If you hail from the Land Down Under, and somehow managed to wrangle a Thai spouse, then you already know all about the Thai lifestyle … or at least you should. Next to love, trust and finance, knowing about each other’s heritage, culture and lifestyle is a must if you want your cross-cultural relationship to succeed.
Having said that let me first congratulate you on your recent nuptials. In addition, if you’ve also succeeded in securing a marriage visa for your Thai spouse and are preparing to make the pilgrimage back to Oz, let me add, good on ya, mate. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I hope you’re spending some of your honeymoon time tutoring your Siamese spouse on the pros and cons of the Aussie lifestyle. This is imperative so that she or he doesn’t feel like a fish out of water. Think about what you didn’t know when you first arrived in the Land of Smiles, only in reverse. Remember?
- The different types of Thai smiles
- Mai pben rai
- Sanuck
- The wai
- Phet mak mak
- Songkran
- Eating fried insects
- Petrol sold in a used whiskey bottle
- Drinking soda from a plastic bag
What you take for granted in your own home country, will be totally alien to your non-native spouse. Because you’re fortunate enough to be living Down Under, preparing your new spouse for the big adventure that lies ahead will be much easier than it seems. On the plus side:
- Australia has a similar climate to Thailand throughout most of the year.
- Australians are in general a friendly and gregarious people like the Thais.
- Australians have a great sense of humor like the Thais.
- Australians tend to live along the coast as do many Thais.
- Australians love a celebration or festival just like the Thais.
- Australians tend to be very laidback and informal, much like the Thais.
- Australia is a cosmopolitan nation that openly welcomes immigrants from across the globe.
Before embarking on your brand new life of nuptial bliss, you can’t go wrong if you help your new Thai spouse to understand:
- That he or she will be alone for much of the day when you’re at work.
- That he or she may have to do without certain Thai delicacies i.e. fried insects.
- That once there, you won’t be on holiday anymore and that the money you earn doesn’t flow like water.
- That learning some Basic English will go a long way in helping to assimilate faster.
- That Australian English is riddled with slang and idioms. Many of which must be learned.
- That one or five or ten Australian dollars are equal to X number of Thai baht. This will help prevent overspending.
- That all traffic laws are enforced in Australia and that they must be obeyed at all times.