 7-11, Family Mart, 108 Shop, or any other mini mart or supermarket in any part of the country, and the only way you won’t walk out without at least one bag, no matter how small your purchase was, e.g. a pack of gum, bag of chips-crisps, etc., is if you outright declare to the clerk, “No bag, please! Mai Tawng Sai Tung krup (ka)! ไม่ต้องใส่ถุงครับ (ค่ะ)”

Problem-Solution partially addressed: All globally conscious citizens must cut back on if not eliminate altogether the unnecessary consumption of products and places which require unnecessary single use of plastic bags, straws, condiments, Styrofoam and other non-recyclable wrappings. This could either mean reduce if not stop buying certain unnecessary products, or carrying purchased items in your own pocket or reusable bag-container. The golden R rule: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

In Thailand–a country which streets’ produce tons of mouthwatering, richly spiced and flavored take-home-friendly dishes–tons of single use plastic bags and styrofoam trays and containers are distributed to the masses who leave the burden of wet left-overs of non (contaminating) degradables: Rice, Soups, Curries, Salads, Stir-fried, Sauces, and meats galore all too often wrapped and packed in styrofoam containers and/or double and triple bagged for single consumption by negligent, unconscious and irresponsible citizens on an hourly and daily basis, 365.25 days a year.

The result is unarguably the unjust hampering of environment quality of present and future generations as contaminating land fills expand beyond an acceptable level of any sanitized civility.

In proactive response to the Plastic and Styrofoam Packaging Promotion Problem that many under-civilized parts of the globe are infected with, it finally became time for the original Siamerican, Jao Moragoat to take his own initiative and buy a portable food storing case in aim to reduce personal consumption waste production of one-time-use non-recyclable food wrappings.

Basically a fresh food lunch-box, costing a mere 100 Baht a Tesco Lotus, (about three $USD) not exactly as mesmerizing as the Ghostbusters Lunchbox he had back in elementary school, however rightfully will serve it’s purpose nonetheless.
Interesting enough in Thailand, the traditional way of keeping and containing mobile food is in banana leave wraps and stainless steel containers called Pin-To, mostly only used now by hardcore traditionalists and monks alike. The mass of modern society has become lazy with the advent of mass production-consumption, and its time we use technology to reverse the adverse effects of development and modernization.

In conclusion, the simple reality is we need to stop this lazy chaos of contaminating convenience which has taken over every day life of society! It’s a big problem and action must start immediately from the decree of top of government down to instilled and conscious habits of ordinary individual citizens like you and me. Take this entry as an inspiration, influence and model of yet another simple solution to one of many of this world’s problems.