Bangkok, Thailand
So, I walked out of a mall this evening and into a crowded area with a stage. It turned out that a bunch of local high school-aged kids were showcasing their dance talents. I have to give them credit for putting energy into something physical, safe, and fun (insert inappropriate stereotypical theory for which I have seen zero cases for validation *wink wink*). But that's it. That's all that I have to give them credit for. I curse America’s Best Dance Crew for giving these kids hope that they can be America’s (or any country’s) Favorite Dance Crew! Most of these kids were far from terrible but none of them showed the potential to be anyone’s backup dancer, either.
My opinions are admittedly ethnocentric, despite my best efforts (at least I'm aware?). No heterosexual American male would willingly dance out some of the sequences that these kids were performing without feeling insecure about his masculinity. It's amazing how norms differ so much between cultures! It was also funny watching the girls because all day you see them running around town in their school girl uniforms (wholesome from head to toe: frumpy white button-up blouse, dark blue calf-length hideously pleated skirts, matching blue neck scarf, hair bow, high white socks, and black, buckled baby doll shoes) but on stage they were moving to a much more sexual beat. I don't know how to explain the night and day difference that took place up there. I seriously felt like I was committing a crime just by watching! It was like someone dropped a Mentos in a Coke bottle and shook that baby up until the top popped. Too young, too inexperienced, and too Westernized. Fathers, lock your daughters back up before they become "Ping Pong Players"!
So, I walked out of a mall this evening and into a crowded area with a stage. It turned out that a bunch of local high school-aged kids were showcasing their dance talents. I have to give them credit for putting energy into something physical, safe, and fun (insert inappropriate stereotypical theory for which I have seen zero cases for validation *wink wink*). But that's it. That's all that I have to give them credit for. I curse America’s Best Dance Crew for giving these kids hope that they can be America’s (or any country’s) Favorite Dance Crew! Most of these kids were far from terrible but none of them showed the potential to be anyone’s backup dancer, either.
My opinions are admittedly ethnocentric, despite my best efforts (at least I'm aware?). No heterosexual American male would willingly dance out some of the sequences that these kids were performing without feeling insecure about his masculinity. It's amazing how norms differ so much between cultures! It was also funny watching the girls because all day you see them running around town in their school girl uniforms (wholesome from head to toe: frumpy white button-up blouse, dark blue calf-length hideously pleated skirts, matching blue neck scarf, hair bow, high white socks, and black, buckled baby doll shoes) but on stage they were moving to a much more sexual beat. I don't know how to explain the night and day difference that took place up there. I seriously felt like I was committing a crime just by watching! It was like someone dropped a Mentos in a Coke bottle and shook that baby up until the top popped. Too young, too inexperienced, and too Westernized. Fathers, lock your daughters back up before they become "Ping Pong Players"!
Look at these moving walkways. I found them in the Bangkok airport. They are long and go up one level each. There were about five floors of them and I was entertained like a child because of the hilliness.
This was my final day in Thailand and tomorrow will be the final full day of my trip! Three weeks went by really fast. Wow. I’m sure that once I’m back in Australia I will slack on updating this thing. Just expect that, whoever is listening . . .
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