HAN University of Applied Sciences 2 (online-audio-converter.com)

Thailand has a strong family-oriented culture where respect for elders is valued and talking back is not allowed. Women typically stay at home to care for children while men work. Buddhism is a major part of Thai culture, with many celebrations and rituals. Generations live together and grandparents are respected. Parenting approaches vary, but challenges are often not addressed directly. However, the younger generation is starting to speak up and prioritize themselves, leading to a shift in family dynamics. Okay, so about the culture in Thailand, can you tell me about the role of family in your culture? So the role of family, I would say in Thailand it's very family orientated and there are a lot of values and they respect a lot of the elders in my culture and one thing as well is we don't talk back to the elders. The next question, what does the typical family structure look like in your country? So in Southeast Asia it's very common for the women to not work and to stay at home to take care of the children and the father would usually go out to work and make the money. That was the same in my family as well and in every other family that I knew of, that was the same. Okay, and are there any family traditions? Could you share some family traditions or customs or rituals in your culture? Well, my mom's Buddhist so we do go to the temple a lot, but I'm like atheist so I would just do it for my mom. Wait, let me think about this now. And maybe a follow-up question, is Buddhism a big part of Thai culture? Yeah, Buddhism, basically like 80% of the population is Buddhist, I would say. It's a big part. And your mom's side? All Buddhist, yeah. Celebrations and gatherings, how do your family in your country typically celebrate special occasions or holidays together? Because my dad's from Germany, we celebrate Christmas, but we also celebrate all the German holidays and all the Thai holidays, which is actually really good for me because I can celebrate as many holidays as ever. And there's also a lot of other things that we do. There's a water festival where you literally have a big water fight across the whole country, which is crazy. And literally with water guns, like the whole country, it's crazy. And there's a lot of Buddhist rituals and occasions, which we also do. Generational dynamics, how is the relationship between different generations within a family, such as grandparents, parents, and children? Well, as I said before, the elders are always respected, so grandparents are always cared for. And in some circumstances, they live in the house. And in some circumstances, they live in the house. And in some circumstances, they live in the house. And in some circumstances, they live in the house. And in some circumstances, they live in the house. And parents are like the rulers, like they're the bosses. The grandparents are even the higher bosses, they're like the kings of the family. I see. There's not much talking back. There's no talking back. You will probably get in trouble, a lot of trouble if you talk back. Especially with what grandparents say. Especially with grandparents, yeah. They might just own you. I see. And the living arrangements in your culture, do multiple generations of family often live together? Or is it more common for them to have separate households? Well, for my family, it was not common. No aunts or uncles or grandparents lived with me. But in a lot of other cases, grandparents would live in the house of my friends, for example. Or like uncles and aunts or cousins. It's a very common thing because a house isn't just for the people that are in that family. It's always for like... For everyone. For everyone, yeah. Looking after each other. Exactly, exactly. Okay, okay. And what are the typical approaches to parenting in your country? I would say, well, again, it's like a little bit different because I have a German dad. I think he was a little bit more strict than anything. And my mom is surprisingly chill because she, I think she was just brought up chill as well. So she didn't really care about grades or wasn't strict about like me going out and stuff. My dad was a little bit different, but I think it was a good balance. Okay. But yeah, I guess it's different. Yeah, per household. Yeah. What are some common challenges that families face in your culture and how do they typically address these challenges? I mean, there are always a lot of challenges with any family, but with like Southeast Asian families in general, you don't talk about how you feel or what's going on or like any arguments. You don't address them. In my family, my dad's German, so he's the most direct person ever. He will address it, whereas my mom would kind of just brush it off. Okay. But, yeah. A follow-up for, so most Thai people keep their problems to themselves. Yeah, they're very quiet. They're not direct at all. But then your family has a German in it. Exactly, which makes it very direct. Okay, okay, okay. How can you, how do you see the concept of family evolving in your country, especially among the younger generation? I definitely think people are starting to speak up, like if a parent isn't treating right. Talking back. Yeah, exactly, talking back. I mean, a lot of Asian parents are very strict, so I feel like it's getting to them now and they're trying to prioritize themselves, which I think is good. It's healthy. So I think it's definitely getting better in that sense, and I feel like grandparents aren't too top anymore. They're not the highest anymore. The hierarchy's changing. Exactly, like it's all kind of like balancing out. And do you think the more years go on, that it will, that it will change more and more? Oh, 100%. I think with the newer generation growing up in like now, in the 2020s and stuff, it's definitely changing. And do you think that is because of how they were treated by their parents? Oh, yeah. That they want to do it differently? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and like they would raise their kids in family, kind of the opposite of how they were raised, basically. Okay, I see. Thank you for the interview. You're welcome. It was nice to see you. Okay.