• Being a Farang’s Wife
  
  
• Being in Between
  
  
• Racism in the Movie Happy Feet

When you see my last name you will know that I am married to a foreigner. At first I felt uncomfortable to have a foreign husband because some Thai people think of me as either an ex-prostitute or just an easy woman. Also they think that having a farang husband , I don’t have to work and just hang around making myself look attractive, shopping and spending husband’s money.

The image of being a farang’s wife is quite negative for some Thais such as being small with dark skin, long and curly hair , big breasts and a big nose . I don’t know why. In the past, so many times, wherever I went people looked at me as if I was one of those women.

I just want to speak out that not all  farang wives are like that. I am working at a University, studying an MA and taking care of my daughter at the same time. I am not a Khun nai as they are often called. I don’t have a big house, gold chains or a big and new car as others would expect. However I don’t care about other people expectations of me because I am who I am and I will not let others change me just because of their bias towards the stereotype of a farang’s wife.

In the past , I could see that many people looked down on me. I did care at first but later I realized that this is my life and I assume that they don’t know me well so I forgive them.

I just wonder if these people think of a farang’s wife in a positive way. People in the world are good and bad the same as a farang’s wife. Some of us can do a lot more things than others think.

Just want to say, so what if we are a farang’s wife. Lots of us are well educated, have a high position in a job and we share expenses with our husbands. To other Thai women who are married to farangs, I would say that you should try and do something that will give you dignity. You could study, have a job, run a business or do a good job in the house. You do not have to be totally dependent on your husband. You can  also keep your Thai looks and culture. You do not have to change your looks to be more Western.

I really hope that a farang’s wife image will get better and please don’t think about us too negatively.  Finally, I am very happy with my life and my family.

           I have read the story  How You Never Lived Back Home and it is about a girl who was born and lives in America but is confused about her identity because her family are Filipino and have many stories about their lives in the Philippines. They want her to act like a girl from their country but she was born in America and goes to school there and feels like she is American. 

      The story made me think about my own life and now that of my daughter. I am  married to a British man and now have a half Thai and half British  daughter. I want to do the right things for my child. I want her to be happy and to have a good life. But  I think it is not going to be easy for her. She is never going to really fit in, either here in Thailand or in the west. She is always going to be different to other children.

     She is going to have to understand two cultures and two languages. My mother and I  are going to teach her about Thailand and my husband and his family will try to teach her about their culture. I wonder which culture she will prefer or which culture  she will think she belongs to. I am going to try to make her like both cultures and will try to teach her that the world has many different cultures and languages.

     She will have the chance to live in two different countries. I do not know where she should be educated but I think she should have a chance to live and study in both countries. Then she will have a balance to her life. But I also have a good feeling  about her future because I know that we will all show her love and understanding and will try to get her to love both cultures.  

     It is going to be a challenge for her and our two families but I hope she will be like a bridge between the two cultures and will help us to understand each other better.   To use some of the words from the end of the short story, I hope she will be a smart, beautiful and dutiful, Thai and British daughter.

     This movie is an animation aimed at both children and adults and it contains some important ideas about how racism is not good. By racism I mean when people look down on somebody or distrust somebody just because they are different. There are so many different people in our world and we should try to accept them.

     The main character of the movie is a penguin called Mambo. When he is still in an egg his father drops him and when he is born he is different. There is something wrong with his feet and he can feel the cold ice so he keeps moving his feet. His father does not like this and keeps telling him to stop. In fact his father is ashamed of his son because he is not like all the other penguins.

     Then we see that Mambo can not sing and makes a horrible noise when he tries. Then other penguins all sing with a beautiful voice and they all have a heart song that they use to attract a partner. All the other penguins laugh at him and tell him to be quiet. This makes his mother and father even more ashamed. Mambo wants to join in but he is not welcome, so he starts to go off by alone and there he practices his dancing. Dancing is what makes him happy but he has to do it alone.

     There is a big problem in the penguin colony. There is not enough fish in the sea and the older penguins start to blame Mambo. They say he is bringing bad luck to them because he is different. In fact they send him away and tell him not to come back. It is very sad that Mambo is sent away all alone just because he is a little different than everyone.

     The story now becomes more hopeful because Mambo meets a group of penguins. They are not the same breed as him and they are very small. But straight away they accept Mambo even though they are not the same. They have fun together and then they see Mambo dance. They are amazed and really like it and want Mambo to teach them. Then he teaches their whole colony to dance and they have great fun together.

    Later in the story Mambo is captured by the humans and put in the zoo. One day he starts to dance and everyone is amazed. He becomes famous throughout the world and he is able to communicate with the humans. Everyone becomes interested in Mambo and the problem of over fishing and they do many things to control the fishing. They put a radio beacon on Mambo’s back so they can find where he lives. Then they release him.

     Mambo comes home and tries to tell everyone that he has met the humans and they are going to help and stop taking all the fish. The old penguins do not believe him and want him to go away. But then they see the radio beacon and some start to believe in him. Mambo tells them they have to dance because the humans like it. At first no one wants to but Mambo encourages them and they start to dance. Suddenly the humans arrive and they see the dancing and they start to dance. It is a good part of the movie because you feel good for Mambo because he has been successful after having a sad and lonely life. Mambo becomes close to his father. In fact his father had felt very bad that he had let Mambo go and had not stood up for his son. He wished he had accepted that Mambo was different and had just loved him for what he was. He is so happy when Mambo comes back and they even start to dance together.

     So in conclusion, I think this movie shows us that it is wrong to judge someone just because they are different. We should not look down on someone or judge them if they are different to us. It does not matter if their skin is a different colour or if they are a different class or race. We are the same under our skin and if everyone thinks like this then the world will be a better and happier place.