Falang Fella

The local kids have just paid their nightly visit to see what the falang is up to. The little fella doesn't go to school. His mother is the local washing lady. He seems to always be in trouble, either for buying a nam daeng ' red cordial drink' instead of laundry detergent, or for annoying his neighbours who run the local food businesses. Usually either mum or neighbour give him a swift whack across the head. I approve!

He says nothing to me other than falang...falang...he finds this very funny. That's quite rude; its equivalent to allowing your child to yell, "China man, China man," repeatedly to your Chinese neighbour. (Falang means foreigner, but more specifically, white foreigner)

This was frustrating. But now when we meet I call him 'falang,' and that stuns him into an instant silence. One of these days I am going to get a 'hello' out of him!