A group of girls went out for Sarah's birthday Saturday night. We dined at Crepes & Co., a popular restaurant off Sukhumvit, next to the famous Cabbages & Condoms. The obligatory dinner crepes served their purpose, but were quickly forgotten once the dessert versions arrived. Death by Nutella would not be such a bad thing. It reminded me of Paris, when Stephanie and I first discovered the mother of all desserts and started each day in line at a crepes stand. But back in Thailand, we then headed to a nearby bar (one of the few in this area sans bar girls). Poor Eiw, the only Thai in the group, had to endure our warped questions that could only come out after enough sangria. Example: Do Thais really not poot as much as Westerners because they don't eat dairy? We never got a conclusive answer about the quantity, but we did find out that one Thai woman actually killed herself because she pooted in front of her boyfriend. If they are more ashamed of this bodily function, then I'm all the more baffled by their openness with another. It's totally normal for friends, even acquaintances, here to ask each other “Did you poop today?” with a genuine concern for their digestive status. One of Sarah's students recently excused his tardiness to the whole class with “Sorry I'm late. Poop.” I'm finding this to be a culture of many contradictions, which makes it all the more interesting to sit back and observe.
10.09.2007
Figure This One Out
A group of girls went out for Sarah's birthday Saturday night. We dined at Crepes & Co., a popular restaurant off Sukhumvit, next to the famous Cabbages & Condoms. The obligatory dinner crepes served their purpose, but were quickly forgotten once the dessert versions arrived. Death by Nutella would not be such a bad thing. It reminded me of Paris, when Stephanie and I first discovered the mother of all desserts and started each day in line at a crepes stand. But back in Thailand, we then headed to a nearby bar (one of the few in this area sans bar girls). Poor Eiw, the only Thai in the group, had to endure our warped questions that could only come out after enough sangria. Example: Do Thais really not poot as much as Westerners because they don't eat dairy? We never got a conclusive answer about the quantity, but we did find out that one Thai woman actually killed herself because she pooted in front of her boyfriend. If they are more ashamed of this bodily function, then I'm all the more baffled by their openness with another. It's totally normal for friends, even acquaintances, here to ask each other “Did you poop today?” with a genuine concern for their digestive status. One of Sarah's students recently excused his tardiness to the whole class with “Sorry I'm late. Poop.” I'm finding this to be a culture of many contradictions, which makes it all the more interesting to sit back and observe.
