being white in Thailand

Brian and I are superstars of the village based almost entirely on our white skin. Not only do we look different, but having white skin is considered ideal amongst Thai people. Not a day goes by that we both are not told how handsome and beautiful we are (something that neither of us have had any problem adjusting to!). Every woman uses baby powder in order to make her skin appear whiter and they are constantly avoiding the sun and walking around with umbrellas to ensure that their skin is as white as possible. It is so funny to think about how much money I spent on fake tanners and bronzer at home and here it is exactly because I am the pale Irish girl that makes me beautiful. Since Brian has never been tan once in his life he is pretty much all set.

The funniest moment we had with baby powder was our first night in Pi Ray's house. Her daughter and friend were running around the house looking at us laughing and then running away. Each time they got a little closer, but never close enough to touch us. Their laughter attracted the attention of some of the other neighborhood kids who began looking through the door at these farang. They all ran around looking at us through the windows and laughing and shouting "hello." The girls finally got bored with this game and in order to stop it, they shut all the windows and doors and closed all the shades. Brian and I immediately started sweating (one of many times we have sweat more than we ever have before (yes Boydo, more than the time you called me a sweat machine)) and we sat wondering when we could open a window again. The two girls disappeared into another room while the other neighborhood kids started knocking on the windows shouting "FARANG!!" We were a little unsure what to do when the girls emerged from the room with their faces covered in baby powder and ran out to other neighborhood kids and said in Thai "we are the farang" and stood dancing and laughing. Brian and I broke down laughing and realized that this was just a small taste of what we were in for.