He’s Thai. Rich! And, Has It ALL. No, Not Tiger… Gla!

Jun 24, 2007

He’s Thai. Rich! And, Has It ALL. No, Not Tiger… Gla!

I taught English in Thailand to high school and lower grade students for a couple years.

Student Soccer Player, Gla, fakes with ball It was such an incredible experience to see how people in a different culture live. I’ve heard it said that Thailand is about 30 years behind the USA in different areas of technology and basic living. But you know what? My estimate, when looking at their culture and the respect they have for each other as human beings… is that they are a few light years ahead of the USA.

The root of the respect they have for each other - friends and strangers alike - comes primarily from Buddhism. On average I would say that the children of Thailand are MUCH less selfish, less self-centered, more friend-focused, friendlier, laugh more, joke more, have fun more, have less attitude, and are far less proud than children in the United States.

This past year I taught Mathyom 3 level, which is equivalent to 9th grade in the USA. The kids were 14-15 years old. I taught at a well-known government school in their English program. The program cost each child’s family 30,000 Thai baht for each semester. So, 60,000 per year plus various small expenses during the school year. 60,000 Thai baht these days is worth about $2000 USD. The average wage for a worker in Thailand is around 4,000 Thai baht per month ($132 USD). So, the kids’ at my school were at a high socio-economic level in Thai society. As a result some of the kids had attitudes, but out of 93 students that I taught I would say I saw only about 5 act in a way that suggested they were proud, stuck up, or as Thais’ like to say, “High So” for “high society”.

The boy I want to tell you about in this Aim for Awesome blog post is a boy named “Gla”. Pronounced just like it looks. Nothing fancy in his name. The boy was in the English Program in Mathyom 3 level and was in the second class of 28 students. Gla was a tall Thai boy, about 5′11″. I’d say that the average Thai male in Thailand is somewhere around 5′7″. So, Gla had his height going for him. Boys that are taller seem to get more respect in Thailand, perhaps as they do in the USA.

Gla was consistently chatted about by the girls in his same peer age-group as well as those in other grade levels. He was considered a very good looking boy and all the girls liked to joke that they were dating him. In reality, Gla had just one girlfriend that had left our English program midway through because her family sent her to Singapore to learn English at a special program there. Gla was really sad for months after “Pew” (yes, pronounced like a bad smell, but she was really a breath of fresh air!) left. His whole demeanor changed in class actually, he was definitely heart broken. Even 6 months after she left and I asked the students whether Gla had another girl yet, they said that he was heartbroken and waiting for Pew to return to Thailand.

Gla’s family was rich beyond even regular rich Thai standards. His family owned a mall, and a string of truck dealerships in our town of 100,000+ population. In Thailand the way to get the most respect is to have money. Gla’s family had it, so Gla had it (respect that is). You could see it in the way that the students in his level treated him and even the way the teachers spoke of him.

In my math class Gla was not always paying attention as a result of having his best friend sitting next to him who was the class clown, not just the class - the whole Mathyom 3 clown! So, when Gla gave it some effort he was able to do OK on the exams and actually learned some things about math. Math was not his strong point, but since I only taught him for one year I wasn’t sure how much of his disinterest and mediocrity with his grades were due to Pew, lack of trying, interruption by his friend, or just a lack of ability in math. No matter, he was a VERY respectful student that was shy, quiet, and never said a harsh word - anywhere. Not in the class, not on the field. I never saw him say a negative word to anyone, not even in jest.

Gla had a couple hobbies. Musically he was very talented with the guitar. He played the electric and acoustic guitars with a skill that I’ve not seen someone of the same age possess. I appreciate good music, especially guitar, and he was nearly a master at 15 years old. He played Thai love ballads, rock (Caribou, Potato, Clash), and really hard core punk rock. He and his friends frequently gave concerts at the school and around town. Not only did he play, but he SANG too. The girls screamed loudest when Gla sang or had a guitar solo, there was no contest. It was as if the Beatles were playing everywhere Gla’s band played.

Gla’s other choice way to spend time was playing football. That’s “soccer” for us in the USA. I played soccer for 13 years when I was younger and on and off as the years went by. When I was a senior in high school my team won the championship for the state of Pennsylvania. I know good soccer when I see it. Gla was talented playing soccer the way Beckham must have been when he was 14. Gla had moves that I had not yet even seen on a soccer field. He was fluid like water on the field, changing speed, flow, direction and intent seconds ahead of his opponents. I couldn’t even guess what he would do next, it was impossible to defend him as he was like Wayne Gretzky on the soccer field. He effortlessly flowed between defenders only to pass the ball at the last second to let a teammate score the point.

When he wanted to score a goal or when there was nobody else to pass to, he scored at will. I once saw him score 6 goals in about 12 minutes.

You know what the coolest thing was about Gla was, and the reason I decided to tell you all about this incredibly skilled, talented, and “has the world by the bollocks” young Thai guy?

He would score goals on the soccer field that were just brilliant and that I couldn’t help get worked up over just watching from the sidelines. I never watch sports on TV and I rarely watch someone else playing sports, it’s just not exciting to me. I NEVER get worked up over watching any sports. However, when Gla scored some of the goals that he did I couldn’t help but yell something out.

Gla was so humble he’d just walk back to the circle with his head down slightly while getting congratulated by teammates, people would be shouting things from the sidelines - CONGRATS! Nice GOAL! AWESOME MOVE GLA! It was like the world couldn’t help but react to his skill, his unbelievable skills… But he didn’t react. He said thanks, shook hands, smiled slightly and looked down. He was almost embarrassed by the congratulations he was getting. He was so shy and probably didn’t want to hear any congrats at all. He just liked playing soccer.

I never saw him smile at his own self-gratification. It was just beyond him.

I could never even get him to give up even a sheepish smile over his talent on the soccer field. In the classroom I would sometimes joke that I saw him (again) score such and such number of goals and not really react at all with any joy.

He took it all in stride and yet wasn’t proud in the slightest way over it. His parents had raised a Thai boy that was virtually ego-less, like a good Buddhist boy should be, despite having EVERYTHING any Thai kid would want. He was going to be wildly successful with whatever he did with his life. Math class didn’t matter, what mattered was that he had everything he needed already to make it in Thai society. Gla had looks, money, a humble personality that was never frazzled, he was a guitar virtuoso and a soccer prodigy.

Thai student scoring soccer goal It was really refreshing to see a boy like that in Thailand. I don’t remember ever meeting someone like that in America. In America, people know what they have. If they are profoundly skilled, rich, good looking or have other attributes that make them special they usually waste no time letting you know that they know. Our pride in America is so visible.

A humble person in the USA is a very hard person to find at all.

There’s something so nice about humbleness.

Something incredibly nice about interacting with a person that is humble from the depth of his or her character, not as a way to be politically correct in society.

Best of Life!

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