Are there any African Americans living in Thailand?

mmorgan wrote:

Hello all,

I have been in this country for 6 weeks and my circle of connection have been Nigerians and some Thai through my church affiliation. I am looking to meet any other African  Americans and American women of the older and mature crowd for companionship and outings in Thailand. .I hope to hear from someone soon. Michelle

I was wondering why you are disappointed with Thailand? I am looking at thailand and other places and would like to know what everyone is finding out. Is Marshal Law causing problems?
I know the culture is different but what have you found ?
Is  racial  discrimination a problem? I read a lot about  how the Thais try to lighten their skin color with creams, etc.  so I was wondering about that.
Have you had any luck getting a teaching position?
Do you think Cambodia would be any better and if you do, why would it ?
I have read all the great stuff ( inexpensive living, the land of smiles, etc) but all places have problems so the need to be posted.
Thanks for your time

I'm a younger Black American woman. There are quite a few that work for the US Embassy. There is going to be a white party next weekend where there will be other Black people to meet with.

Hello I wish this could have come sooner . I will be leaving for the states on Friday. I am hoping to come back in the future.  I would love to stay in touch Michelle. atouchofheaven2002@yahoo.com

'White party' ..... That's an interesting choice of words. Not criticising for one minute....it just must indicate the way it is in your country.... Would never occur to an Australian to say that.....it would just be 'a party'.... Best of luck finding some friends...I wish you well...

It is a white party meaning the color of attire for entrance to the party is the color white...everyone will be wearing white. SMH.  I'm not sure what you THOUGHT I meant, but I assure you your assumptions are wrong. You should have asked for clarification. Anything else?

I am an African American male recently retired and considering moving to Thailand. I have read so many things about Thailand, good and bad in respect to Black people but the low cost and relative peacefullness of the country is attractive. Where in this world can a black person live without some negative reaction to our pressence? In the US we are shot down by cops each and every day and few bat an eye. Blacks victimize each other here and shoot each other down with such disregard for the value of our lives that I cannot see living here much longer.

So are blacks victimized by Thai society? I trust to eat what I can see and I like good food prepared in the open so I can see and trust it. Don't give me specially prepared food from the back room that I cannot see being prepared specially for me. Understand my point? I can live being left alone. If you don't like me even in a land of smiles...just let me know of your habits and I will make my decisions on where to live. Don't make me a victim like every day life is here in america.
Can I find a peaceful life in Thailand as a peace loving black man?
Please share your experience in resperct to your color in Thailand!
Tell me what it is really like in Thailand for you and what you have observed for other blacks.
QPQ

Brookecarla wrote:

I'm a younger Black American woman. There are quite a few that work for the US Embassy. There is going to be a white party next weekend where there will be other Black people to meet with.

Why do so many people want to mix with their own race/colour/religion?

I have to be honest, if you look for a very narrow group of people to hang out with, you'll never enjoy an expat experience, and never find out anything about the country you decided to go to.
Personally, I don't give a flying rat's arse about the person's skin colour/nationality/whatever, I only care if they're nice or not.

Couldn't agree more with fred's post.....

I think you should only speak for your own personal experience. You can't truly speak to anyone else's expat experience unless you have lived a day in their shoes.

Maybe you are the exception and are kind to all people. I would hope that all people were as enlightened as you are, but alas they are not.

I can only speak to my own experiences as a black woman in this country. I don't see the land of a thousand smiles when people are scared to sit beside me on the BTS, stare at me, try to rip me off in prices or look at me with disgust and disdain. Many of these people with nowhere near the means or position that I have. I am constantly judged negatively for my outside.

I would argue that most black people are extremely friendly and inclusive and seeking to be kind and warm to all they encounter, however when the world reciprocates with ugliness and hatred, sometimes you seek comfort from those like you, with similar experience and understanding.

Honestly, people must first accept their privilege to begin to understand what it's like for others to live as expats in this country.

Honestly, my friend what I learned was my own experience. My trip to Thailand was for several reasons. I was there looking for a teaching job. This is where I found the most discrimination. I found that even though they advertise a lot of positions in Thailand, when you show up as an African american they are astonished. I found on the applications they ask you your race, size, and age. This was the only culture shock I experienced.I was told on occasions that I had the perfect resume and was asked when I could start until I sent in a picture and they saw I was black. The story then changed. If your white,thin, and are between the ages of 20-35 Thailand is yours.  Like I said other than that it is a beautiful country. Get used to being starred at if you decide to come. That didnt bother me at all. I met some really great people in Thailand mostly through various churches. All nations of people. I ate a little Thai food but mostly in 7/11 stores and a restaurant. I wouldn;t eat the street food. I cooked a lot at home amercian food and my partner at the time was african so he cooked african food. The food is real cheap and the rent. You have an advantage because you will have an income of retirement. You can live good. Just know Thai folks will not roll out the red carpet for you. I have also experienced taxi drivers trying to get over on me by taking longer routes to get a larger taxi fee. I learned how to start speaking up about that and learning my surrondings to and from my apartment. I have had taxi drivers pass by me and pick up a Thai person instead. On the otherhand ,I have had some great taxi drivers who didnt speak english, but somehow knew where I was going and was very nice.The other headache I dealt with was visa renewals and fees. I could have stayed longer but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle anymore. I spent 4 months there and I just returned back to the states 2 weeks ago. I want to go back to visit Thailand to tour places I didnt get to go to and connect once again with some great people I met. It was a bitter sweet experience for me. I learned a lot and no matter how much research you do on a country it is totally different once you actually get there and live abroad as a foreigner. I would highly recommend that you learn the language before you go or study the language at a language school once you get there. It will cost you about 700-800 Usd or 23-24,000 Thai baht which is their currency for the year. I hope that answers some of your questions. Please feel to ask more if you need to. Michelle