Isan Beauty

What is considered beautiful here in Isan differs drastically from the American eye of beauty. It has reminded me constantly of the well known phrase 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' or in this case culture. The palest whitest skin, long hair, big eyes, slender body and big noses are the objects of desire for Isan women. Why is it we always want what we can't have and put ourselves through the most extreme measures to achieve it? In the US women are baking their skin in the sun for hours to get a nice tan or having plastic surgery to get smaller noses. It has been quite ironic and at points funny to live in a culture who values the exact opposite. When temperatures rise up to the 90's or 100's women are still layered in jackets and pants. This left me quite confused at times and I would ask my teachers why they were still wearing a jacket. They would point to their skin and say "black, black, no". Yes, they were scared their skin would turn black-they say 'black' instead of 'tan'. One of the english high school teachers, who use to work in southern thailand at the beaches, recently visited my house and made a comment on how she would always see the women in bikinis with black skin on the beach. This of course horrified her on why anyone would be out in the sun in a bikini!

When I first arrived in Thailand looking to buy the essential toiletries (lotion, face wash, deodarant...) at the local market it was almost impossible to find a product without "whitening" meaning there was some chemical bleach in it. This of course was my first shock of what I'd soon learn. Many thai people approach me and the other volunteer asking to touch our hair, nose or skin. We are like some foreign creature that they have only seen on TV. Countless times I get comments about my curly hair often called "Pom Tuk-ga-ta" -doll hair. This brings me to my next cultural woah of the importance of a slender body. Here in Isan it is perfectly okay to comment on someones body shape, a taboo to bring up in America. My co-teachers will call each other fat or even a student if they are a little chubby. Pi tuk often comments about one of my P.5 girl students who is a bit chubby saying, "Bow fat, very fat".She then looks to me for an agreeance wanting me to say "Yes, she is very fat" (I don't actually say this but rather smile and nod). At first these comments caught be off guard but I'm slowly learning that it is not necessarily meant to hurt the person's feelings but rather just stating what they are seeing. Rule: If a person can see it, it is fair game to talk about.

Having stayed in my village last weekend, where there isn't much to do other than ride around the rice field or sit in bed and read, I decided I was going to take my chances and head over to the local beauty salon to get a hair cut. This was going against my teachers recommendations saying in PlaPak "mai sueay" -hair cuts in plapak not beautiful. Oh well, I decided I'd rather have my money go back into the village I live in rather than the city. As I walked into the shop it caused quite a stir with many of the ladies snickering and laughing to each other on how the farlang was there. After waiting a few minutes my time was up and I gestured to the women cut while saying "Nit-noi, Nit-noi"(little bit, little bit) I figured it is pretty hard to mess up on curly hair because little imperfections are easily hidden. All went smooth and she blow dried and straightened my hair, first time in 4 MONTHS, and even put the finishing touch of two little french braids. In the states a trip to get a hair cut can cost as much as $40..but in PlaPak..about $3!

Beauty Salon PlaPak