I do agree with you in that it is harder to learn. I speak 6 languages fluently with English being my 4th language learned. It was harder for me to pick this one up than the other ones.
I really struggled initially. I stayed another 6 months and was able to learn with the help of a tutor who charged 200 baht an hour which really made a difference on a one on one basis. He got me through 6 months of lessons from Duke using my school books in 4 weeks. He made it so much easier to learn. What really helped was him inviting me out with his friends to learn more conversational Thai which helped out immensely. More so than going to Duke University. When you hang out with local Thais who are only speaking in Thai, you learn the language very fast and they would always correct my mistakes. What else would you like to know? Also loved how you had to scroll to over a years worth of my messages to try to get me in a gotcha moment.
That is exactly what I meant. People who are proud to live in the country who have never tried nor care to learn the language and they are proud of it. Most of them tend to be guys who go out drinking every night and sleeping around. No care for the country or the culture.
I met people who were like this. I meet a guy who retired to Bangkok. He would complain about the free loaders in the US and how they didn't try to fit in. You guessed it. Doesn't want to learn Thai because has has his girlfriend to translate everything.
I went out with a friend I met who has been living here for 3 years. It was him and his girlfriend plus her friends. They were talking shit about him in Thai and when I spoke in Thai they immediately shut up. Wouldn't you want to hear what people say about you? You know it happens here a lot. I have heard people talk about me on the BTS and I let them know I can understand them.
