Have Some Sanuk.

Enough talking about sad cultures.

Let me invite you back to Thailand,
where I have reserved the last discussion
of their cultural values that make up this smiling-nation.

Sanuk
definition: fun

To the Thais,
fun is a daily staple.

Weiner finds out more with Sumet Jumsai,
one of the best architects who built
today's cutting-edge buildings such as
the Robot Building.

''Ahh, sanuk.
If it's not sanuk,
it's not worth doing.

People will resign from good-paying job because
it's not fun.'
he says with eyes light up.

'But everyone likes fun.
We Americans practically invented fun.'
Weiner replies.

'Yes, but you American take your fun
very seriously.
We Thais do not.
We don't believe in this
work-hard, play-hard mentality.
Our fun is interspered throughout the day.'

'What do you mean?'

'It could be a smile or a laugh
during the workday.
It's not as uptight as America.'

*

Weiner visits the United Nations office and
meets Sureerat, a single in her mid-thirties.

She lends an interesting illustration
to Jumsai's conviction about
the possibility of having fun a little here and there
by not being 'uptight as America'.

'I'll give you an example.
In the U.S. [and may I add, Singapore],
when you trip over something and fall,
no one interferes.
It's as if nothing happened.

But Thai people?
We laugh and laugh nonstop.
We still run over and help,
but we're laughing at the same time.'

Sureerat goes on,
'I think America [definitely, Singapore too] is one of the
most stressed countries in the world.

You hire people to do everything,
even to mow your lawn.
Here, even wealthy people do that themselves.
We think it's fun.'

Sanuk, again!

'We laugh and joke during meetings.
It's all very informal.

That is when you get things done.
If it's not fun,
it's not worth doing.'

Her last line coincidentally mimics Jumsat's.

Weiner says,
'Thais don't just have fun,
they poke fun.'

Sureerat explains further,
'We make fun of fat people here.
You can call your friend ''hippo''.
She might smack you,
but it's all in good fun.

You can't do that in the U.S., can you?'

Grin.

Well, having sanuk in inappropriate contexts
will definitely cost
precious relationships
and earn you the reputation of a clown.

I think,
To truly enjoy sanuk,
Wisdom must accompany it.


*

I'm surprised to learn
how professionally the Thai government
incorporated sanuk
when dealing with a threat to their national peace.

There's one morning,
everyone in Thailand was making paper cranes.
Everyone -
from street vendors to stockbrokers.

What on earth was going on?

Weiner reports,
'It turns out that the king had proclaimed
that people needed to cool hearts
in the sourthern part of Thailand,
where a Muslim insurgency has been raging for decades.

So the prime minister came up with the perfect solution:
paper cranes!

Yes, they would make thousands and thousands of
paper cranes and drop them from airplains
as a peace gesture.'

Scott, Weiner's buddy who lives in Bangkok says,
'They basically bombed the south
with these paper cranes.
It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen.'

Bizarre, indeed.
What unity.
Bangkok looks like a mega family of
very obedient children -
all for the sake of
jai yen and sanuk.

Next time,
when I catch you trip,
don't throttle me if I laugh

'cos
I'm learning to have some
sanuk -

how about you too?

[and I will follow up my hilarity
by helping you up, of course.]

You have a sanuk Thursday!
*