Used and Abused

Ever get the feeling you are being taken advantage of? I do, and I hate it. I really don’t mind being generous. If I think the waitress did a good job, I’ll leave her a 30% tip. If I appreciate how quickly the cab driver got me to the airport, I [...]

It’s easier to loosen up…

A participant in one of my workshops once contributed, “It’s easier to loosen up than it is to tighten up.”  He was talking about leadership and how it’s easier to relax your strict style of management than it is to get more strict after you’ve already been relaxed, but that bit of wisdom has been [...]

Movie Night

I had an opportunity to take my oldest son out to see a movie in Thailand yesterday.  This was our second attempt.  The first left us confused and frustrated.  Even movie-going can take a cultural adjustment.
It’s not that there is anything wrong with the process; I just didn’t understand it.  As a result, we were [...]

Inflation

And you thought gas was expensive where you’re from…. 

Same Same…but Different

A English phrase you often hear in Thailand to describe two things that are similar is “same-same.”  The two items don’t have to be identical; they just have to share a common trait.  For example, an shirt sized XXL and a shirt sized XL can be “same-same,” because they are both shirts.  A biscuit and [...]

It’s Called “Walking” Street!

So many different people have recommended that we go see “Walking Street” in Chiang Mai that we just had to go this weekend.  It’s a place where local vendors hawk their wares.  We thought we would take a few hours, see what it was all about and then head to church.  We were wrong.
 We found [...]

Making Deposits

Nehemiah had some nerve!  A conquered foreigner employed in service to an enemy king – a king who worshipped different gods, Nehemiah had the chutzpah to show sadness in front of his monarch.  This alone could have gotten him killed on the spot.  Persian kings were the partying sort, and sadness was a real downer.  [...]

Sleight of Hand

A good magician is an expert at sleight of hand.  He creates his illusions by misdirection, having us look one way while he performs the crucial moves somewhere else.  He makes a large show of what’s unimportant and thereby distracts us from what’s most important.
Isn’t that precisely how our Enemy works?  There is no better [...]

Nam Jai

The word jai in Thai means “heart,” and it is such an important concept to the Thais that the word can be compounded with over one hundred other words.  A few examples:

Hen jai (see + heart) is the ability to “see into the heart” or “sympathy.”

Jai dum (heart + black) is “a cruel lack of [...]

Three Circles

In a book I’m reading about different cultures, the authors describe three concentric circles that represent how people within those cultures view the other people around them.  The center of all the circles is the individual.  Around him, in the first circle, are his family and his close friends.  For people in this circle, he [...]