This term is similar to “gringo” in Spanish and is one of the single most common words I hear in a day.
At first, being stared at and pointed at and labeled as a foreigner didn’t bother me. After all, I was new and I felt very foreign. It didn’t surprise me that people would gawk. Now, as I am feeling more at home here and things are less strange, it’s starting to grate on me that people are still awed at my very presence. When I walk through the mall that I’ve visited a number of times now, the majority of people literally stop what they’re doing and just unashamedly stare. Walking down the street I hear the word “farang” either yelled from far away or spoken between passing pedestrians, as if people think I can’t tell what they’re saying.
At a nearby convenience store there is a small child who was originally very cute but now is like a thorn in my side. She literally follows me around, grabs at my clothes, asks for money and all the while yells “farang!” right at me. I’m not sure whose child she is– maybe one of the street vendors’ right outside the door– but maybe she doesn’t belong to anyone. She’s always so dirty. It brings up a strange mixture of sadness for her and utter annoyance.
What I’m noticing is that most of this attention is not meant to be negative– people practically worship anything American, especially when it comes to appearance and fashion. Teenaged girls in the church or community without much inhibition will often hold an arm up to mine to compare the skin color difference, or run their fingers through my hair (any hair color that is not jet black is labeled “blonde” here and seen as beautiful). I’ll catch them standing close to me if there’s a mirror nearby where they can get a glimpse of themselves next to the American. The skincare aisle in a store here seems to carry more “whitening” lotion or makeup than anything else.
I’m not sure how to respond to all of this. Right now I can’t, really, since I have so few words. I did have one conversation with a girl who knew some English, telling her that her skin color is beautiful, and that white skin is highly overrated– it gets sunburned so easily. I told her that in America people spend hours in the sun trying to get darker, and here people spend money trying to get whiter. Really, we should be happy with the way God created us.
It’s a very different feeling to stand out and even be idealized. Normally I blend into a crowd very well– here it is impossible to disappear unless I am physically concealed. Activities like going for a run or hanging out at a mall on my Sabbath are much less relaxing because the attention I attract makes it feel like I’m some sort of celebrity. Especially because the area of town I’m in, whether in Permsup or near the Center, sees very few white people. The socio-economic level is lower here, and the main tourist hub of Bangkok is almost an hour away. There’s not much to attract other foreigners here.
Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts. I’m sure I’ll have new insights once I can start understanding what people are saying about me. That will be fun once I know Thai but everyone around me doesn’t know that I know. 
