ISBN: Ostalo
Godina izdanja: 1988
Jezik: Engleski
Autor: Strani

Robert and Nanthapa Cooper - Culture Shock! Thailand - and how to survive it
Times Books, Singapore, 1988
220 str.
meki povez
stanje: vrlo dobro, pečat na predlistu.

A thoroughly enjoyable book on Thai culture . . . this book is a must for anyone just arriving in the country as well as for the long-term resident who may be in for a few surprises,` (Bangkok Post).

CultureShock! Thailand is the complete guide for those who wish to make sense of the fascinating, manifold and often contradictory aspects of this ancient kingdom. Can you tell your tom yum goong from your tom kha kai? Do Buddhist monks eat meat? Why do Thais all seem to call each other “Khun”? When introduced to someone, do you shake hands, wai or do both? What is Buddhist Lent? What is a farang to make of the famous Thai Smile? Whether you’re in Bangkok for business, Hua Hin to soak up the sun, or on a retreat at a forest wat to find inner peace, get the most out of your stay with this essential guide written by an old hand to the intriguing mass of contradictions that is Thailand – the country with so much that is often both calming yet infuriating, passionate yet passive, and chaotic yet beautiful.

One of the paradoxes of this century is that a man can be uprooted from a familiar environment, flown halfway round the world, dropped in another clime and culture, and be expected to function as usual.
The facts are: eventually, to varying degrees, he feels the disorienting effects of culture shock; acceptance or rejection of the visitor by the host country depends on his ability to think, feel and interact in terms of the new culture.
CULTURE SHOCK! is a series of comprehensive
guides brimming with the hidden rules-of-thumb to put the expatriate or visitor on the correct tracks of social etiquette. Notes on the character of the people, their customs and expectations, quick reference lists, typical situations and recommended behaviour help locals as well as expatriates understand one another.
Titles in the CULTURE SHOCK! series include Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia, and Thailand.

Contents
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements x
A Note on the Word `Thai` xi
1
BODY TALK
The Wai I
The Smile 8
Heads and Feet 12
The Hands 16
The Voice 21
The Eyes 22
Appearance 23
2
THE SOCIAL CIRCLE
Small Talk 28
Visiting Homes 35
Making Friends 38
Gifts 40
Eating 40
Paying 43
Sexual Interaction 45
3
RELIGION IN THAILAND
The Wat 49
The Monk 52
Sacred Symbols 59
4
THAI WAYS OF SEEING
The King and the Peasant 65
Life 66
Family 71
Children 74
Authority 76
Equality 78
Status 86
Success 91
Chance 92
Time 96
Money 98
Violence 99
Criticism 103
Work 112
Graft 118
Spirits 120
5
THE LIFE CIRCLE
Ceremony 128
Birth 136
Puberty 141
Ordination 142
Marriage 149
Death 152
6
ABSORBING THE SHOCK
The Human Transplant 156
The Visitor Strikes Back 163
Counting the Costs 170
The Culture Game 181
Material Cultural Musts 206
An Annotated Bibliography on Thais 216
Do and Taboo 218
The Authors 221

Foreword
For the past sixteen years I have lived in Thailand. They have been the happiest years of my life. But it wasn`t love at first sight. In fact, what I suffered from most when I first arrived was not so much culture shock as heat shock. Years later, a Thai friend asked me if I remembered what I`d said on my first evening in Thailand. (I didn`t.) Apparently I`d said, `It`s no use; I simply can`t stand this heat. I shall have to go back to England tomorrow!`
But on that very first evening I did manage to notice, through the beads of sweat, that most Bangkok taxis seemed to have only three wheels... Perhaps that was my first introduction to culture shock.
The combination of Bob Cooper, a sociologist who is every bit as English as I am, and his wife Nanthapa, who is wholly and delightfully Thai, has produced a book which sparkles with wit, perception and little sidelights which would never have occurred to me. Who else would have thought of pointing out that the Thai word ngan means both `work` and `party`?
Who else, too, would have analysed the famous Thai smile into different categories? But there is one smile which Bob has left out; it is smiled only by my wife Laddawan, and only at me. I call it the `well-it`s-a-long-story` smile. It is accompanied by the single word `Darling...` and inevitably evokes abject terror in me, and a whimpering `H-how much? because I know what`s coming-some such remark as `The roof has just fallen in` or `Can you lend me five million dollars till Friday?` Such requests are never for selfish reasons; Laddawan has a big heart, poor relatives, and some even poorer friends.

Nonfiction, Geography, Travel, Tajland