Dear Hillary,
The other day I met the parents of a friend in Pattaya who came to visit their son. While talking to them, they asked me how it came to be that I got “stuck” in Pattaya. My explanation, that my husband and I both decided to work here, was taken with an astounded raising of the eyebrows. The then woman asked me if we had actually ‘learned’ our business, or if it was only by luck that we got our present positions, for she couldn’t imagine how people ‘who are clever’ could stay here.
I was very upset, though I didn’t show it to her. What do people like them think? Do they really believe only the dregs of society are living in Pattaya? They have probably never heard of the big expat community in and around Pattaya, who are definitely all very honorable and intelligent people. I am sure I will meet them again, how should I react if they start talking to me the same way?
Upset
Dear Upset,
Ignorance is one of the worse things in life and it is very hard to fight against it. People sometimes have preconceived notions about things they no little or nothing about, yet make up their minds that it is true. It takes a lot of patience to change that. Those kinds of people are usually quite stuck up and don’t even bother to think clearly. Should they ever approach you with something naive again, ask them why they have such a bad opinion about their own son, since he is living in Pattaya and therefore part of the society here. If explanations don’t help, ignore them – it’s the best way to answer ignorance.
