We should welcome open conversations about other cultures - Mr Bacon talks about his experience of school in Thailand.
Are there any aspects of Thailand that you think about often that bring about feelings of nostalgia? When I see Thai people - I teach a lot of students who are half-Thai and that always makes me remember and think about Thailand. Also, I get nostalgic when I see students starting school, on their first days at a new school it always reminds me of home because I went there in year nine - whenever I see kids looking nervous in a new school it reminds me of my experience back in Thailand. |
What was it like adapting to a new culture?
It didn't feel like much of a change for me - the transition felt seemless. It was a culture that I felt was more suited to my personality actually. I am not a very reserved person, I am quite an open person and I like talking to strangers and getting into conversations with people and i just found that in Thailand people are so friendly, and the culture is very different to the UK in the sense that you can kind of strike up conversations with people and it's very informal. I think the weather makes a difference: when the sun's always shining you tend to get better moods out of people!
But I would say it didn't really feel like I had to adapt much. I went to a British curriculum school too so it was less of a culture shock. There were obviously things I had to learn about the royal family in Thailand - I didn't understand the importance of the royal family before I went so I had to learn about that at school. It was compulsory to learn Thai at school too. It's really difficult language.
It didn't feel like much of a change for me - the transition felt seemless. It was a culture that I felt was more suited to my personality actually. I am not a very reserved person, I am quite an open person and I like talking to strangers and getting into conversations with people and i just found that in Thailand people are so friendly, and the culture is very different to the UK in the sense that you can kind of strike up conversations with people and it's very informal. I think the weather makes a difference: when the sun's always shining you tend to get better moods out of people!
But I would say it didn't really feel like I had to adapt much. I went to a British curriculum school too so it was less of a culture shock. There were obviously things I had to learn about the royal family in Thailand - I didn't understand the importance of the royal family before I went so I had to learn about that at school. It was compulsory to learn Thai at school too. It's really difficult language.
Is there anything that you have brought with you from Thailand?
I think when you live in the UK and you don't move or travel somewhere else, you're constrained to think within the limits of the culture. I think when you live in Britain, being British there is a set of ideas and a set of behaviours that are associated with that. Not that everybody in Britain thinks the same but I think you're more likely to think in a particular way if you grow up in a certain culture, whereas when you move or live somewhere else, it can expand how you think about things. Living in another country, because that country has different ideas and different approaches to things, when you come back, like I did, you might think, actually that isn't the way that I need to do something maybe I can do it in a slightly different way. Different cultures expand our horizons - I began to think more creatively about things and saw more opportunities as a result of living in another country.
How would you describe the English attitude towards people from different countries, in your experience?
What struck a chord with me was what Mrs Hurren said when she was talking about everyone in her class trying to guess what ethnicity she was. Whenever I meet someone and I can see they're from a different country, because I've been in other countries, I always want to know what culture they're from and what ethnicity they are, because it gives me the opportunity to find out about their lives, their music, their food, their culture. There are so many opportunities to connect with people if you find out where they're from. I think sometimes British people are a little bit apprehensive about making those connections because they're worried that it might come across as obnoxious. Mrs Hurren said students didn't want to ask her where she was from because they didn't want to say the wrong thing but I think it would be nice if we asked those questions a bit more and explored our respective cultures a bit more instead of feeling afraid to talk about it.
I think when you live in the UK and you don't move or travel somewhere else, you're constrained to think within the limits of the culture. I think when you live in Britain, being British there is a set of ideas and a set of behaviours that are associated with that. Not that everybody in Britain thinks the same but I think you're more likely to think in a particular way if you grow up in a certain culture, whereas when you move or live somewhere else, it can expand how you think about things. Living in another country, because that country has different ideas and different approaches to things, when you come back, like I did, you might think, actually that isn't the way that I need to do something maybe I can do it in a slightly different way. Different cultures expand our horizons - I began to think more creatively about things and saw more opportunities as a result of living in another country.
How would you describe the English attitude towards people from different countries, in your experience?
What struck a chord with me was what Mrs Hurren said when she was talking about everyone in her class trying to guess what ethnicity she was. Whenever I meet someone and I can see they're from a different country, because I've been in other countries, I always want to know what culture they're from and what ethnicity they are, because it gives me the opportunity to find out about their lives, their music, their food, their culture. There are so many opportunities to connect with people if you find out where they're from. I think sometimes British people are a little bit apprehensive about making those connections because they're worried that it might come across as obnoxious. Mrs Hurren said students didn't want to ask her where she was from because they didn't want to say the wrong thing but I think it would be nice if we asked those questions a bit more and explored our respective cultures a bit more instead of feeling afraid to talk about it.
Is there anything you prefer about Thailand to the UK?
Definitely the food, and the weather. And people's disposition - it's more informal, with a nice humour. There's more equality - in the UK you can sense that hierarchical structure between people. We sometimes view each other in terms of our position in relation to one another. In Thailand there is none of that. I don't know if it's the same in other countries. Thailand was quite special for it - it feels very equal.
What started your interest in other countries and cultures?
Food definitely! Memories of eating really tasty food from other countries is probably my earliest memory of being interested in other cultures. And that's now moved on to music and all these other things that these countries produce. I went for Ethiopian food recently - and I thought wow this food is really banging, so I go home and look it up and start looking at the country and finding out more about it.
What would your final words of advice be?
If you get the opportunity to go to another country, take it. I sometimes think about Thailand and if I could take my whole family with me I would go, but my life is here now. The UK is great in so many ways and we are really very lucky to live here, but there are other places to see and experience. So keep your roots, and keep those irreplaceable links of family and friends, but travel if you can.
Definitely the food, and the weather. And people's disposition - it's more informal, with a nice humour. There's more equality - in the UK you can sense that hierarchical structure between people. We sometimes view each other in terms of our position in relation to one another. In Thailand there is none of that. I don't know if it's the same in other countries. Thailand was quite special for it - it feels very equal.
What started your interest in other countries and cultures?
Food definitely! Memories of eating really tasty food from other countries is probably my earliest memory of being interested in other cultures. And that's now moved on to music and all these other things that these countries produce. I went for Ethiopian food recently - and I thought wow this food is really banging, so I go home and look it up and start looking at the country and finding out more about it.
What would your final words of advice be?
If you get the opportunity to go to another country, take it. I sometimes think about Thailand and if I could take my whole family with me I would go, but my life is here now. The UK is great in so many ways and we are really very lucky to live here, but there are other places to see and experience. So keep your roots, and keep those irreplaceable links of family and friends, but travel if you can.