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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Thursday 16 November 2006 :-
Cross-cultural marriages - Foreign husbands bring big changes to Isaan
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Somtam is out and hamburgers are in as more Northeast women adopt husbands' customs, according to a survey of the cultural impact of increasing Thai-Westerner marriages
Many Thai women in the Northeast who have married foreigners are now keener on eating pizzas and hamburgers than somtam and prefer celebrating Western holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day to traditional Thai holidays, a Khon Kaen University study has found.
Cross-cultural marriages have caused major social changes in the Northeast, including less family participation in community activities, the study - released yesterday - said.
A mix of various aspects of the two cultures was on the rise, the study found. It cited the example of many Thai wives now being keener on eating Western food and almost forgetting somtam - the region's popular papaya salad dish.
The head of the study, Asst Prof Supawatanakorn Wongtha-nawasu of the university's Faculty of Nursing, said her team interviewed 231 Thai wives in Khon Kaen, Udon Thani and Roi Et and found that foreign son-in-laws had caused the community-oriented Northeasterners to become the more individualistic and give less attention to social interaction.
Cross-cultural couples had less interaction with neighbours because foreign husbands faced language and cultural obstacles, while the wives tried to adjust by becoming "farang" rather than helping their husbands to be more 'Thai', Supawatanakorn said.
Thai culture in these families was thus overshadowed by Western culture, with the families' own consent, due to the pride of having foreign sons-in-law, she said.
The researchers also found most wives interviewed were either not interested or less enthusiastic about traditional Thai holidays - such as Buddhist Lent and Makha Bucha Day - compared with Western holidays like Christmas Day or Valentine's Day.
"In some Khon Kaen villages, with dozens of women marrying farangs, Christmas Day is no different from the movies with real traditional Christmas celebrations, while many Northeastern festivals were forgotten," the academic said.
On the other hand, many foreign husbands enjoyed celebrating the Songkran festival but did not understand the tradition and meaning behind it, she said.
The wives still ate somtam, which they grew up eating, but also ate pizza, hamburgers or fried chicken as a symbol of their adjustment to Western culture.
Many ended up eating both local and Western dishes, while their husbands found it harder to adjust to local food and stuck more to Western food.
Supawatanakorn said that since the wives found it more convenient to cook once for all family members including their husbands, Northeastern food - especially somtam with fermented fish - had gradually disappeared from their meals, she said.
The study found that most Northeastern Thai women married to foreigners were over 30, with an average age of 35, and had education below secondary level. More than 70 per cent had previously wed and divorced Thai husbands and most had one child from the first marriage.
Supawatanakorn said most wives saw their cross-cultural marriage as turning over a new leaf.
The average age of farang husbands was 50, and most came from Germany, Britain and Scandinavia. A fourth of those over 60 had brought their retirement funds to settle down with Thai wives who took care of them, Supawatanakorn said.
The foreign husbands had an average income of Bt60,000 a month, but most of their wives didn't know their husband's work or educational background. The wives were mainly interested in whether their husbands had enough money to support the family, she said.
The study also found that Isaan families whose members had married foreigners had changed their views on choosing spouses. From the traditional practice of parents choosing spouses for their children, the decision is now made by the individual and is based mainly on economic security. Some women agreed to marry foreigners they had never met before the wedding day as they felt that if the man had money, the villagers would eventually accept and respect them.
With the obvious increase in wealth of wives married to farang, due to their husbands' financial support, some 90 per cent of residents surveyed said they wanted their daughters to marry foreigners, Supawatanakorn said.
Some girls told the researchers they were prepared to fly overseas to marry a foreigner when they grew up.
Cross-cultural marriages were also supported by the older generation as these couples took care of their own children instead of placing the burden on the grandparents, or could afford nannies.
However, the cross-cultural marriage weakened the children's language skills as parents spoke to them in a mix of Thai and English, which confused the kids and made them less fluent in the Thai language, she said.
The children's English skills were limited to basic daily communication due to the parents' limited educational background or a less stimulating social environment.
In areas with many farang residents there was the phenomenon of shops putting up signs for their goods in Thai and English and of English being spoken between vendors and husbands, Supawatanakorn said.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:17 am on Nov. 16, 2006
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Loung Steeb
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Perhaps the Thai wives are trying to lower their salt intake...
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 11:03 am on Nov. 16, 2006
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Mel Gibson
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Pizza,Hamburgers and good old American fast food DO NOT go together.
America can claim to inventing many things but neither of the above.
Somtam WITHOUT plaa raa is quite nice
Mel
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:08 am on Nov. 17, 2006
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LocalYokul
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I wonder if all those gals are going to get obese now
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 1:14 am on Nov. 17, 2006
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DewAsmara
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Hahaha,
Yeah fat Isaan Girl, one of my staff from isaan, first time coming as student trainee was very slim, right now even still looks slim but I can notice there's some addition in her tissue. Perhaps I should buy her pizza more often :p
But one of my ex TGF looks a little bit fat, she forgot her isaan food already, only interest in junk food or even italian food. What a girl :p
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 2:11 am on Nov. 17, 2006
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Mel Gibson
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Obesity,, the 21st century plague,,, It's very sad when you hear about kids having coronary problems at 9 years old?????????
The filth of over processed food,,, and so very popular,,, daddy Mc Donalds PLEASE!!!, sick.
I cannot plead complete innocense as I do have a mackers or tuckie fried once a month or so, but that is part of a BALANCED diet
I cannot understand antone eating Mackers when a alternative, good tasty and healthy meal in BK is available and so much cheaper???
Mel
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 6:14 am on Nov. 17, 2006
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aurum
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I believe this studies conclusion fetsches a little short, Thailands strength has always been its cultural exchange with the outside world, since King Chulalongkorn.
And what I totally miss is the spotlight on following definetly to be occuring phenomenon:
thousands of thai widows which will inherit quite some funds, rather sooner then later, given the average husbands age of 50+
what are they going to with these funds, if no obligation stands against it. A possible econmoic impact for Isaan that will only swell with the time.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:31 am on Nov. 18, 2006
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Packripper
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I'd say they'll continue to do what they have been doing for centuries: completely disperse the funds beyond any positive/profitable use on non-returning investments.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:15 pm on Nov. 19, 2006
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jack attack
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Hamburgers as we know them, are American. Pizza as we know it, is Italian. Isaan girls, as we know them, love the $$$ Expect a building boom as many husbands meet their maker and the missus spends the inheritance on a new house and truck!!
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 4:45 am on Nov. 21, 2006
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ThaidUp
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They love the Western holiday's of V-Day and X-mas because they found out they are the receiver of gifts. What did they get on Makha Bucha Day?
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:15 am on Nov. 21, 2006
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