More and more Westerners do at home in Thailand. We all bring our own set of basic values of our education deeply rooted and companies from which we come. These are the rules we live our lives, moral principles and guidelines that govern our actions and decisions process. We do not all have the same values, but any values, the probability that they are different from those held in Thailand.

Many ex-pats in Thailand areBreadwinners in their families have set up their own businesses or work in management positions. We are therefore often in a position of authority or influence on Thai people. This brings us to a dilemma. To what extent should we use our set of Western values to the Thai people that we influence?

I have great respect and appreciate the Thai culture. I'm happy to embrace many values in my new home. However, I have my values and I can not leaveeverything behind just because I am now in Thailand. Many of them are too deeply rooted in my psyche. Set Your acceptance of Western values in my life not necessarily mean that they are also forced into the life of my wife. My wife is Thai and not always the same things that I believe.

A good example of the West and Thais holding conflicting values is the theme of road safety. Most Thais do not believe in wearing helmets and seat belts. In general, you are wearing, but they do so to avoid a situationFine police, rather than the interests of safety. Westerners generally accept the fact that security measures are a good idea. We do not like our governments to us by law enforcement, but we believe in the principle of taking safety precautions.

It is easy to understand the reasons for these different viewpoints. The Thai people are fatalistic. Part of the Buddhist religion. They believe that what will be will be. If something happens, that this will happen, and there is littlecan do about it. In the West we believe in controlling our destinies. We believe that our actions have consequences that affect future actions.

We have therefore a potential source of contention. I know that some ex-pat Westerners no longer be able to start their car until all passengers have continued their safety. I know that others who do not take the passenger on the bike when his helmet. These are required not only to general principles of Western safety standards, but the laws of Thailand. Buteven those Westerners impose their values on the Thais, who do not hold the same values. We come to their land and force them to see how we behave. Is that correct?

I have no doubt that our Western point of view is on this issue. I am sure that most accidents are avoidable, and if you can at least take precautions to reduce their impact. But that's not the point. There is no question of who is right or wrong, but whether it is right to force Western valuesPeople in our hosts, who do not believe in them. One of my moral convictions is that it is wrong to force my beliefs on other people. So I take the attitude that if people want to go with my car or a motorcycle without safety precautions, it is their choice.

But what happens if you are the person responsible for security? What happens if the person is a child?

When we had our first child, I thought it would buy a seat for the car. And 'what we would do in the West. My wife wassurprise when I proposed to go shopping for that office. Because we want our child safety belt in the back seat of the car? Would keep the baby, while I was driving.

Ho, a child seat is a good idea, so we went shopping. Of course, you will not find seats for children in most shops in Thailand. This is something that most Thais do not believe that for the purchase. We went to selection in Robinson's Department Store, Search. They were expensive, and they all need the rear seat belts to hang. Our machineeven as the rear safety belts and the purchase of the registered child, we would still take the car to arrive. At this point I took, we would not buy one.

I thought we needed one, but it was too easy to prove, hard against the Thai belief that we do not. Even the sellers have confirmed that it was unnecessary.

There are many ways that Westerners in Thailand to bring parts of their lifestyle in countries with them. In Phuket, we are capable of Western-style houses,Furniture, kitchens, appliances and satellite TV. I love Thai food and in our family, we eat Thai food most of the time, but sometimes I want to eat Western. It will never be a problem in Phuket.

There is nothing wrong with building your own little piece of home in your new country, if that's what you want. The problem is that, if the values at home, the life of the invasion of the Thai people who do not want to start it.

Western culture is very invasive. Let Western fastGrocery stores are all over Thailand. High-profile advertising campaigns, it seems to make a stylish and exciting to ignore the fact that the food is good and nutritious as the local cuisine. The result is many small fat Thai children. New 7-Eleven convenience stores appear in any environment, while in the vicinity of the local Thai grocery stores. The Christian religion has a history of vigorously promoting itself in non-Christian countries. The United States has a policy of promoting "the"American Way" on the world.

There seems to be a deep rooted belief in our own correctness have. We are not easy to accept other cultures nation and its values. We expect them to be more like us to change this. This is an issue that we must be careful when you live in another culture. We must not lose our identity and values, but we need a way to integrate them into our lives without stifling the local culture or to insult people to find locally.