I found these on a website recently and they have been so true of my experience here that I thought I would share them. Many of these things are so normal to me now that I don't think of them as unusual, but maybe it will give you a little insight into my life. I edited them a bit to make them more true to me, added a few of my own, and added some comments in the parentheses, but generally they are as I found them online.
1. When umbrellas are more prominent when it’s sunny instead of rainy. (This is so true! Walking down the street on a sunny day you will see many many umbrellas. Thai people do not like to be out in the sun! (Mainly due to the fact they want really white skin)).
2. When cartoony things such as Hello Kitty and Doremon really are for all ages.
3. When you can see another 711 from outside of a 711. (They are seriously everywhere!)
4. When you use 711 as a landmark.
5. When you say air-con instead of A/C or air-conditioner.
6. When you have to look both ways regardless of traffic, and continue looking both ways constantly until safely on the other side of the road.
7. When toilet paper is a regular thing to be on the dinner table, but rarely in the bathroom. (Napkins don't really exist here...)
8. When the person you order food from knows what you want before you finish walking up to them, because you’re one of the few consistent foreigners who order from them.
9. When you check for whitening agents in any toiletry item you buy (I struggled to even find one kind of lotion without whitening agents in it!). (Also related to this one --When you come back from a weekend at the beach and your students tell you you're ugly because you got tan but, "Don't worry, you'll be beautiful again in a couple weeks." Thanks, guys, thanks!)
10. When you know what a visa run is (or you know what "90 days" is --telling the government every 90 days that you are still here in Thailand. And if you don't, you owe a lot of money.).
11. When flagging down a taxi, bus, or tuk-tuk, is second nature. You know exactly how much it should be, and you can ask how to get there in Thai.
12. When you know what same same is.
13. When you use same same in conversation on a regular basis.
14. When you know to order your coffee “not sweet” because you know they pour sugar in their drinks and even "not sweet" means really sweet.
15. When you don’t kill the placid spider that has been living in the corner of your room.
16. When you consider a gecko your roomie.
17. When the sound of rats in your ceiling and walls every day really doesn't bother you... it's just kind of the norm.
18. When you turn around (or intentionally ignore) when you hear the word “farang.” (And when you're so used to going to the market and hearing people shout "farang, farang!" to everyone around. Yes, I'm a foreigner. Thank you for announcing my presence to the twenty other people around because I don't stick out enough as it is.)
19. When you are used to being stared at on the street and in the mall just because of your skin color (some days you just want to blend in!)
20. When you use “mai ben lai” in conversation.
21. When you add “mai” at the end of your questions even when you are speaking English.
22. When “Na,” “Kaa,”/”Kap” often also get added on regardless what you’re speaking.
23. When you feel like your English has declined because “you speak English little and slow for understand.” (I have definitely lost some English. I often can't think of English words I used to know so easily)
24. When seeing a fire show on the beach, a blind person singing karaoke as they stroll through the busy market streets, and braving through a gang of street dogs are a totally normal experiences.
25. When dogs on a motorbike are also a common thing to see, as well as a family of four including the newborn. MAYBE, if the baby is lucky, there will be a makeshift “baby seat’ at the front. If not, mom will hold it at 80km an hour, mai ben lai.
26. When crazy things are transported in crazy ways via motorbike such as a huge basket of fruit with granny hanging off the edge or a person sitting backwards on the bike while wheeling a dolly full of items.
27. When it's not terribly unusual to see a water monitor lizard crossing a four lane street, or an elephant taking a nightly stroll down the busy road of cars and buses.
28. When you are used to your nose running as you eat (so spicy!).
29. When you can’t walk through a group of people without dipping your head… (it's polite to 'wai' and bow to people so now it's just really normal to bow/nod your head whenever you pass an adult)
30. When texting/emailing/Facebooking, you add “555″ at the end to indicate laughing (The word for 5 is 'ha' so 555 = hahaha)
