A lot of the Thai boys I’ve met like to stay in contact with me by chatting on MSN. Several will touch base with me almost every day of the week. At the beginning of these chat sessions, usually right after “hello, how are you” they will ask me if I have eaten yet. Actually it usually comes out as “you eat yet” or “U eat yet”.

I’ve always found this question rather odd. At first I thought they were fishing for an invite to a restaurant. Over time I realized that wasn’t it at all, because the question came at all hours of the day or night. If I asked why they wanted to know, I’d get some sort of vague answer that didn’t satisfy my curiosity. Looking back on it now, I realize they don’t have the English skills to explain it properly. Those that can explain already know better than to even ask this question of a culturally ignorant Farang.

Today I was visiting with an older Thai friend of mine that likes to teach me Thai, and Thai culture. Not prompted by any question from me, he started explaining the custom of Thai friends greeting each other. He said, unlike Westerners, Thais do not say “hello…how are you today”. Instead, they say, “hello…have you eaten yet”. This is the Thai way of showing genuine interest in a friends well being.

Well, before he could even finish I went bonkers with excitement, and had to explain the epiphany I was experiencing. Soon after it dawned on me that all this time I’d been insulting my friends. I quickly asked how one should respond to this question, and he said the answer is “yes/no…thank you for asking.”

I really love discovering these things. Unfortunately it’s usually on the heels of my making a complete ass of myself…live and learn.