Food Culture in Mae La Noi by Intern Layne O'Connell

“Did you have breakfast?” “When will you eat lunch?” “Have you eaten yet today?”

All day every day I am asked questions like these. Whether it be fellow teachers, students, shopkeepers, or our various friends we have made in the community, one of the first things I am greeted with at the start of any conversation is a question about eating. At first I found this interesting and a bit strange. I thought I looked relatively healthy (with the exception of all the swollen red bumps dotting my limbs from all the mosquitoes), so I was curious why people seemed so concerned for my eating habits! Another possible explanation I thought of was that maybe people were just checking in to make sure I was adjusting well to life in the village, but these questions have continued every day for well over a month now. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally figured out the actual significance of these phrases. In Mae La Noi, inquiring about meals is the equivalent of asking someone “how are you?” This really clicked with me and made a lot of sense, because when Morgan and I would greet students and ask how they were doing, many giggled and did not know how to respond. We took notice and talked with each other about how we thought it was strange that our traditional basic polite greeting was not recognized by our students, since greetings are one of the first things taught to English students here. It turns out that in Mae La Noi, and Thailand as a greater whole, “sabai dee mai (English pronunciation),” or “how are you,” is seldom used. The phrase is only utilized to inquire about how someone is feeling after a major event, or after reuniting with someone after significant time spent apart. It is not used as a day-to-day greeting the way it is in the United States. It is instead common to greet others in relation to food because food is such a central aspect of Thai culture, especially in such a small, agrarian, close knit community like Mae La Noi. My students either board or commute to school from tiny mountain villages known as the “hilltribes,” where farming and agriculture are essential to survival. Many of my students’ families are self-sustaining; they grow their own food, but also make a living from farming, cooking, and selling goods. As such, food is involved in so many different aspects of daily life for the people that a greeting about food just seems natural. Another aspect of the food culture here is that meals here are never eaten alone and they are never rushed. Often, many people contribute to the process of putting together a meal, and everyone is so generous by offering to share with or invite others. Morgan and I are always accompanied by students, our co-teachers (who have even attempted to give us some Thai cooking lessons), friends from the community, or even strangers whenever we have a meal! Since we are the only white people in the village and it is so small, most people have at least heard about our presence and can identify us right away. Many people are curious about us and want to learn more about our culture or teach us about theirs, or they are just excited for the opportunity to practice some English since there are rarely foreigners around to practice with. In fact, one of our newest friends, a local police chief who is trying to study English for an exam to be the attache for an embassy, simply walked up to us while we were eating dinner at a restaurant, introduced himself, and started a conversation. A valuable friendship blossomed fairly quickly as we shared a meal and just a few days later, we all drove the 4.5 hours to Chiang Mai together for the Buddhist Lent long weekend! In addition, when we are outside of classes, food accompanies all events. For example, when our co teacher took us to do our laundry at the laundromat in town and we had to wait for it to be finished, we sat in a nearby coffee shop and got a meal. Once the laundry was done, she took us to a mountain lookout point where we had noodle bowls and Thai tea for lunch, despite having a meal less than an hour before! It is just natural for people to spend time together and converse when there is food to be shared on the table. Food is ultimately so central to the lives, culture, and values of the people (such as kindness and generosity), that it just makes sense that food is embedded in the most common greeting here in Mae La Noi.