Why Do You Do That?

Ever wonder what kinds of things Southeastern Asians wonder about us? Here's a collection of questions we've heard often in the past years and today:
"Why do you strap your baby in that torturous constricting seat when you drive?"
"Why do you use dead, dry herbs to cook with?"
"Why do you put your baby in a different room to sleep in?"
"Why do you only take 1 shower a day?"
"Why do you get up so late in the morning?" (i.e. 6:30 a.m.)
"You foreigners keep food in your refrigerators for a long, long time, then you actually eat it!"
"Why do you foreigners wear such embarassingly tiny swimsuits and clothes?"
"Why do you think this food is spicy? My baby even eats it."
"What do you do with all that milk you buy?"
"Why do you worry about time so much?"
"Why do you have to live by a schedule?"
"What lotion do you use to get your skin so white?"
"Why do you foreigners show your emotions so much?"
"Why are you foreigners so fat?"
Some are easy to answer, of course, others are lost in a soup of generations past that "just did things that way."

Comments

Anonymous said…
This was a great post! I just had to feature it over at Missionary Blog Watch. :)
17/12/07 9:52 PM
Anonymous said…
Fantastic post. You can imagine that it's quite a cultural experience for them to see westerners trying to interact with their culture.

I had to link to it as well as it's something that we don't often think about, Questions that Missionaries Here in South East Asia
18/12/07 8:22 AM
daughter of the King said…
You have inspired me! Tavis and I have talked about doing something similar for inner city questions that we get. I am going to start my list right now!
1/1/08 12:27 AM
Anonymous said…
Thanks for some insight into Thai thoughts of Westerners. We are coming for a visit to Khorat in March. We have sooo much to learn.
2/1/08 11:19 PM
Oceanicthai said…
Thank you for your comment! It's nice to know friends are out there reading my blog...and great to get your comment. When you start your own blog, please let me know so I can visit it too.
3/1/08 4:46 PM
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