Why is the Wai

Today was a great day for cross-cultural family bonding.  Around 8am (Thai time) I was able to Skype with my parents, brother, and soon-to-be sister-in-law.  I decided to use the Skype time as an IRB (intentional relationship building) session with my host family - and it worked.  To do this, I brought my computer downstairs and hooked it up in the common area and turned it on.  Computers draw Thais like moths to flames, so it wasn't long before my Thai family was sitting behind me watching what I was doing.  When the video of my parents came up, my host brother Donut started laughing as I explained to him "this is my Paw, this is my Meh" in Thai.  But then, and this is best part, my Thai mom greeted and "wai'ed" my American parents. 

If you know anything about Thai culture, you already know what the "Wai" means and is.

Cultural Lesson: The "wai" pronounced "why" is the small bow Thais use to greet one another - sort of like a handshake, but way more important and used in situations other than business.  If you have never seen it done and would like to learn about it, click HERE for an instructional video.  Or, if you are lazy and would rather just see a picture, here I am wai-ing with Ronald McDonald in Phuket - my first trip to Thailand - in 2009. 

If you know my Amerian Mom and Pop, you can probably guess that this was a pretty special moment for me as I love to put them in "culturally abnormal" situations. I am proud to say that both of them Wai'ed to my host mother in return and they did it correctly. It. Was. Amazing! Props to Randy and Becky. They ROCKED the cultural exchange.  Then my American mom asked my Thai mom if I was behaving myself, which I translated.  My Thai mom laughed and my real mom told her good luck keeping me under control.  Sometimes you don't really need a translator after all. 

On a side note, this exchange was a personal success for me in several different ways.  It was unbelievable how much I was able to translate for each of them, and it was even more unbelievable how similar both sets of my parents are.  I think it helped bring all of us closer and it certainly makes me feel more comfortable living in someone else's home even though I'm still struggling to understand them.   :)