When working on the computer I often hear it said that I'm "playing on the computer" - it took me a long time to get to grips with that one!
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2015111 ... e-more-fun
Some extracts:
In Thailand, ‘sanuk’ has been elevated to an ethos, a way of life – which perhaps the West could learn from.
Every culture has a word for fun, but the Thai word, sanuk, is freighted with more meaning, more reverence, than most. Sanuk is not fun as mindless diversion or frivolity; it’s fun as an intrinsically valuable activity.
“If it’s not sanuk it’s not worth doing,” said Sumet Jumsai, one of Thailand’s best-known architects, as the glorious madness of Bangkok swirled just outside his office. “People will resign from a good-paying job because it’s not fun.”
This struck me, with my Western sensibilities, as wildly impractical, and for a moment I thought he was pulling my leg. But for Thais, fun is not optional. In fact, Thais use another term, len, or “to play”, to describe activities like academic research and business meetings – ones that most Westerners don’t associate with playfulness.
Sanuk is also a coping mechanism, one that provides “an emotional buffer against the more difficult things in life”, writes Arne Kislenko in Culture and Customs of Thailand. Although Thailand is known as “The Land of Smiles”, the Thai smile is considerably more complex, more nuanced, than most foreigners realise. Yes, Thais smile when expressing joy or gratitude, but they also smile to conceal negative emotions. Thais will smile during a tense standoff, or at a funeral.
A close companion to sanuk is the Thai concept of mai pen rai, variously translated as “don’t bother”, “never mind” or “no problem”. It is not meant negatively, as in “never mind, I’ll do it myself”, but, rather, as a reminder of what truly matters, as in “never mind; this too shall pass”.
It’s a life philosophy that values harmony, avoids confrontation, and recognises, in a very Buddhist way, that all of life is transitory. What seems like a life-or-death matter probably isn’t. And for some Westerners, especially those doing business in Thailand, the twin philosophies of sanuk and mai pen rai can be frustrating. Efficiency (in the short term at least) suffers when everyone is busy having fun.
But Thais see these attributes as productive in their own way. They reduce tension and quieten aggression. In Thailand, a drunk person acting belligerently is likely be ignored rather than confronted. Mai pen rai. It doesn’t matter.
