What is there to criticize?

[yomama]

I live in a small farm town- but most people farm dairy cattle and corn/beans. So this whole chicken thing is "stupid". Oh well, at least i'm providing better food for my family.

Wow, I'm still surprised they would give you a hard time, being as how it is still a farming community. Thankfully, we live in a rural town, and even though most of my extended family doesn't live in a rural area anymore, most grew up on farms and understand how much better farm eggs are. Just because it is easier to buy something at the store, doesn't mean you should. It would definitely be easier to buy milk, corn and beans at the store than have a whole farm for it, but they still choose to do so. Some people are just too busy worrying about other's lives. You are providing something good for your family. You should feel proud. I know I do.

 

[thaiturkey]

If you do something a bit different from the crowd you must expect put downs like that. Tell people you're buying a new car and you'll see what I mean. They may be jealous or envious of you or merely the type of people who will try to victimise others with their tongues. Let yourself be intimidated and your life won't be your own.

And, as has already been said, your eggs are better than there's!

 

[mama2my4]

People tend to ridicule what they don't understand.

that is the thing, right there. And some people are so unhappy in their own lives, they have to do what they can to make other the same way. Oh the stories I could tell.....

If it makes you happy, well that is all that matters then.

 

[thaiturkey]

I live amongst people of a very different culture from my own and, 'though I go with the flow within reason, I quietly do my own thing. A few examples:

1. Most of them have unfenced land around their houses. We have a combination of walls and hedges. We usually keep the gates locked. I was once asked why I locked them. The reason is that people think they can walk in whenever they want and might get a shock on a hot day to see my state of undress. In other words, privacy from those who don't know what it is. I politely told them that I locked the gates to keep out the mosquitoes and left them to work that one out on their own.

2. Thais are easy going in the main but don't like criticism. However, that doesn't make them slow to have a joke at my expense from time to time. They delight in calling me 'popui' (fat). I am a tad heavier than I would like to be but not enough to justify the label 'fat'. Most of the locals are skinny but, boy, you should see the fat ones! I'm not allowed to use the same joke but that's OK.

3. I walk around all year in short sand a t-shirt. When I cross the road to our little local shop, I probably won't bother to put on a shirt at all. The penalty for that is curious stares as the other customers check to see which of my bits differ from there's.

4. Despite the number of Westerners around here, some locals still call 'farang' after me occasionally. It means 'Westerner' and is not usually meant in a derogatory manner. On days when it irks me, I call back 'Khun Lao', a reference to the ancestry of Thais here whose not so distant ancestors came from Laos. They spend so much time thinking about that that I'm long gone before they can respond.

Row your own boat, so long as it doesn't interfere with others!

 

[aoxa]

I think they are seeing it as you are trying to save money by raising your own, but really you do not save money. They are probably just ignorant to the joy of raising them. I get a lot of people laughing when I tell them.. Like I am making a joke of some sort. This is usually waitresses when I ask to take the oddest leftovers. They look at me like I have two heads, and I say it's for the chickens.

A lot of people are very detached from their food sources. They don't want to know how their food is treated (that's too much to bear), so they consider that all eggs are the same.. even though grocery store eggs are from sad, abused chickens.

I look at it as it being their loss for not knowing the joy of raising poultry and the peace of mind you have when eating what they have provided you with. Grocery store eggs are just not even close to comparable.

 

[thaiturkey]

Is it unusual for restaurant customers to ask for doggy bags for the leftovers? We do it all the time. We even take it for ourselves if a good dish is barely touched when we've eaten enough. Sometimes, waitresses even ask customers if they want to take the leftovers. It makes perfect sense to me.

It's also common here for customers to take their own alcohol to a restaurant because they can buy it cheaper in a shop. I don't like it in my wife's restaurant but she gets her own back my charging for the ice!

 

[sumi]

I sometimes buy things at the shops for my chickens and recently I got a very funny look when I said to my DH we must buy a big enough watermelon so the chickens can have some too! As far as I'm concerned, if people don't get it, their loss. I've had people round here laughing at me with my chickens and they now come beg me for eggs and some got their own backyard flocks now. and let them hold a newborn chick for a while... Some have said to me they probably won't be able to eat chicken again.
Thaiturkey: I like your attitude! Closing the gate for the mosquitoes!

 

[sourland]

Thaiturkey put the word to it, "Row your own boat , so long as it doesn't interfere with others.


Sourland George - known as the 'crazy zookeeper' when he was a kid - a long time ago.

 

[yomama]

I politely told them that I locked the gates to keep out the mosquitoes and left them to work that one out on their own.

3. I walk around all year in short sand a t-shirt. When I cross the road to our little local shop, I probably won't bother to put on a shirt at all. The penalty for that is curious stares as the other customers check to see which of my bits differ from there's.

I love your attitude too. I am a big believer in fences. If I could, I would have solid stone fences all the way around. Tons more privacy! Not to mention, I have dog aggressive dogs. If one got out while someone was walking around, it wouldn't be good. Not only that, keeps other people's loose dogs from entering my yard. I love the mosquito reason, lol!!!

As for walking around casually dressed, (or half dressed,

) I'm surprised that you get weird looks. Isn't Thailand very warm and muggy? I know I wouldn't be wearing anything but shorts and tank tops, and though it would be much cooler, I couldn't go topless, seeing as how I'm female, lol. We are a rural town here, with everything from the very poor to the very wealthy. During the summer, it's not surprising to see guys with just shorts on, and girls wearing swim suits. Now, mind you, nowadays, you usually have to be more covered up if you go into some of the bigger stores, but we have alot of mom and pop stores here too, so that isn't always the case. I guess some people don't like it, personally doesn't bother me, as long as my kids aren't seeing something they shouldn't. There are those that probably shouldn't be bearing that much skin, but like you said, to each his own.

 

[thaiturkey]

Even at 37 Degrees C (round 99F) the neighbours mostly wear long pants and keep their shirts on. Many here are rightly reluctant to get too much sun on their bodies. A lifetime of outdoor living demands caution. In the season they like to call winter, a few weeks in December and January, while I dress the same as ever, they will be huddled around a wood fire in the garden at 6.00am wearing fleeces and woolly hats. Houses here have no heating and they really feel the night time temperatures when they drop below 20C (68F).

My point is that they will sometimes laugh about how different are us foreigners but they can take quiet offence if we tease them. As it happens, I rarely do, out of respect for their situation. Many are poor and uneducated, knowing nothing about the rest of the world other than what they see of us foreigners. Having said that, they are generally very accepting of us and our very different lifestyles.

Sadly, the gates don't keep out the mosquitoes very effectively. I have a suspicion that they can fly over them. The neighbours don't fly too well so they do keep them out.