| − | As a newly-arrived expat in Thailand, I looked forward to seeing every little thing from the Reclining Buddha to the gold-encrusted temples. But very first, I told myself, I had some critical shopping to do. With the...<br><br>I came to recognize early on in my stay in this gorgeous country of Thailand, that Thai women were not only perfectly groomed and gracious, but they had been absolutely "svelte." I mean, how a lot of more attributes do they get? I felt like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.<br><br>As a newly-arrived expat in Thailand, I looked forward to seeing every little thing from the Reclining Buddha to the gold-encrusted temples. But very first, I told myself, I had some serious shopping to do. With the temperature at 100 degrees and the humidity fighting for best billing, I believed the best place to kill two birds with a single metaphorical stone would be at an air conditioned shopping mall. Shopping has constantly had a way of lifting my over-sized spirits. I'd hoped to locate a cutesy tiny sundress that could transform my 38DD [http://www.echristmasdecorationsclearance.com/christmas-decorations-clearance link] bust line and my 30 inch waist into a thing that looked "svelte."<br><br>But this wasn't just for me, this shopping organization. No, no. I produced it a prerequisite to always assist the local economic climate. I was directed by our hotel's concierge to attempt Robinson's Department Store in downtown Bangkok. "Extremely good clothes foh you, MaDam."<br><br>Wow, Robinsons? Appropriate here in downtown Bangkok? It took me thirty minutes on a hot tuk-tuk ride in the piercing heat, but I created it, unscathed and ready to spend, devote, spend. As I sauntered into what I thought was the Women's Department, I stopped short. Oh, no, these need to be the teen's clothes. They are considerably also little for an adult. I scanned the racks. Who wears a size 2? Exactly where am I, in the Barbi and Ken Department? I couldn't get these types about my thigh, a lot much less my back-side.<br><br>I could see somebody walking towards me, but she looked like a teenager. Surely she's not the salesgirl? She stopped in front of me. "Gootmoanin."<br><br>"Oh." I felt my face get hot. She looked like a sprite. She wasn't a small girl following all she was at least in her 20s and obviously the salesgirl in this department. "Uh, I, ah, was Is there a Woman's department in this store?"<br><br>"Yeth." She smiled and waited expectantly.<br><br>"Oh. Well, I, ah, could you point me to it?"<br><br>"Mai kow jai ka."<br><br>I yanked my Thai-to-English conversation book from my pocket and handed it to her. She pointed to a Thai phrase and handed the book back to me.<br><br>"Oh! You do not realize?"<br><br>She smiled.<br><br>"Okay. Sure. Sorry." I pointed to my effectively-fed physique, although she watched expectantly. I then yanked on the waistline of my dress and mentioned, "Clothes. For me."<br><br>"Yeth," she smiled demurely whilst seeking at her feet, "preze foroow me."<br><br>She led me to a tiny alcove, exactly where some properly-fed tourists were grazing about. Sidling up to a rather rotund shopper, I asked if she knew why we had been led to this separate region. "Is it simply because we're foreigners?"<br><br>She puckered up her mouth as if sucking on a sour gumball: "Yeah, honey, it is cuz we're foreigner's all appropriate, bigger-than-life foreigners!" She threw back her head and guffawed at her cleverness.<br><br>"Huh?"<br><br>"The only sizes you are going to find out there," she cocked her head towards the tiny clothes I'd just left, "are size twos to fours, and honey, that ain't us." She had herself another great laugh.<br><br>I snuck a peek around the room whilst she chortled, and realized that every physique standing in this space was years past those proportions.<br><br>I knew I wasn't going to like these svelte, tidy small ladies. They ought to be bulimic that's it. Binge, purge, binge, purge - they're not fooling me. Dream on, lady.<br><br>As I toured and shopped the city in the following weeks, I came to realize that the Thais had been also neat and tidy in other elements of their lives. Every single department retailer I visited in Bangkok was unbelievably pristine. Shirts and pants, towels, linens and sportswear were not only folded and stacked, but actually looked as though folded by automation. All the garments concealed cardboard inserts to give them shape. No pins showing, no uneven edges, just as if it were a picture on display. The dresses, blouses and shirts were neatly hung on hangers according to sizes and colors. Remarkable, taking into consideration the litter I'd witnessed outside on the streets of Bangkok, exactly where each small nook and crevice harbored some sort of debris.<br><br>For us, ahem, larger sizes, I identified that anything imported was deplorably high. An imported name-brand in Thailand could be 4 instances greater than a single may well pay in the States. Paradoxically, Thai clothes are extremely inexpensive and rather stylish if you happen to be much less than five feet tall and weigh in between seventy and ninety pounds.<br><br>I produced a choice then and there: Prior to I left this country I would diet regime, quickly, quit consuming, quit breathing whatever it took to appear as svelte as these Thai women.<br><br>Another eye-opener I located was that every [http://www.echristmasdecorationsclearance.com/christmas-decorations-clearance helpful resources] place I shopped, there were at least three salespeople hovering more than me, smiling, waiing a Thai greeting. So helpful! I'll be [http://www.echristmasdecorationsclearance.com/christmas-decorations-clearance extra resources] very cranky when I return to the States and don't get the very same service.<br><br>But back to reality. Following living in Thailand for a handful of months, I learned the secret of the segregated clothing. The salespeople have the excellent solution for us bigger sizes. It is known as "Won Sigh" meaning Large. You enter the clothing department, and unless you are built like Twiggy, the sweet, smiling, ever-beneficial salesgirls who all appear pre-pubescent steer you toward the "Won Sigh" department. This is where you will discover all the loose-fitting, baggy, beachy, gauzy, hippie-seeking outfits, and all claiming to fit 1 SIZE from size 8 all the way up to Mama Cass. This is their way of saving face - yours. They would by no means dream to insinuate you were big, fat, obese, or chubby. You just take place to fall into the category of Won Sigh.<br><br>As I departed Robinsons in my new muumuu, almost tripping over the hemline, I got a glimpse of my reflection in the display window. YIKES! Picture Hilo Hattie in strappy sandals.<br><br>(Excerpted from A Broad Abroad in Thailand by Dodie Cross, with permission).
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