Immigrants from Thailand in the U.S. A dissertation presented to. the faculty of. In partial fulfillment. of the requirements for the degree

Transcription

1 Robin Hood in the Land of the Free?: An Ethnographic Study of Undocumented Immigrants from Thailand in the U.S. A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Jirah Krittayapong March Jirah Krittayapong. All Rights Reserved.

2 This dissertation titled Robin Hood in the Land of the Free?: An Ethnographic Study of Undocumented Immigrants from Thailand in the U.S. by JIRAH KRITTAYAPONG has been approved for the School of Communication Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Devika Chawla Associate Professor of Communication Studies Benjamin Bates Associate Professor of Communication Studies Scott Titsworth Interim Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii

3 ABSTRACT KRITTAYAPONG, JIRAH, Ph.D., March 2012, Communication Studies Robin Hood in the Land of the Free?: An Ethnographic Study of Undocumented Immigrants from Thailand in the U.S. Directors of Dissertation: Devika Chawla and Benjamin Bates This dissertation explores the experiences of undocumented Thai immigrants in the United States, focusing on the identity shift experiences of those who have fallen from their high social ranking after migration. Undocumented Thai immigrants, who are usually referred to by Thai people as Robin Hoods, differ from undocumented immigrants from other countries to the extent that most of these individuals come from a higher socio-economic level. Yet they have fallen from their high social ranking after migration since they cannot maintain a social status comparable to what they held back home. Using ethnography and in-depth interviews as research methodologies, I intensively examined these individuals experiences in terms of their identity shifts, the interplay between pre- and post-migration identities, and how these individuals communicatively negotiated and performed their identities within new cultural environment. The study results indicate that after they chose to diminish their socio-economic status to live illegally in the U.S., these undocumented Thai immigrants were caught in a liminal state where a sense of belonging was difficult to find. These individuals struggled to maintain their dignity and self-esteem. They had to negotiate their identities and find effective communication strategies to help them become a part of their groups while trying to survive in this foreign country. This study also suggests that there are many iii

4 factors that influence people s sense of self and how they interact with others. Illegal status, in fact, should not be viewed as the most important factor that affects every immigrant s sense of self after they immigrate to other countries. Each group of undocumented immigrants is unique and should not be treated as a unitary whole. Their cultural backgrounds in general and social backgrounds in particular, as is the case of Thai Robin Hoods, make undocumented immigrants from each country unique in terms of how they view themselves, as well as how they communicate about their selves in social relation contexts. Approved: Devika Chawla Associate Professor of Communication Studies Benjamin Bates Associate Professor of Communication Studies iv

5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As an international student who has lived far away from home for many years to pursue a doctoral degree, I realize that I would not have been able to go through this without support from many people those who are in Thailand as well as those who are here. Absolutely, I could not have done this without the encouragement and support of my parents in Thailand. I am the only child of my family, and my parents are now 70- year-old. Both of them have waited for me to come back home with a title in front of my name to make them proud. I am sure that my mother will cry when she picks me up at the airport in Thailand. I will say thanks to my parents as soon as I see them and tell them how grateful I am for their patience and understanding during the past several years of my academic journey. My son is another person that I want to thank for being such a great child and always making me proud with the 4.00 GPA that he has received every year. He was only 3-year-old when I left him to pursue my Ph.D. I am a single mom, and it was never easy to leave him. Yet every time I called back home, I usually heard great things about him, and that made me feel relieved and happy. I would like to give everyone in my family a big hug and tell them that their love and support means so much to me, and I love them all dearly. I also would like to thank Dr. Devika Chawla, my advisor, for her guidance, encouragement, and patience on this project. Her support helped me improve this study every step of the way. I also thank Dr. Benjamin Bates who contributed to this study as the dissertation co-chair. I am grateful for his valuable comments and suggestions. I also wish to thank all members of my committee. Dr. Anita C. James, who is also my POS advisor, always provided me with encouragement, guidance, and support. I might not v

6 have survived my first few years in this program without her. Dr. Raymie McKerrow did not hesitate when I asked him to serve on my committee. I am very grateful for his comments and advice as well as the knowledge I learned from his feminist rhetoric class, which has become my great inspiration in writing feminist romantic novels. Dr. Marina Peterson, a committee member from the School of Interdisciplinary Arts, was another person who helped me along this challenging journey. Her performance ethnography class was my first method class at OU. I learned so many things from her and always used the knowledge I learned to conduct studies for other class s projects during my studies at OU. I also wish to thank all the faculty members of the School of Communication Studies who have played key roles in my development as a scholar. Thank you for having assisted me throughout this long, challenging journey. I would not have finished it without support from all of you. Khob khun mak kha (Thank you very much)! vi

7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract... iii Acknowledgments... v Chapter 1: Introduction... 1 Purpose of the Study Significance of the Study Chapter Summary and Outline of the Dissertation Chapter 2: Literature Review Self and Identity Symbolic Interactionism: The Situational Approach Self-Identity as Performance Dramaturgy Face Performance Ethnography Immigration and Self-Identity Liminality Thai Culture and Socio-Cultural Values Chapter Summary Chapter 3: Research Methodology Research Participants Field Sites Observations Informal Conversations Individual Interviews My Narrative Tale of Positionality My History with Thai Robin Hoods When the Research Journey Begins Data Analysis Chapter 4: Constituting a Robin Hood Identity An American Degree is "Thay" (Cool) vii

8 With an American Degree, I'm so "Thay" Without an American Degree, I'm not "Thay," but I'm still "Cool" Thai Robin Hoods, "Gold-Diggers" who are Addicted to Money When Money is "Liked" (Extra Money) When Money is "Needed" Money as a Symbol of Pride and Happiness Freedom: Happy Life in the "Land of the Free" Free Lifestyle: Enjoy Life as the Way I Want Legal Freedom: Being "Invisible" is an Advantage When in Rome, Do Like the Romans Do Chapter Summary Chapter 5: Bridging a Robin Hood and Thai Identity Family Relations Thai-Ness: Ties that Still Bind Dilemmas in Maintaining Thai-Ness: A Case of Us vs. Them Thai's Spaces of Comfort Thai Temples Thai Karaoke Bars Thai Restaurants and Stores Friendship Really Does Matter Friends as Sources of Aid American Friends are not "Real Friends" Etiquette in being Friends with Robin Hoods Robin Hood Friends are Preferred but not Necessary Chapter Summary Chapter 6: Discussion Identity Shift: From Legal to Illegal Thai Robin Hoods in the State of Liminality Performing the Thai Robin Hood Identity Implications Limitations Future Research Directions viii

9 References Appendix A: Interview Protocol Appendix B: Participants' Profile Appendix C: IRB Project Outline Form Appendix D: Recruitment /Letter Appendix E: Consent Form ix

10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a deeper understanding of identity shifting experiences of Thai undocumented immigrants from well-educated and affluent backgrounds who chose to reside illegally in the United States (U.S.). Undocumented immigrants from Thailand differ from other undocumented immigrants to the extent that most of these individuals come from a higher socio-economic level. Yet they have fallen from their high social ranking after migration since they cannot maintain a status comparable to what they held back home. Research questions of my study focus on the interplay between pre- and post-migration identities, as well as the ways my research participants negotiate and perform their identities in social relations. Utilizing ethnography, including observation and in-depth interviewing as primary research methods, and symbolic interactionism and liminality as theoretical frameworks, I hope to enhance narrative, communicative, and performative understanding of identity enactment engaged by marginalized, ethnic minorities in social relation contexts within a new culture. To explore the experiences of undocumented immigrants from Thailand, the main research question of this dissertation is: RQ: What are the experiences of undocumented Thai immigrants in the United Sates? Although much has been written regarding immigrants self-identities, most existing studies in this area have been limited to a group of legal immigrants, especially those from high population groups such as Mexicans or Chinese. Moreover, most studies regarding illegal immigration neglect the fact that not all illegal immigrants are from indigent backgrounds, and their reasons to migrate are not always to seek a fortune or 1

11 better life. Individuals from different backgrounds usually experience and view things differently. In other words, pre-migration identities have much influence on individuals experiences after migration, which, in turn, affect their worldviews as well as how they communicate with others. There are various reasons that individuals migrate from their homeland to another country. In general, financial hardship is considered one of the prominent factors that stimulate immigration. Yoshida and Woodland (2005) point out that the disparities between developed and developing countries in terms of wages and opportunities for employment have caused a mass influx of immigrants into developed countries. They further argue that the legal flow of foreign migrants has recently faced restriction by the immigration authorities of host countries. These restrictions, however, have not prevented immigrants from entering the countries. Instead, they have caused an illegal migration influx a new challenge that host countries have to face. It is important to recognize that, although many undocumented immigrants migrate to other countries due to economic reasons, there are various other factors that can affect one s decision to migrate. Some undocumented immigrants come from affluent backgrounds and a high socio-economic level, but they decide to reside illegally in other countries. For these particular individuals, money seems not to be the most important factor in their decision to migrate. The International Organization for Migration lists the U.S. as the top migrant destination country in the world, with 42.8 million migrants in However, it is almost impossible to determine the precise number of undocumented immigrants in the 2

12 U.S. because many do not readily identify themselves for fear of deportation. The data from 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) collected by the U.S. Census Bureau have estimated a range between10 to 12 million. The issue of illegal immigration has become particularly politicized in the U.S. during the past several years and is an ongoing political and social debate (see Becker, 2008; Karmiol, 2007; Miller, 2007; Schmittroth, 2004). The data from the U.S. Census Bureau s survey in 2010 reveals that there are 249,754 Thai immigrants in the U.S., yet they have not determined how many of these Thai immigrants are undocumented. Unlike immigrants from other countries in Indochina, no one born in Thailand has been forced to come to the United States as a refugee (Ratner, 2010). Undocumented immigrants from Thailand first entered the country legally with temporary visas (student or temporary visitor visas) and then stayed beyond the time allowed. These individuals are typically referred to as visa abusers or visa overstayers (Yoshida & Woodland, 2005). A majority of Thai immigrants (with legal status) live in California and are clustered in Los Angeles. There are high numbers of visa overstayers from Thailand who are also believed to be in the Los Angeles area. The states of New York and Texas have the second and third largest Thai populations, respectively (Ratner, 2010). Although undocumented immigrants from Thailand residing in the U.S. before the 1990s mostly belonged to the middle or lower class individuals who came here to seek a fortune, the new generation of undocumented Thai immigrants is quite different. Having lived in the United States for 12 years, I have been involved with Thai communities in 3

13 Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. In these communities, I have personally observed that undocumented Thai immigrants characteristics have changed during the past two decades. Many undocumented Thai immigrants whom I have met come from middle or even upper-middle class backgrounds, and had already earned their undergraduate degrees before coming to the United States. Many of them came here to study for their master s degrees, but decided not to pursue them or left them incomplete. They allowed their student visas to expire and chose to diminish their social status by working full-time in Thai restaurants, a kind of job that they would never willingly do in Thailand. Many of these individuals do not have any plan to return home. While immigrants from other countries in Indochina like Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia represent the largest per capita race or ethnic group in the United States receiving public assistance (Tang, 2010), Thais are not on the list. Presumably, immigrants from Thailand in general come from a higher socio-economic level compared to immigrants from those neighbor countries. Data from the American Community Survey (United States Census Bureau, 2010) also indicates that Thai immigrants represent the highest rate of educational attainment compared to immigrant populations from other countries in Indochina. Out of the Thai immigrants, 26.5% have already earned their bachelor s degrees, while 15.9% possess their graduate or professional degree. Additionally, Thais also represent the highest rate of workers in management or professional occupations among the immigrant populations from Indochina (37.1%). While undocumented immigrants from Thailand differ from other undocumented immigrants in the U.S. in some aspects, they face similar issues as they struggle to 4

14 survive in a foreign country. As illegal residents, their choices are limited. For instance, they cannot go to college or apply for better careers in large enterprises. Undocumented Thai immigrants usually work in service businesses owned by Thais, such as Thai restaurants or gas stations, and earn wages that are lower than the minimum wage. These types of jobs also offer little in the way of social advancement. Thai people usually refer to visa overstayers from Thailand as Robin Hoods. 1 Among Thais, Robin Hood is commonly recognized as slang for undocumented Thai immigrants who stay in foreign countries, especially in the U.S., longer than their tourist or student visas allow, and find some way to support themselves, typically working without work permits. There is no official record regarding the origin of this slang. However, some people assume that this Robin Hood term probably originated from famous English folklore about the story of Robin Hood, an outlaw character who stole money from the wealthy and gave it to the poor. Therefore, the English story of Robin Hood seems to be parallel to the situation of the undocumented Thai immigrants who come to work in the U.S. (a richer country) in order to collect money and send it back to help their families in Thailand (a poorer country). As I mentioned earlier, the characteristics of Thai Robin Hoods in the United States have changed during the past two decades. The new generation of Thai Robin Hoods comes from affluent backgrounds and possesses social standing as well as good education backgrounds. Thus, they do not typically live their lives stealing from the wealthy in order to give it to the poor, like their predecessors. Nonetheless, the name 1 In this study report, I refer to my research participants as Robin Hoods. 5

15 Robin Hood is still widely used among the Thai community to label undocumented Thai immigrants despite their socio-economic backgrounds. Among Thais, this phrase does not need explanation. Traditionally, Thais do not refer to a person whom they are encountering face-to-face as a Robin Hood, since they recognize that this label has a negative connotation, and can be used to stigmatize particular individuals in terms of inferior and illegal work status. Typically, the fear of stigmatization is significant because Thais are concerned about having high esteem in the eyes of others. Nimanandh and Andrews (2009) associate esteem with what is commonly known in social research as face. In Thai culture, the concept of face plays a vital part in people s lives and face saving is considered one of Thai values and socio-cultural characteristics (Komin, 1990; Mulder, 2000; Ninmanandh & Andrews, 2009; Supattra, 1998; Ukosakul, 2009). Thai people usually avoid losing face, and any act of individuals that could cause loss of face for others, especially in public, needs to be avoided at all costs. When Thai individuals from well-educated and affluent backgrounds decide to diminish their social status by living and working illegally in a foreign country, it means that, to some extent, they have lost face. Fear of deportation is one key reason that Thai Robin Hoods do not readily identify themselves as undocumented immigrants or have other Thais refer to them as Robin Hoods. Yet when one takes into account Thai socio-cultural characteristics regarding self-esteem and face, then, fear of losing face can be considered another reason that Thai Robin Hoods attempt to conceal their real identity as undocumented immigrants. 6

16 Akhtar (1999), in his study on immigration and identity, points out that undocumented immigrants suffer post-traumatic effects of their sojourn for quite some time. This group of individuals normally experiences a deep sense of unworthiness and shame. As he notes, fractured self-esteem is usually rampant among visa overstayers. Thai Robin Hoods are likely to suffer from this kind of post-traumatic effect of their sojourn as well. Due to their fear of losing face, Thai Robin Hoods from well-educated and affluent backgrounds are reluctant to position themselves or to be identified by others as inferiors. These individuals, thus, find themselves struggling in a liminal stage betwixt and between two identities: legal and illegal (pre-migration and post-migration identities) whereby legal connotes confidence and face, and illegal lacks confidence and connotes loss of face. Turner (1982) describes the liminal period as the middle stage of rites of passage in societies the passage from one social status to another (p. 25). It is a period of transition that an individual, an initiate, who, stripped of the social status which he or she once possessed, must go through before being given his or her new status and reassimilated into the society. Liminal stages are destabilizing, and while in these stages, individuals usually struggle to find a sense of belonging. As Turner (1967) points out, liminal individuals have nothing: no status, insignia, secular clothing, rank, kinship position, nothing to demarcate them structurally from their fellows (p. 98). Thai Robin Hoods residing in a liminal stage tend to face dilemmas during their identity shift (from legal to illegal) to a very high degree. This has a significant effect on how they select specific personas to perform within each social context as they attempt to sustain their self-esteem (or to save face ) simultaneously. 7

17 Based on my previous research with Thai workers in the U.S. focusing on their self-presentation, I came to understand that self-esteem played a big part in my research participants lives (see Krittayapong, 2009). Approaches to self-esteem tell us that levels of self-esteem have some connections with socio-economic class as well as individuals perceptions of their social roles or identities created by factors such as history, culture, family, interests, and circumstance (Mruk, 2006). The Thai participants who took part in my preliminary study were very concerned about how others perceived them. The selfpromotion strategy (talking about education or wearing brand name apparel) was used regularly in order to help them show off their competence. Yet my participants, like Thai people in general, were also smooth interpersonal relationship-oriented (Komin, 1990). Therefore, they attempted to get along with others by employing ingratiation strategy (conforming to others) during social interactions. Internal conflicts were likely to occur when these individuals wanted to get ahead, but still wanted to get along with others at the same time. My previous research did not focus on undocumented Thai immigrants alone; however, it helped to generate the conceptual theme of self-esteem in relation to identity enactment. After immigration, immigrants either documented or undocumented have usually experienced contradictions that emerged as they attempted to reconcile the demands of two or more frequently incompatible worlds. In such situations, as Hegde (1998) points out, immigrants consciousness regarding communicative experiences and shifting identities is heightened. Akhtar (1999), a psychologist who studies immigrants identities, notes that [ i]mmigration from one country to another is a complex 8

18 psychological process with significant and lasting effects on an individual s identity (p.5). Nonetheless, there are many factors that researchers need to consider when studying psychological effects on immigrants identities. Legal (or illegal) status is one of those variables. According to Akhtar (1999), the psychological outcome of immigration is better if one has entered a country with proper legal permission and needed documentation (p. 33). Thus, when studying immigrants self-identity, it is essential to recognize that documented and undocumented immigrants should not be treated as a unitary whole. Even among a group of undocumented immigrants, although all of its members are presumably equally banned from residing in the host countries by law, their identities, sense of belonging, and interpretation of their status are diversified. Immigrant identity has been a subject of academic interest among scholars in cultural and performance studies, gender studies, and intercultural communication. Many studies have been conducted in recent years regarding immigrants experiences and their identities. Most studies, however, focus on immigrants with official residence permits, and not on those who reside in the country illegally. In the U.S., where the issue of undocumented immigrants is prominent, research about undocumented immigrants has been limited to high population groups, such as Latin Americans and Chinese, while undocumented immigrants from other countries have often been overlooked. Broadly, my study adds to the growing literature on immigrant populations in North America. According to Park (2009), the most common approach to immigrants identities is to focus on racial and ethnic identities, which are often considered the primary boundaries along which immigrant groups come in contact with different groups in their 9

19 adopted societies. Studies regarding immigrants identities usually revolve around what racial/ethnic attributions immigrants receive in the host countries or how they selfrepresent in new social contexts. The primary research questions of existing studies are concerned with the degree to which immigrants identify with memberships in the host societies, as well as what conditions cause the varying degree of identification with the host countries. To understand how immigrants identify with memberships in the host society or how they adjust to new cultural environments, the notions of acculturation/assimilation have often been brought into account. Some argue that assimilation is traditionally considered the explicit goal for immigrants (Urban & Orbe, 2010). However, it is important to note that the notions of acculturation/assimilation might not always apply well to the experiences of undocumented immigrants. Especially for those from affluent backgrounds who are struggling in a liminal stage, their illegal status makes it difficult, even impossible, for them to assimilate into host societies. Although much has been written about immigrants experiences and identities, how pre-migration identities can be crucial in understanding the way individuals negotiate selves within new cultural environments remains largely unexplored. The notion of self-esteem or face in relation to immigrants identities has also received less attention in immigrant identity research, since immigrants, especially those without official residence permits, have been stereotyped as marginalized, inferior individuals. However, as I mentioned earlier, it is essential to recognize that immigrants are not a monolithic entity. Their backgrounds as well as their views about themselves, make each 10

20 of them unique and, consequently, affect the way they present themselves to others. Taking self-esteem or face into consideration when studying immigrants can help generate a new understanding regarding individuals identity shift, the identity negotiation process, and the ways they perform identity in each social relation context. Purpose of the Study The primary purpose of this dissertation is to explore the experiences of undocumented Thai immigrants in the U.S., focusing on identity shift experiences of those who have fallen from their high social ranking after migration. Fifteen undocumented immigrants from Thailand or Thai Robin Hoods were selected to participate in this research based on their unique characteristics as visa overstayers whose social status had shifted from superior to inferior after their immigration status changed. By using ethnography and in-depth interviews as research methodologies, I intensively examined these individuals experiences in terms of their identity shifts, the interplay between pre- and post-migration identities that affected their lives and their worldviews, and how these individuals negotiated and performed their identities within new cultural environment. I used the concept of liminality to enhance an understanding of Thai Robin Hoods experiences as they were struggling in a liminal (betwixt and between) stage where a sense of belonging was very difficult to find. Additionally, since I recognized self and identity as products of social interactions, I relied on symbolic interactionism as a guiding theoretical framework to help me gain an insight into Thai Robin Hoods experiences and their personal views regarding self and identity. The basic premise of 11

21 symbolic interactionism is that identity is a self-concept that emerges in individuals interactions. In other words, identity is a social emergent. As Mead (1934) suggests: [s]elf is something which has a development; it is not initially there, at birth, but arises in the process of social experience and activity, that is, develops in the given individual as a result of his relations to that process as a whole and to other individuals within that process. (p. 135) Erving Goffman is another leading scholar whose works pertain to self-identity and social interactions. Goffman (1959) describes the self as torn between the desire to act spontaneously and the desire to follow social expectations. An individual s identity is not a stable and independent psychological entity; it is constantly evolving as the person interacts with others. In his classical work, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman illustrates the complexity of the processes by which individuals employ a wide variety of cues to establish and maintain an identity. He also describes how people perceive and interpret others behaviors during interactions. In Goffman s view, people are considered actors who use performance to impress audiences. In each situation, one will adopt distinctive roles and identities, which he or she believes as being appropriate in a given kind of situation. Each behavior will also be interpreted as consistent with a given situational identity. Typically the characterization that an individual selects has to best fit the scene and facilitate the achievement of his or her goal. In order to explore Thai Robin Hoods experiences and their self-identity as a socially emergent process, I utilized ethnographic interviewing as a means of collecting data. Ethnography is considered a research method that is valuable in many ways it 12

22 enhances better understanding of human behaviors and the complex societies where cultural diversity is great (Spradley, 1979). Agar (1996) suggests that ethnography, in fact, is about the practices of everyday life, and the goal of ethnographers is to account for what goes on, on the ground, in living color (p. 10). In order to get close to the details of everyday life, ethnographers need to actively participate into learn about the ways those practices of everyday life are built out of shared knowledge, as well as all other things that are relevant to the moment. Ethnography also provides a lot of benefits to cultural studies and social research in the sense that it helps researchers discover human needs and find ways for meeting those needs. As Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005) argue, ethnography applies well to studies that have been conducted in multicultural societies where a large number of immigrants from diverse social and cultural backgrounds coexist. They assert that [e]thnography helps us to understand the behaviors and needs of the immigrants and this, in turn, helps to fulfill their needs (Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005, p. 163). Although my dissertation does not focus on fulfilling the needs of Thai undocumented immigrants, this study can be considered an entry point to further examine other aspects regarding immigrants lives that can become valuable for social research. While participant observation was a primary methodological tool used in this ethnographic study, I realized that it might not have helped me to obtain detailed personal narratives regarding self-identity in a limited amount of time. Therefore, I also included in-depth interviews in this study. Madison (2005) argues that [ t]he ethnographic interview opens realms of meaning that permeate beyond rote information or finding the 13

23 truth of the matter (p. 25). Combining in-depth interviews with participant observations helped me obtain rich information regarding the research participants perceptions of their lives and identity changes and the ways they negotiated and performed identities in new cultural contexts. These two methods were also used as the cross-checking tools to help me explore consistencies and inconsistencies that were embedded within the discourses. Significance of the Study The results of this research can be used as a case among cases to enhance a better understanding of how undocumented immigrants from well-educated and affluent backgrounds make sense of their new lives, and how they negotiated their identities and used communicative acts in their identity performances while attempting to survive in this foreign country. Most existing studies in the area of immigrants self-identity have been limited to a group of legal immigrants, especially those from high population groups. It is important, however, to recognize that each ethnic minority group is unique; thus, we should not make generalizations across groups as a whole. This study can help open realms of new knowledge regarding another group of marginalized, ethnic minorities, who now form a large part of the labor force in many American cities. Additionally, many existing studies on immigrants self-identity have largely focused on post-migration identities and the process of identification in a new society. However, the interplay between pre- and post-migration identity that affects individuals identity enactment has been largely unexplored. In this dissertation, I focused on both pre-migration and post-migration identities and the interplay between the two. I sought to 14

24 understand how my research participants perceived this interplay and how they negotiated and performed identity within new cultural environments. The concept of selfesteem ( face ) was also brought into my study as an important factor that affects individuals identity enactment. Since previous studies on immigrants identities have not focused on self-esteem and the interplay between pre-migration and post-migration identity, I hope to fill a gap that still exists in this area. This current study may also help suggest conceptual modifications that would enhance the generality of theories regarding self-identity in relation to interpersonal and intercultural communication. Chapter Summary and Outline of the Dissertation This dissertation represents my attempt to explore the experiences of undocumented immigrants from Thailand in the U.S., focusing on these individuals identity shifts and how they negotiate and perform their identities during social interactions. Most existing studies in the area of immigrants self-identity and how this minority group communicates about their selves have been limited to a group of legal immigrants. I argue that each ethnic minority group is unique, and we should not make generalizations across groups as a whole. Additionally, it is important to consider that pre-migration identity cannot be ignored when exploring the ways in which individual negotiates and reconciles their new lives after migration and their interactions with others. Using participant observations and in-depth interviews as research methods, I explored the experiences of a group of undocumented Thai immigrants Robin Hoods who resided in a U.S. metropolis. I am confident that this dissertation can show us new ways to engage marginalized, ethnic minorities and suggest conceptual modifications that 15

25 would enhance the generality of theories regarding self-identity in relation to interpersonal and intercultural communication. As already established, Chapter 1, I provides a background of the issue under investigation and the rationale for the study. Chapter 2 presents a thorough discussion of the theoretical frameworks that inform and guide the research. These theoretical concepts include symbolic interactionism, liminality, and performance. The discussion in this chapter also includes existing writing on immigrants self-identities and communication as well as several existing studies on Thai socio-cultural values that pertain to and help explain Thai culture and Thai people s communicative actions. Chapter 3 details the research practices that evolved in the field. I describe the setting, participants, datagathering methods (observation, formal conversation, and interview), and analytic approach (thematic analysis) that emerged and were used in this research project. The interview protocol and participants profiles are in the Appendix section. In this chapter, I also provide my own narrative of positionality which represents my attempt to document the effects of my personal experiences that influenced my research interest, my interactions with participants, and my understanding of the issue being investigated. Both Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 present the results from thematic analysis. Chapter 4 details four themes that relate to constituting a Thai Robin Hood identity, while Chapter 5 describes three themes that relate to bridging a Robin Hood and Thai and identity. Chapter 6 examines all seven themes in the light of literature on liminality and identity performance. It ends with the discussion of the implications and limitations of this study as well as the opportunities it offers for future research. 16

26 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, I explore the general concept of self and identity, wherein I focus on the symbolic interactionist view of self and identity and self-identity as performance. Further, I review previous and relevant studies on self and identity in relation to immigration followed by a discussion on liminality. I conclude this chapter with a brief discussion on general understandings of Thai culture and socio-cultural values as well as Thai people s communicative actions. Self and Identity The concepts of self and identity have been widely employed by psychologists and sociologists to enhance our understanding of human behavior. Since my study focuses on the experiences of Thai Robin Hoods within socio-relational contexts, the concept of self and identity effectively helps me gain a better understanding of how my research participants view and present themselves and how they interact with others as they live in a diminished social status in their adopted country. Ashmore and Jussim (1997) point out that self and identity are central to understanding the human experience: [They] are crucial to making sense of the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of individual The construct of self and identity are also important to explaining the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of interpersonal bonds [They] are necessary to the study of group and intergroup processes and relations At the most inclusive level, self and identity figure in the production and reproduction of societies and cultures. (p. 12) 17

27 It is essential to recognize that although we often see these two terms, self and identity, alongside one another, identity is not equivalent to self. To understand how self is different from identity and what the relationships between these two are, first we need to look at the definitions of these two terms. Self, as Leary and Tangny (2005) suggest, is a difficult term to define since [n]ot only have we lacked a single, universally accepted definition of self, but also many definitions clearly refer to distinctly different phenomena, and some uses of the term are difficult to grasp no matter what definitions one applies (p. 6). By identifying several distinctive ways in which scholars in behavioral and social science commonly use the term self, Leary and Tangny conclude that self is somehow involved in: (1) individuals experiences of themselves; (2) individuals perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about themselves; and (3) individuals deliberate efforts to regulate their own behavior (p. 6). Since self accommodates these three connotations, Leary and Tangny emphasize that this particular term can be regarded as thepsychological apparatus that allows organisms to think consciously about themselves. The self is a mental capacity that allows an animal to take itself as the object of its own attention and to think consciously about itself (p. 8). Although some may not agree with the basic definition of self that they attempt to provide, Leary and Tangny (2005) suggest that it is crucial for researchers to be alert about the ways in which this term is used due to the semantic confusion. Identity, according to Stone (1962), can be viewed as a component of self. This particular concept became an important area of social science research with the 18

28 publication of Erik H. Erikson s book Childhood and Society in Erikson s (1950) definition of identity refers to a psychological sense of inner self a way of asking and answering the important question Who Am I? In Sociology, identity research had long been rooted in symbolic interactionism the tradition of social psychology pioneered by Cooley (1922), Mead (1934), and Blumer (1969). For symbolic interactionists, identity refers to a self-concept which emerges in human interactions, and by way of a constant interplay between one s self-perception and social attributions made by members of society (Park, 2009). Vryan, Adler, and Adler (2003) note that identity is perceived and interpreted during interactions with others; thus, it is considered the aspect of self that is most public. Weigert and Gecas (2003) assert that [i]dentity refers to typifications of self as Me, of self defined by self or other, and often the focus of conflict, struggle, and politics (p. 268). It is important to recognize that, as Weigert and Gecas (2003) further argue, selves account for identities, not identities for selves. Typically, there are two major approaches in studying self and identity psychological and sociological. In psychology, research on identity from 1950 onwards has been based on Erik H. Erikson s work. Erikson s (1968) notion of self-identity focuses on the achievement of a healthy self-identity as a fundamental and central goal or task for every adolescent. In sociology, there are two major traditions. The first tradition views identification as the motivation and mechanism by which individuals personally appropriate socially prescribed roles (Foote, 1951). This view sets the stage for the roleidentity models proposed by McCall and Simmons (1966) and Stryker (1980; 1987). Another tradition in sociology with regard to the conceptualization of self and identity is 19

29 referred to as symbolic interactionism. The originators of this tradition include Cooley (1922) and Mead (1934), who emphasize the central role of social factors in the development of self-conception. Goffman (1963) also contributes to this tradition as the first to use identity in place of self (see Ashmore & Jussim, 1997). To summarize how the psychological approach differs from the sociological approach, Gleason (1983) states that Erikson and his successors perceive identity as internal to the person and persisting through time, whereas the two sociological traditions perceive identity as social and, therefore variable. However, since my study focuses on the self and identity of Thai Robin Hoods as an identity that is largely interactional, I used theoretical concepts based on the sociological tradition of investigating self and identity to construct frameworks for my data analysis. To be more specific, I employed the situational approach, which is based on the symbolic interactionism tradition, as a theoretical lens to help me gain insight into Thai Robin Hoods sense of self as well as the ways they communicatively negotiate their identities and employ identity enactment within social relation contexts. The situational approach views identities as dynamic and contested. It differs from the structural approach, which emphasized identities that are tied to social structures. Using the situational approach to analyze the interview and fieldnotes data gave me more insights concerning whether and how the Thai Robin Hood identity had changed over time. Symbolic Interactionism: The Situational Approach According to Blumer (1969), the basic premise of symbolic interactionism is that, first, individuals act on the basis of what things mean to them. Meanings are, thus, the 20

30 basis of human behavior, including communication. Second, meanings are formed during social interactions that one has with others, as well as with society. Third, the meanings individuals confer on experiences, feelings, events, activities, other people, and themselves, actually reflect internalized perspectives of particular others and generalized others. In other words, through interpretive processes, individuals interact with each other by interpreting and defining each other s actions, not just merely reacting. The concept of self is central to symbolic interactionism. Mead (1934) describes self in terms of its relationship to society. According to Mead (1934), self is: something which has a development; it is not initially there, at birth, but arises in the process of social experience and activity, that is, develops in the given individual as a result of his relations to that process as a whole and to other individuals within that process. (p. 135) Within the relationships that self has with society, the role of communication or symbolic interaction is central to the development of self-consciousness. Mead further argues that in order to become meaningful in a social sense, meanings (including self-meanings or identities), must be mutually shared by interactants. By referring to Mead s concept of self, Weigert and Gecas (2003) articulate that the self becomes self as it acts and others respond: Actions are attributed to self who is reflecting, telling, acting, hoping, and identifying with, for, or against others (p. 268). In other words, self emerges in and is reflective of society. It is important to keep in mind, as Stryker (1980) suggests, that the self always acts in a social context in which other selves exist. 21

31 Mead s explanation of self and identity represents the traditional symbolic interactionism perspective known as the situational approach to self and society. This approach views society as always in the process of being constructed through the interpretations and definitions of individuals in situations, and it places societies as ephemeral reflections of individual lines of actions and transient, shifting patterns of interaction (Blumer, 1969). According to the situational approach, in order to accomplish their goals, individuals will identify the things that need to be taken into account for themselves, act on the basis of those identifications, and attempt to fit their lines of action with others in the situation (Stets & Burke, 2005, p. 128). In other words, individuals actions and interactions are shaped by definitions of situations. Such definitions, as Stryker (2000) points out, are based on shared meanings developed in interactions. Selfconceptions or meanings individuals attribute to themselves are critical to actions and interactions, and those self-conceptions are typically shaped in interactions and are outcomes of others responses to individuals. Turner and Stets (2005) expanded upon this idea by claiming that individuals do not only carry a more global, transituational conception of themselves or self-conception that they obtain while occupying positions or playing roles in diverse institutions, organizations, groups, and encounters, but they also inevitably develop conceptions of themselves for specific spheres of activities. As individuals play roles in specific contexts, they present not only more global selfconceptions, but also more immediate, context-specific identities situational identities 2 of who they are and how they should be treated in specific contexts. Based 2 Vyran et al. (2003) describe situational identities as identities that are emergent from our joint behaviors 22

32 on the premise of the situational approach to self and society, which contends that self reflects society, Stryker (2000) concludes that this view leads to seeing self as undifferentiated, unorganized, unstable, and ephemeral (p. 27). Erving Goffman s dramaturgical work also represents the view of self and identity within the situational tradition. Goffman (1959) contends that identities are based not only on appearance but on information people share with one another during their face-to-face interactions. According to Goffman (1959), our behaviors are oriented in part to our ongoing management of our own and others situational identities. Through his dramaturgical model, Goffman attempts to explain how individuals (actors) employ a wide variety of cues to construct and maintain identities, as well as how individuals take in and interpret information about others during social interactions. Goffman also describes a number of ways that one s behavior is affected by his or her own identity enactment. For instance, when identities are threatened, individuals usually engage in extensive cooperative efforts to reconstruct both their own and others situational identities. Later in this section, as I review the concept of self and identity as performance, I will illustrate Goffman s idea regarding self and identity and his dramaturgical model in more detail, along with the works of scholars in the area of performance study in relation to self-identity. It is important to note that although symbolic interactionsim is popularly used in self-identity research, scholars in this tradition neglect to say how various experiences and labels that others have for us enhance or diminish our self-esteem (Wood, 2004). In and meaning-making during face-to-face interactions, in the context of socially constructed notions of situationally appropriate roles (p. 369). 23

33 my view, in order to describe how we come to see ourselves in social interactions, we cannot ignore the fact that others perceptions and their reactions toward us affect our self-esteem our sense of self-worth. As such, in this study, I attempt to extend the symbolic interactionists idea regarding self and identity by including self-esteem as an important factor that significantly influences individuals sense of self and how they perform their identities in social relation contexts. Since scholars who conducted research on Thai socio-cultural values (e.g., Nimamnandh & Andrews, 2009; Ukosakul, 2009) usually related self-esteem among Thais to the notion of face, I used Goffman s idea regarding face as another conceptual frame to help me gain an insight into Thai Robin Hoods identity negotiation and enactment. Self-Identity as Performance Generally, in this study I regard communication as performance. Thus, in addition to viewing self and identity as products of social interactions, I also perceive the ways individuals enact their identities and communicate about their selves as everyday lived performance. Hamera (2006) suggests that performance is vital in communication and cultural studies since it: offers capacitating, useful critical strategies for bridging communication, cultural studies, and contemporary critical theory It [also] generates a deep understanding of the epistemological underpinnings, the conceptual challenges, the methodological pragmatics, and the representational politics open to researchers across the human sciences, and particularly in communication and cultural studies. (p. 2) 24

34 Conquergood (2002) held a similar view. He argues that performance-based approach can help scholars imagine new critical possibilities for communication and cultural studies. In order to explore identity enactment and communication as performance, I bring in the dramaturgical model and the notion of face proposed by Goffman to help explain how self-identity can be regarded as performance and how face is very important in identity performances, especially in the case of Thai Robin Hoods, who belong to a culture where the notion of face is dominant (see Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009; Supatra, 1998; Ukosakul, 2009). Since my study uses the ethnographic approach as a means of collecting data, I realize that it is also necessary to include another conceptual frame of performance studies performance ethnography as a framework for my study. Performance ethnography is about the ways through which rituals of everyday life are represented and performed (Denzin, 2003). This conceptual framework can help enhance an understanding of identity performances as parts of interactional rituals in daily life. Dramaturgy Dramaturgy, which focuses on performances in everyday life, is one of the conceptual genres in symbolic interactionism. It is the study of how individuals accomplish meaning in their lives (Brissett & Edgley, 1990). Meaning, in the dramaturgical sense, derives, in the same way as Mead (1934) proposes, from a behavioral consensus between human beings. Goffman, a leading scholar in the dramaturgical genre, extended Mead s basic insights regarding self and identity by viewing everyday human behavior as distinctly dramatic. Self, according to Goffman (1959), can be viewed as a performed character: 25

35 [a] correctly staged and performed scene leads the audience to impute a self to a performed character, but this imputation this self is a product of scene that comes off, and is not a cause of it. The self, then, as a performed character, is not an organic thing that has a specific location, whose fundamental fate is to be born, to mature, and to die; it is a dramatic effect arising diffusely from a scene that is presented, and the characteristic issue, the crucial concern, is whether it will be credited or discredited. (pp ) In the dramaturgical model, everyday settings are considered a stage and people are actors who perform to present themselves before audiences. Audiences and actors are interchangeable in this kind of an understanding we are all performers and we are all audiences. Each individual is strategically crafted to project particular images to others to create impressions. Yet it is possible that sometimes individuals may be highly strategic in crafting images but remain unaware that they are also creating impressions. For Goffman, the ways that individuals create impressions are not fakery or unethical practices. Impression management, in fact, is normal and unavoidable since humans are social and thus need to coordinate their identities and actions with those of others. Goffman s (1959) concept of dramaturgy also suggests that when an individual comes into any situation, he or she decides how to position himself or herself, what to say, and how to act. Typically, an individual projects a certain image in each situation. When participating in a situation, one usually decides on a role and enacts it. One will select the characterization he or she thinks will best fit the scene and enhance the achievement of his or her goal. In order to define a situation before selecting the most 26

36 effective role to enact, one not only provides information about oneself, he or she also gets information about others in the situation. Such information can be given intentionally or given off unintentionally. This process enables individuals to know what is expected of them. Additionally, as Goffman (1967) further argues, in social relational contexts, one must express proper demeanor to warrant deferential treatment or ritual offerings of respect and regard. The demeanor one expresses through his or her deportment, dress, and bearing conveys to others that he or she is a person of certain desirable or undesirable qualities and largely determines how much deference others will give him or her. In other words, how individuals present themselves to others influences how others treat them. Based on this idea, ritual acts or demeanor people express during social interactions are considered an essential part of all of human interactions and are necessary for the continuation of those interactions. Face Goffman (1955) defines f ace with reference to image of self. According to Goffman, face is the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact (p. 213). Through evaluating one s self and other people in a particular group setting, one engages in verbal and nonverbal actions that are indicative of his or her particular point of view, otherwise know as line. The aforementioned line taken is the positive social value acclaimed by an individual, and is defined as his or her face. According to Goffman, face is something that is diffusely located in the flow of events of an interaction, and it becomes manifest only when individuals make appraisals 27

37 of these events. During social interactions, when a line and internal image of the individual s self are harmonious, he or she is said to have, be in, or maintain his or her face (Goffman, 1955, p. 339). Face is a vulnerable phenomenon; it is associated with emotional reactions. Feelings of confidence will arise when the individual can maintain face successfully. In contrast, discontinuity in the maintenance of face evokes negative feelings and tension because face is an emotive representation of self. If face fails, it will result in extensive shame and threatened feelings. When such negative feelings are exhibited, further damage will ensue. Goffman (1955) also addresses the particular set of societal rules and etiquette connected with how to interact with others and respect their faces. He argues that the goal of social encounters is to maintain face. Social etiquette also includes not destroying the presented face of anyone in the group. One usually works towards a particular image of him- or herself and maintains it once it is achieved. When the individual s place in society is solidified, whether voluntarily or not, they will act accordingly avoiding people and places that could elicit conflict or put his or her face in danger. Performance ethnography Performance ethnography is a tradition of ethnography that rests on the idea that bodies harbor knowledge about culture, and that performance allows for the exchange of that knowledge across bodies (Jones, 2006, p. 339). In general, its focus is on how symbolic behaviors have been performed and how they have sometimes challenged cultural values and personal identities (Wood, 2004). According to Denzin (2003), 28

38 performance ethnography is about the ways through which rituals of everyday life are represented and performed. Performance ethnographers typically utilize the idea of performance both as a method for practice and as a means for understanding. Victor Turner, a famous anthropologist, is often credited with bringing the idea of performance to the study of culture. In Turner s (1987) view, culture is actually performed. He also defines humans as homo performans based on their participations in rituals, social drama, and improvisational, creative performances in daily life. Some aspects of Turner s ideas are different from Goffman s ideas on performance, but both would agree that there is much in common between theatre and everyday (cultural) life. As Jones (2006) points out, both Turner and Goffman draw upon an understanding of the intelligence in the body to postulate theories about how humans manipulate, respond to, and interact in the worlds in which we live. In this way performance is not merely a metaphor for everyday life, but instead everyday life is a series of performances (pp ). Denzin (2003) argues, however, that performance ethnography is not limited to Goffman s view of performance as mimesis (imitation/showing) 3 or Turner s view of performance as poiesis (construction) 4. In fact, it also includes Conquergood s (1998) idea of kinesis (movement/struggle) 5 as another approach we can use to understand performance. 3 This view suggests the idea of performance as dramaturgical staging something that is shown and used to express individuals roles and positions. 4 Performance in Turner s view is something used to construct cultures and values. Cultures exist because of rituals. 5 Performance in this sense is aimed at breaking and challenging established norms and conventions (see Conquergood, 1998). 29

39 Specifically, performance ethnography focuses on personal narratives and performances that reflect and sustain cultural practices and values (Wood, 2004). There are many prominent performance ethnographic works that focus on personal narratives to gain a better understanding of how people make sense of who they are, what they have done, what they stand for, and how they operate in the world. Peterson and Langellier (1997) argue that personal narratives are not objective representations of experiences or identities. In fact a narrative is often considered a strategic practice in its occurrence (Peterson & Langellier, 1997, p. 141). It means that when people tell stories about themselves and their experiences, they do so to achieve some effects in particular contexts. People usually present narratives for some purposes and in order to achieve their goals, they employ some strategies in telling stories; for example, one might embellish or abridge parts of narratives. Consequently, personal narratives become strategic in their effects in specific contexts. In their book Storytelling in Daily Life, Langellier and Peterson (2004) note that the telling of the story is considered a performance and that narrative is actually performed everywhere. These two scholars reinforce the performative nature of identity and the interplays between performing narratives and individuals identities by providing several personal narratives in their book to show how [p]eople make sense of their experiences, claim identities, interact with each other, and participate in cultural conversations through storytelling (p. 1). Performing narratives can be considered a site for understanding and intervening in the ways culture produces, maintains, and transforms relations of identity and difference (Strine, 1998). 30

40 In their recent essay The Performance Turn in Narrative Studies, Peterson and Langellier (2006) expanded upon their own idea regarding narrative as performance claiming that [p]erformance turns up in narrative studies at the confluence of two ways of understanding narrative: that is, narrative is both a making and a doing (p. 173). By a making, they mean the way we understand narrative through the investigations of elements, aspects, and structures that make up narrative. Peterson and Langellier (2006) also mention that: [s]uch efforts locate narrative as an object, work, or text that is imagined, fashioned, and formed [T]he creative potential or force of such makings is not limited to the aesthetic realm of literature, ritual ceremonies, dramatic productions, or festivals. Indeed, any mundane conversation or event can break through or be transformed into performance by making a to-do about it. (p. 174) A doing is the second way of understanding narrative as we explore behaviors, habits, practices, and institutions which enact, execute, or do narrative in order to discover how narrative functions in the conducts, activities, or events which constitute, realize, and form it. Peterson and Langellier (2006) further suggest that: [n]arrative, understood in this way, emerges from the lived realities of bodily conduct rather than the recognition, representation, or recounting of past experience. Narrative designates a site for doing work and play, for engaging the pleasures and powers of discourse, for challenging and confirming possible experiences and identities. (p. 174) 31

41 In my dissertation, in addition to exploring individuals self-identity as derived from human interactions, I also looked at how individuals perform their self-identity to accomplish their goals. Goffman s dramaturgical model is useful in the sense that it offers the idea life is drama a metaphor that can be used as a theoretical basis for understanding the performative character of human actions and interactions in everyday life. Goffman s notion of face is also brought in to enhance a better understanding of how individuals self-esteem plays its role in identity performances. In addition to using Goffman s dramaturgical model and the concept of face, I also used performance ethnography as a frame to help me understand how my research participants perform identities through personal narratives (focusing on both a making and a doing) and through embodied cultural practices/activities. The next section is my review of previous research on immigrants self-identity. Since there is still insufficient work in this area, I hope that my study will help in filling a significant gap that exists in this line of study and open realms of new knowledge regarding marginalized, ethnic minorities self-identity issues. Immigration and Self-Identity Immigrants differ from refugees in the sense that the former voluntarily migrate to other countries seeking better economic, political, social, cultural, educational conditions, and religious freedom, whereas the latter involuntarily migrate to other countries, usually as a result of war, persecution, or disaster (Chi-Ying-Chang & Bemak, 2007). In general, immigrants are divided into two major groups: legal and illegal. Legal or documented immigrants are individuals who enter and live in a country with official residence 32

42 permits. Illegal or undocumented immigrants, on the other hand, are often defined as individuals dwelling in a country with no official residence permits (Starling, 2000). In the United States, one of the top three countries receiving the highest number of immigrants, illegal entrants to the U.S. are classified under two categories: EWIs ( enter without inspection ) and visa overstayers (or visa-abusers). EWIs are individuals who enter the country without any kind of legal visa, whereas visa overstayers enter the country with temporary visas (tourist or student visas) but stay beyond the permitted time limit (Yoshida & Woodland, 2005). EWIs and visa overstayers who work in the host country without work permits are usually referred to as undocumented workers. In the United States, undocumented workers are divided into three categories: settlers, sojourners, and commuters (Yoshida & Woodland, 2005). Settlers are undocumented immigrants who intend to stay in the host country permanently. Sojourners are those who plan to return to their home countries after a prolonged stay. Commuters are those who do not actually live in the country but cross the borders to work illegally during the daytime in the host country (see Yoshida & Woodland, 2005). Many scholars suggest that immigration always causes culture shock (see Akhtar, 1999). Each immigrant always experiences contradictions as he or she attempts to reconcile the demands of two or more incompatible worlds after moving to a new country. According to Sluzki (1979), there are five stages of the migration process; (1) preparation; (2) the actual act of migration; (3) the focus on tasks related to survival and meeting primary needs; (4) the crisis period when one experiences doubt and disappointment when trying to integrate the old and new cultures; and (5) the period of 33

43 intercultural and intergenerational clashes which characterized by attempts to adjust to a new culture while maintaining traditional cultural values (p. 381). At each stage, individuals usually struggle with dilemmas that have psychological effects on them in various degrees. Immigration is a complex psychological process that has significant effects on individuals identities. Akhtar (1999), a professor in psychiatry who has particular interest in immigrants identities, identifies several psychological variables associated with migration, such as circumstances of reasons for migration, preimmigration character, nature of the country they have left, reception by the host population, etc. He also contends that there are some addressed realms, such as the impact of gender, legal status, etc., which, in fact, should be taken into account when studying immigrants identities (Akhtar, 1999). The number of immigrants around the world has significantly increased in recent years. In 2006, the United Nation estimated that, as of 2005, there were million immigrants in the world. In 2010, the number has increased to approximately 214 million. According to the global phenomenon of immigration influx, scholars in many areas have been interested in studying immigration and its effects. Immigrants selfidentity is one of the salient topics that have become the subjects of much academic interest in recent years. However, most studies in this particular area focus on documented immigrants rather than undocumented immigrants. Akhtar (1999) points out that legal status is one of the various factors which are unaddressed realms in immigrant identity research, despite the fact that it has significant effects on an individual s identity as he or she migrates to a new country. Although some researchers included 34

44 undocumented immigrants as research participants in their studies, they did not address their research participants residential status at all. Even though some did, those researchers were not concerned how legal and illegal status could significantly affect their study results (e.g., Park, 2009). In reviewing research on immigrants self-identity, I discovered that many studies in this area broadly focus on ethnic identity, and more particularly on how immigrants assimilate into new cultures after migration. A few examples of recent studies in this area include Jendian s (2008) work that explores the form and type of ethnicity and identity of Armenian-Americans that evolves over time and how intermarriage affects ethnic familial and community involvement, as well as ethnic identification. Le (2007) studies how the dynamics of structural power and demographic shifts affect the socioeconomic and socio-cultural assimilation of Vietnamese refugees. Shaub (2009) conducted a study with different groups of immigrants in the United States focusing on the acculturation process, which, in the traditionalist view, is considered one stage of adjustment before immigrants fully assimilate into new cultures. Although some scholars claim that assimilation is traditionally considered the explicit goal for immigrants (Urban & Orbe, 2010), in my view, this statement cannot be generalized. 6 It is quite possible that immigrants who reside in a country as sojourners are 6 There are some controversies surrounding the classical view of assimilationism. For example, multicuturalists reject the assimilationist assumption of a unified core. In multiculturalists view, immigrants are active shapers of their own lives rather than passive beneficiaries or victims of ineluctable modernizing and Americanizing forces (see Zhou, 1999). Transnationalists claim that within globalized context, immigrants do not develop firm ties to their host societies. But instead, they construct social fields that cross national borders. By reviewing several pieces of transnationalism literature, Nagel (2002) suggest that assimilation no longer describes the social trajectories of present-day immigrants, and that 35

45 probably not concerned about becoming assimilated into host societies since they plan to return to their home countries after a prolonged stay. For those who live in a country as illegal residents, assimilation is probably not their goals since they might realize that their illegal status makes it difficult, even impossible, for them to assimilate into new cultures and societies. Lines of research on immigrants self-identity that are distinguished from the mainstream include the works of several scholars who explore gender issues of women immigrants after migration (e.g., Hu et al., 2009; Kim, 2003; Park, 2007; Park, 2009). Although ethnic identity remains an important part of their investigations, these scholars are not too concerned with the assimilation process; rather they explore how women construct or negotiate their identities after migration. Within this particular line of research, Park s (2009) study on the renegotiation identity processes after migration of Korean immigrant women is significant to the extent that while most studies focus on post-migration contexts of identity construction, Park s study also addresses how premigration backgrounds affect the ways immigrant women renegotiate their identities in a new cultural context. The processes of construction, negotiation, or renegotiation of identity after migration are the other lines of research that receive much attention from scholars (e.g., Louie, 2004; Qin, 2009; Park 2009; Trieu, 2009; Valenta, 2009). Some scholars are particularly interested in identity gap, which is a new theoretical construct that provides a framework for integrating communication into the study of identity (e.g., Jung & Hecht, assimilation is no longer an appropriate concept for interpreting the lives which are not contained within national borders (p. 974). 36

46 2004; Urban & Orbe, 2010). For example, Urban and Orbe (2010) used the communication theory of identity (CTI) to conduct a study to identify identity gaps that emerged when immigrants in the United States negotiated multiple dimensions of their identities. The basic premise of the CTI contends that communication builds, sustains, and transforms identity, while at the same time identity is expressed through communication (Urban & Orbe, 2010). This study is significant in that while most research on immigrants focuses on a single group of immigrants, all 17 participants of this study come from 16 different countries, and the study results indicate that these individuals various backgrounds account for the different ways they negotiate identities and communicate. As Urban and Orbe (2010) state, one of the primary strengths of their analysis is that they explore different experiences of different immigrants and that their analysis works against perpetuating the notion of a typical immigrant experience. Like Urban and Orbe, Brettell (2006) perceives the productivity of exploring and comparing experiences of immigrants from different groups. Accordingly, she conducted a study with four groups of immigrants; Salvadoran, Vietnamese, Indian, and Nigerian, who lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. In her study, Brettell attempts to compare identity and citizenship among these four particular immigrant populations to explore the distinctions that immigrants themselves draw between political and cultural belonging. She also addresses the differences between the rights/responsibilities dimensions of citizenship on the one hand, and the identity dimensions of citizenship on the other hand. The study results demonstrate the significance of immigration status in 37

47 shaping attitudes toward naturalization, citizenship, and the construction of identity, arguing that immigrants have a bifocal outlook on belonging. The topic of immigrants identities has been a subject of academic interest among communication scholars as well. There are several studies in the communication area that used the communication theory of identity (CTI) as a framework to enhance an understanding of immigrants identity negotiation in intercultural contexts (e.g., Jung & Hecht, 2008; Urban & Orbe, 2010; Wadsworth, et al., 2008). Scholars in the area of media and rhetoric are also interested in this particular topic. For example, Chavez (2009) proposes a theoretical framework for understanding how migrant bodies are translated in embodied contexts through dominant discursive meanings. She argues that using a framework that demonstrates translations of foreign bodies-as-texts by actors who represent and enact the dominant discourse on immigration, provides a way to unpack the manner in which communication happens. Cisneros (2008) explored how visual images construct metaphoric representations of migrants. By comparing the visual and metaphoric images of immigration in news coverage to images of pollution from coverage of toxic waste spills, particularly the crisis at Love Canal, he identified another metaphor "immigrant as pollutant" through which popular media represent immigration. Cisneros concludes that not only does his essay begins to illustrate another metaphor through which immigration is articulated, it also points to the need for more analysis of the visual rhetoric of immigration. Chan (2009) examines the identity discourses of Chinese migrants by analyzing postings on Internet forums frequented by immigrants from the People s Republic of China (PRC) who are currently studying and 38

48 working in Singapore. She also conducted in-depth interviews with the forum participants. Her findings show that the Internet opens up liminal spaces from which immigrants can resist, challenge, and speak against regimes of truth imposed on them by their homeland and the host society. Some communication scholars used the autoethnographic method to explore their own selves. For example, Young (2009) used autoethnography to examine the ways her immigrant mothers and she a second generation interracial daughter constructed, performed, and negotiated racial and ethnic hybrid identities. Young identifies three sites for identity formation: location, language, and the dialectical tension of assimilationpreservation and argues that the enactment of a racial self is not always a conscious part of one's identity. As a matter of fact, both her mother and she enacted racialized cultural identities that were contextually performed and continuously shifting. Delgado (2009) is another communication scholar who used autoethnography to explore his Latino identity in the academy. His interest is on the issue of Latino performance and performativity in a personal and self-referential analysis. The researcher argues that auto-ethnographic voice employs affords the opportunity to engage how certain tactics and strategies of standing out and fitting in occur in the academy and how some responses to the academy may be complicit in the continuity of expectations. In my purview, very limited research exists on the self-identity of undocumented immigrants. In the United Sates, most of these studies focus on the Mexican population, which makes up a majority of undocumented immigrants in the country, but neglect other groups, especially those who are visa overstayers. The following are some examples of 39

49 research that have been conducted with groups of undocumented immigrants concerning their experiences as illegal residents that significantly affect their self-identity. By using ethnography as a means of collecting data, Zlolniski (2005) explores the lives of undocumented Mexican immigrants in northern California's Silicon Valley. His effort is to gain an understanding of (1) how these individuals generate conflicting views about images of Mexican immigrants without legal status; (2) how they manage to make a living in the United States despite their vulnerable status; and (3) how they adapt to life in this country or live in their own world without integrating into mainstream society. After spending nearly two years in the field, Zlolniski comes up with a report that illustrates the difficult lives of his research participants and the ways they participate in local civic activities as a means of fighting for their rights. Leisy (2009) conducted ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews with Latino undocumented immigrants in the United States to examine how the role of school and work contexts conforms their identities and legal consciousness. Her findings indicate that immigrants who entered the country as adults and who labored in menial jobs feel most marked by their status and express little sense of belonging. On the other hand, youth, who entered the country during early childhood and later attended college, are arguably the most positively incorporated. They tend to minimize the effects of their status whenever possible and express a strong sense of belonging. For youth, incorporation through the educational system effectively transforms their self-image and enhances their aspirations. 40

50 Menjivar (2006) used Victor Turner's concept of liminality and Susan Coutin's legal nonexistence to examine the effects of an uncertain legal status on the lives of Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants in the United States, situating their experiences within frameworks of citizenship/belonging and segmented assimilation. This study also examines how this in-between status (liminal legality) affects the individual's social networks and family, the place of the church in immigrants' lives, as well as the broader domain of artistic expression. After reviewing some existing studies regarding the self and identity of undocumented immigrants, I discovered that Gomberg-Munoz s (2010) study is one that most specifically ties into my study of Thai Robin Hoods. In his study, Gomberg-Munoz uses an ethnographic approach to gain an understanding of how his research participants ten undocumented immigrants from Mexico who work as busboys use their agency to create a culture of hard work that is responsive to their particular structural vulnerabilities. Gomberg-Munoz s (2010) study results indicate that these undocumented immigrants are not immune from the stigma of illegal status, nor doing dirty works (low-wage labor positions). However, they do not necessarily internalize those stigmatizations. Instead, they develop multiple strategies for protecting themselves psychologically and defending their dignity and self-esteem. These individuals usually take an active role in cultivating well-being by negotiating norms of efficiency, selfmotivation, and willingness at their workplaces in the United States. Gomberg-Munoz s work closely relates to my research to the extent that he took self-esteem into consideration when studying this marginalized group. He also utilized 41

51 Goffman s concept of impression management to explain how his research participants perform before audiences to create desired images. This particular study also explains how social identity can be cultivated through some sort of performance (performing willingness to work or acting as a hard worker). However, Gomberg-Munoz is not particularly concerned about his participants background but rather their illegal status and stereotypes that are associated with Mexicans. He also solely focuses his study on participants experiences at work. In my study, however, my interest also includes participants personal lives and experiences in other contexts beyond their workplaces. In addition to residential status, socio-economic status and educational backgrounds are also addressed in my study as important factors that probably have significant impacts on individuals sense of self and their worldviews. As I already mentioned, Thai Robin Hoods in my study differ from other undocumented immigrants in the sense that all of them are visa overstayers who come from good educational and affluent backgrounds. As such, these individuals reside in a liminal state betwixt and between two positions which makes it difficult for them to find a sense of belonging. These individuals are parts of both Thai culture and American culture. They are also parts of Thai society in Thailand (where they possessed higher social status) and the Thai community in a U.S. metropolis (where their illegal identities made their social status inferior). The following is my review on liminality, another important concept that I include in my study as a framework to enhance the understanding of Thai Robin Hoods dilemmas as they lower their status to live illegally in a foreign country. 42

52 Liminality Liminality is a term that derives from the word limen, which means threshold. This particular word is usually used in psychology to indicate the threshold between the sensate and the subliminal state the limit below which a certain sensation ceases to be perceptible. The sense of liminal as an interstitial, in-between space, or threshold area, distinguishes this particular term from the word limit to which it is related (Ashcroft et al., 2009). The concept of liminality was first introduced to the anthropology field by Arnold Van Gennep. According to Van Gennep (1909), rites of passage, such as a coming of age ritual or marriage, consist of a three-part structure: separation, liminal period, and reassimilation. Initiates or individuals undergoing the ritual are first stripped of the social status that they possess, and then inducted into the liminal period of transition before being given their new status and reassimilated into the society. In 1967, Victor Turner expanded upon Van Gennep s concept of liminality, thereby increasing its popularity among scholars from various fields. In The Forest of Symbol: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual, in which Turner first introduced his interpretation of liminality, he asserted that thesubject of passage ritual is, in the liminal period, structurally, if not physically, invisible (Turner, 1967, p. 95). In other words, the status of liminal individuals (or as he calls them liminars in his 1974 work Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors) is socially and structurally ambiguous. Turner (1967) further argued that liminal individuals or liminars have no status, insignia, secular clothing, rank, kinship position, nothing to demarcate them structurally from their fellows (p. 98). These 43

53 individuals are polluting, and thus dangerous, to those who have not gone through the luminal period. The group of liminal individuals is not a typical social hierarchy, but a communal group in which all are equal. The concept of liminality was a central theme throughout Turner s fieldwork. He redefined the term liminality in each book he wrote. Even in his last work, From Ritual to Theatre: The Human Seriousness of Play, published a year before his death in 1983, Turner described a liminal state as one of the transitions: the passage from one social status to another (Turner, 1982, p. 25). Generally, Turner viewed liminal individuals as ones who resided in between they did not belong to the society that they previously were a part of and they were not yet reincorporated into that society. For Turner (1969), liminal individuals were neither here nor there, they are betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention, and ceremony (p. 95). Turner attempted to expand his notion regarding liminality by relating it to the concept of anti-structure as it appeared in his 1969 work The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti- Structure. In this particular book, Turner used the Latin term communitas to express his idea of anti-structure. According to Turner (1969) there are two major models for human interrelatedness: The first is of society as a structured, differentiated, and often hierarchical system of politico-legal-economic positions with many types of evaluation, separating men in terms of more or less. The second, which emerges recognizably in the liminal period, is of society as an unstructured and rudimentarily structured and relatively undifferentiated comitatus, community, or even communion of equal 44

54 individuals who submit together to the general authority of the ritual elders. (p. 96) Turner stated that he preferred the Latin term communitas to community as he attempted to distinguish this modality of social relationship from an area of common living. According to Turner (1969), communitas, the second model of interrelatedness, consists of three cultural manifestations: liminality (in between), marginality (on the edge), and inferiority (beneath). These three manifestations are considered the most visible expressions of anti-structure in society. To gain an understanding of Turner s concept of liminality, I argue that we also need to understand the other two cultural manifestations of communitas how they relate to liminality and how they differ from liminality and each other. Therefore, I will provide a brief review of all three cultural manifestations as described by Turner in his 1974 work Drama, Fields, and Metaphors. In this particular book, Turner provided a clearer definition of communitas and articulates its dialectical relationship with social structure. Nonetheless, he changed the labels of three cultural manifestations to liminality, outsiderhood, and structural inferiority and defined these three as followed: [L]iminality represents the midpoint of transition in a status-sequence between two positions, outsiderhood refers to actions and relationships which do not flow from a recognized social status but originate outside it, while lowermost status (or structural inferior) refers to the lowest rung in a system of social stratification in which unequal rewards are accorded to functionally differentiated positions (Turner, 1974, p. 237). 45

55 The term marginality still appeared in Drama, Fields, and Metaphors; yet, this time Turner (1974) described it as the state of simultaneous belonging to two or more social or cultural groups. In this sense, expatriates can be considered as examples of marginal individuals. He further suggested that marginality should not be confused with outsiderhood, which is the state of being outside of the social structure (hippies or hobos, for example). Additionally, marginality needs to be distinguished from liminality; Marginals like liminars are also betwixt and between, but unlike ritual liminars they have no cultural assurance of a final stable resolution of their ambiguity (Turner, 1974, p. 233). According to Turner, marginality should not be conflated with any of the cultural manifestations of communitas. However, he also did not make it clear whether or not marginality is a manifestation of communitas, and there is still overlap and ambiguity between the three categories he defined. Turner s idea of liminality also helps describe Thai Robin Hoods experiences as liminars in the sense that these individuals are residing in the midpoint of transition between two positions. They possessed legal status before becoming undocumented immigrants, and, presumably, they do not want to be undocumented immigrants for their whole lives. Thus, regaining legal status is probably an eventual goal for some of these individuals. Many Thai Robin Hood predecessors went back to Thailand after spending time living illegally in the United States for several years so that their status was changed back to legal. Some of them got married to American citizens, which made them legal residents as well. It is essential to recognize, however, that we should not take it for granted that all Thai Robin Hoods are considering regaining their legal status. Some of 46

56 them probably do not have any future plan yet. Therefore, nobody can tell when their liminal state will end. In general, liminality is a concept that can be useful in studying self-identity. It can be used to enhance an understanding of identity negotiations in various contexts (e.g., Booth, 2010; Cai, 2008; Nikoi, 2010). This concept is also popularly used among scholars to gain a better understanding of lives and experiences of immigrants who are residing in betwixt and between state (e.g., Aguilar; 1999; Chan, 2005; Kang, 2010; Langellier, 2010; Menjiva, 2006; Wason-Ellam, 2001). However, most of these studies focus on the lives and experiences of documented immigrants. As I mentioned earlier, in fact, undocumented status brings more complexity to immigrants experiences as liminars, thus, making them face more challenges than those who possess legal status. Accordingly, I include the concept of liminality in my study of undocumented Thai immigrants as I recognize that it best describes the state and position of Thai Robin Hoods in this country. By utilizing the concept of liminality in my study, I hope to fill a gap in immigrants self-identity research that still ignores the fact that documented and undocumented immigrants are liminars but they are not similar. Both groups possess different immigration status; thus, they experience liminality in very distinctive ways, which, in turn, has different effects on their sense of self and worldviews. The final part of this section is my review of scholarly works regarding Thai culture and Thai socio-cultural values. Most existing studies in this area have been conducted within organizational contexts. Yet the results of these studies can be applied beyond organizational contexts as well since these studies also offer an insight into Thai 47

57 society as well as Thai people s beliefs and worldviews that relate to their communicative actions. Thai Culture and Socio-Cultural Values According to Nimanandh and Andrews (2009) in their study of Thai culture through the analysis of three of the most influential models of cultures Hofstede (1980), Hall (1976), and Trompenaars (1997) Thailand is classified as a collectivistic society. In collectivistic cultures, groups usually take precedence over individuals (Gudykunst & Lee, 2002). People in collectivistic cultures belong to ingroups or collectivities which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty (Hofstede & Bond, 1984, p. 419). Thai people usually think in terms of we and try to maintain relationships by pleasing others (Komin, 1990; 1995). In Thai culture, people s relationships are primarily person-centered. Thai people heavily depend upon one another and thus find their security in dependence and patronage rather than individualism. However, power and the need for social acceptance and recognition are still their deepest motivations and ultimate goals (Mulder, 2000). Accordingly, Thai people are usually struggling between their desires to get ahead and their desires to get along when interacting with other people (Krittayapong, 2009). There is a limited amount of research on Thai socio-cultural values. Maisrikrod (1999) argues that it is difficult to identify a set of Thai values because the Thai population varies in terms of ethnicity, as well as social and economic status, and such differences cause them to have distinctive values. Supatra (1998) is a Thai scholar who attempts to identify values that are dominant in wide sectors of Thai society. In doing so, 48

58 Supatra distinguishes Thai rural values from urban values and explains that the ruralurban distinction is basically that between agriculturally based, lower-educated Thais and their industrially based, better-educated urban counterparts. Dominant rural values, according to Supatra, include: (1) passivity (a tendency to accept what happens to them as part of their deeds committed in their past lives); (2) love for recreation; (3) materialism; (4) respect for people who do good deeds; (5) face-saving; (6) refraining from causing displeasure to others; (7) submission to the power; (8) communitarianism; (9) informality; and (10) strong kinship obligations. Thai urban values, on the other hand, include: (1) belief in rationality; (2) emphasis on competition; (3) privileging of Westernization; (4) emphasis on formality; (5) materialism; (6) emphasis on face-saving or face-promoting (performing expensive ceremonies or celebrations, for example); (7) respect for legitimate authority; (8) lack of discipline (reckless driving, for example); (9) disregard for public property; (10) paying lip service instead of undertaking practical action; and (11) jealously and selfishness (Supatra, 1998, p. 32). Implicit in Supatra s list of Thai values is the assessment that rural values are preferable to urban ones. The latter reflects and expresses the generative effects of economic development and Westernization (Supatra, 1998). Both rural and urban values have listed a few things that are similar and those are materialism, the respect for order and the holders of power, and face-saving. Most systematic studies on Thai socio-cultural values have been conducted within organizational contexts. For example, Hofstede (1980) collected data by circulating questionnaires to 116,000 employees in branches and affiliates of IBM in fifty countries, 49

59 including Thailand. From the results, he drew up indices, which is called Hofstede s model of work value differences, to reflect the national cultural characteristics or dimensions of those fifty countries (Hofstede, 1980; 1997). Hofstede s model indicates that Thai culture is one that is relatively hierarchical, collectivistic, feminine, and with a moderately high need to avoid uncertainty (Hofstede, 1980). Another systematic research related to Thai socio- cultural values is Komin s (1990; 1995) classical research on culture- and work-related values in Thai organizations. The study results indicate that there are nine value clusters presented in Thai organizations: (1) ego orientation; (2) grateful relationship orientation; (3) smooth interpersonal relationship orientation; (4) flexibility and adjustment orientation; (5) religio-psychical orientation; (6) education and competence orientation; (7) interdependence orientation; (8) fun-pleasure orientation; and (9) achievement-task orientation. By looking at these nine value clusters, one can see that there is a conflict between some clusters such as ego-orientation versus interdependence-orientation. Consequently, Thais often have problems when they need to negotiate between concern about themselves and concern about others on whom they usually depend. The most recent study that provides insight into Thai socio-cultural values in organizational contexts has been conducted by Nimanandh and Andrews (2009). By integrating three of the most influential models of cultures Hofstede (1980), Hall (1976), and Trompenaars (1997) Nimanandh and Andrews discover that Thailand is relatively collectivist, hierarchical, relation-based, and high context. High context cultures are homogeneous and collectivist. People in high context cultures are often 50

60 engaged in a more indirect communication strategy. Maintaining harmony and saving face are considered the overriding goal of communication. As Nimanandh and Andrews (2009) point out, for Thais [ s]aying no is difficult, confrontation is avoided, and criticism is handled with care (p. 60). By comparing the four studies on Thai socio-cultural values above, it is clear that they share certain commonalities. Thailand is a collectivist, relation-based society in which people attempt to maintain smooth interpersonal relationships. Second, face-saving and indirect communication strategies are normal practices that Thais often engage in during social interactions. Third, although Thais are interdependent and concerned about others, their respect for power holders and the ways they measure social status cause them to become competent-oriented as they attempt to achieve a higher status in society. Finally, education becomes a means for Thai people to gain their prestige and respect from others. Chapter Summary In this chapter, I discussed the theoretical frameworks that inform and guide my research. In order to enhance narrative, communicative, and performative understanding of identity enactment engaged by Thai Robin Hoods, I used the two concepts of selfidentity (focusing on self-identity as performance) and liminality as my major analytical frames. Since my study focuses on the experiences of Thai Robin Hoods within social relation contexts, I found that the concept of self and identity, especially the situation approach to identity and society, effectively helped me gain a better understanding of how my research participants viewed and presented themselves and how they interacted 51

61 with others as they lowered their status to live in this alien country. Liminality is another crucial theoretical concept for this study because it clearly illustrates the midpoint of transition or the in-between state in which individuals are neither here nor there and that makes it difficult for them to find sense of belonging. In this chapter, I also overviewed existing research on immigrants self-identities in cultural studies and communication area. The chapter ended with the discussion on several existing studies on Thai socio-cultural values that pertain to and help explain Thai culture and Thai people s communicative actions. 52

62 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY In order to explore experiences of undocumented Thai immigrants, Robi n Hoods, in one U.S. urban metropolis, I conducted an ethnographic study with a group of Thai Robin Hoods who resided in a U.S. metropolis, where a large number of Thai immigrants were located. According to the data from the 2010 U.S. census, Thais are one of the ten largest Asian groups in that region. In recent decades, there have been three predominant occupational clusters among Thai people in that metropolis restaurant, sales and service, and professional fields, especially in medicine. The fieldwork of this current study took three months to complete. Fifteen undocumented immigrants from Thailand agreed to participate in this study. I used a combination of participant observations and in-depth interviewing, which included informal conversations as well as more formal individual interviews, as a means of collecting data. While participant observation was my primary methodological tool, I realized that it might not have enabled the most detailed personal narratives about my participants experiences. Therefore, I included the method of in-depth interviews as well. As Kvale (1996) suggests, interviewing is the method that is particularly suited for studying how individuals understand the meanings in their lived world, how they describe their experiences and self-understanding, and how they clarify and elaborate their own perspectives regarding events in their lives. According to Park (2009), in-depth interviews have been successfully used by many sociologists to obtain rich biographical data about individual s identities and their perceptions of the world around them. This method is also commonly used in communication studies. Combining in-depth interviews 53

63 with participant observations helped me obtain rich information regarding research participants experiences and worldviews as they decided to live illegally in this alien country. These two methods also became cross-checking tools to help me explore consistencies and inconsistencies that embedded within the data. Research Participants Fifteen undocumented immigrants from Thailand were recruited to be participants of this study through the snowball sampling method. Snowball sampling is the participant recruit process whereby the researcher recruits participants through the process of referrals (Warren, 2002). Since my focus was on exploring the experiences of the new generation of Thai Robin Hoods, I also recruited my participants based on their educational and socio-economic backgrounds. Each prospective participant needed to have at least a bachelor s degree to qualify to participate in this study. In terms of socioeconomic backgrounds, an initial study regarding their families, former careers, and the reasons why they initially came to the U.S. helped to verify whether or not they came from well-educated and affluent backgrounds. All this important information was obtained through my key informant, as well as through informal conversations that took place during the participant recruitment process before I officially invited anyone to participate in this study. Additionally, I have provided a small profile of each individual participant in the appendices. Thai Robin Hoods are considered members of a vulnerable group who are usually hard-to-reach since they are reluctant to reveal their real identities as undocumented immigrants. As many scholars argue, locating people from vulnerable groups, hidden 54

64 populations, is a challenging task and too often problematic (see Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005). I was acquainted with several Thai Robin Hoods who once worked with me in a Thai restaurant. As such, I did not have a problem when inviting my Robin Hood friends to participate in my study. Seven of them agreed to take part in my research. I was able to locate the other eight through my other friendship networks in the city. Even so, I needed someone who could help to introduce me to those strangers and encourage them to participate in my study. Accordingly, I asked Auan, one of my Robin Hood friends, to be my key informant. Auan was referred to by several participants in my study as one of the friendliest persons in the Thai community there. He helped me identify my prospective participants and then introduced me to those individuals. He also helped me explain to those individuals about my research agenda and even helped guarantee to all of them that I would do everything to protect their rights after they agreed to participate in my study. With my key informant s help, I was able to recruit all 15 participants. My research participants included seven females and eight males. Twelve of them had resided in the U.S. for more than ten years. Although I had friendship networks in that city, since most people did not readily identified themselves as undocumented immigrants, my friends were able to locate only those who were acquainted with them. Since my friends had resided in the U.S. for more than ten years, people with whom they were associated also had resided here for more than ten years. My key informant told me that presently many Thais whose real intention was looking for jobs in the U.S. usually 55

65 bought the I-20 7 from small language schools that did not require class attendance. These fake students were able to renew their I-20 as long as they wanted if they had money to pay. There were many Thais who did not want to pay a large amount of money for the I- 20. Yet they lied to others that their status was that of a student in order to play it safe. As such, it was difficult to distinguish between a fake student and a Robin Hood who fakes being a fake student. Field Sites In this current study, I used a combination of participant observations and indepth interviewing, which included informal conversations as well as more formal individual interviews as a means of collecting data. During the first phase of the research, I had informal conversations with each of my research participants to learn about their backgrounds. Then I started to conduct an observation with each of them. The first interview session took place after I observed the research participants for about two weeks. During the time I conducted interviews, observations still took place and continued until the end of the project. Observations Observations mostly took place at research participants work sites. Since undocumented Thai immigrants usually worked as service providers, mostly in 7 I-20 is a document issued by schools/universities to international students after they get accepted to those schools/universities. After receiving the I-20, students will bring this document to the U.S. embassy to apply for student visas. The expiration date on the I-20 depends on the length of the study program to which each student applies. Students can renew their I-20 if they cannot complete their program of study before the expiration date. The most important thing is that as long as they stay in the United States, all international students are required to register for classes and also attend those classes. If they do not register or never meet class attendance requirements, their schools/ universities will report to USCIS (U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services). Consequently, their visas will be revoked, followed by deportation and being barred from entering the United States for a number of years. 56

66 restaurants, their workplaces were considered the best settings where I could effectively observe their interactions with others. The observations were conducted as participant observation. According to Patton (2002), the extent of a researcher s participation in ethnographic research is a continuum that varies from complete immersion in the setting as full participant to complete separation from the setting as spectator. During fieldwork, researchers might adopt one of four possible roles when conducting ethnographic projects: complete observer; observer-as-participant; participant-as-observer; or complete participant (see Creswell, 2003; Gold, 1997; Tedlock, 2000). In my study, I also adopted the role of participant-as-observer as I sought an opportunity to work in restaurants with some research participants so that I could immerse myself in their culture in some degree. Immersion is an investigative process researchers enter research participants world and seek participants perspectives and meanings through ongoing interactions happening in everyday life within research settings (Marshall & Rossmann, 1989). Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005) point out that through immersion, the ethnographers themselves experience events in the same way as the local people. They then are able to see things from the people s perspectives and hence to have a deeper understanding of the people they are learning from (p. 169). Although I realized beforehand that I would not be able to completely immerse in the Robin Hoods culture since I was not an undocumented immigrant, by working with them as a colleague, I believed that I should have understood their experiences better than observing them by taking the role of onlooker. 57

67 However, since I conducted this research with 15 participants who did not work at the same site, it was impossible for me to take the role of participant-as-observer when observing every one of them. I had opportunities to adopt the role of participant-asobserver at two restaurants. Each of these restaurants had three research participants working together. The rest of the research participants worked at other places; thus, I chose to adopt the role of observer-as-participant when observing most of my research participants at their workplaces. Being an observer-as-participant means that my role as a researcher was known among those whom I was observing. They knew that they were being observed but I was cautious about my acts and tried not to be intrusive in the settings. I followed a general guideline suggested by Wolcott (2008). According to Wolcott, a general guideline for conducting observations is that it seems preferable to stay on the cautious side, becoming only as involved as necessary to obtain whatever information is sought (p. 51). I realized that, to some extent, my participation in the research settings was still necessary. As Davies (2008) points out, participation is a means of facilitating observation of particular behaviors and events. It also enables more open and meaningful discussions with research participants. In addition to observing my participants at their work places, I also conducted observations beyond their working hours in order to learn about other dimensions of their lives how they lived and what they usually did during their leisure time. I had opportunities to visit most of my participants houses/apartments. I also took the role of participant-as-observer when I hung out with my research participants at Thai karaoke bars as well as at parties or social events organized by my participants or other Thais. 58

68 I spent time observing my research participants for two weeks before I started to conduct an interview with the first participant. As Davies (2008) suggests, interviewers (researchers) need to possess some basic knowledge regarding the structure of social relationships and the complex of underlying cultural meanings in the society in which they are studying. As a Thai citizen, I believed that I knew a great deal about Thai people and Thai culture; however, I could not take it for granted that I also knew very much about my research participants despite the fact that all of them were Thais. It was essential to recognize that Thai Robin Hoods were members of a co-culture within the Thai community. They had their own lifestyles their own sub-culture; thus, I needed to ensure that I had enough knowledge about these individuals before I started interviewing them. Thai Robin Hoods were considered vulnerable individuals, and, as Liamputtong and Ezzy (2005) suggest, a researcher needs to approach these vulnerable individuals with extraordinary special considerations. I did not want to jeopardize my vulnerable research participants by asking questions that might have had negative impacts on their feelings. Yet, at the same time, I did not want to jeopardize my study by avoiding asking sensitive, but very essential questions either. Enhancing knowledge through observations before conducting interviews helped me learn how to improve my interview protocol to correct wordings, reconstruct questions, or find better ways to ask sensitive questions. I discovered that all the changes I made according to knowledge that I received from observations eventually helped me accomplish my research goals more efficiently. 59

69 Informal Conversations During my observations, I used informal conversations as a means of collecting data before conducting more formal individual, in-depth interviews. Conversations differ from interviews in the sense that the former is more informal and emergent, whereas the latter is characterized by a variety of purposeful questions and series of explanations (Spradley, 1979). Agar (1996) refers to these conversations as theinformal ethnographic interviews. According to Agar, informal interviews can happen in various situations besides a one-on-one isolated talk. When asking questions during informal interviews, researchers do not adopt the formal role of interrogator. They also do not need written lists of questions but only repertoires of question-asking strategies from which they draw upon as the moments seem appropriate. Stage and Mattson (2003) argue that when complemented by the assets of conversations, ethnographic interviews can produce a more participant-respectful and insightful project that overcomes the common criticism of ethnography (p. 99). Although these conversations are informal and are often virtually unstructured to the extent that they are very close to naturally occurring conversations, researchers still have in minds topics they wish to investigate and questions they would like to pose (Davies, 2008). Since these conversations the informal ethnographic interviews are considered a part of participant observation, I did not tape-record the conversations with research participants but let them happen in natural ways. I only took fieldnotes about events that happened during the course of observations, including conversations. Data that I collected through informal 60

70 conversations were also used to improve my interview protocol before I conducted formal interviews. Individual Interviews Each research participant of this study was asked to participate in an individual interview session. The length of the interview for each person took about two hours. I used the semi-structured approach to collect qualitative data in the narrative form through open-ended interviews. Patton (2002) calls this approach the general interview guide approach. According to Patton, when conducting this type of interview, the interviewers typically prepare the interview guide before entering interview settings in order to ensure that the same basic lines of inquiry are pursued with each respondent interviewed. The interview guide indicates topics or subject areas within which the interviewer is free to explore, probe, and ask questions that will elucidate and illuminate that particular subject. It also indicates the sequence of the topics the researchers seek to explore. By using the semi-structured approach, I developed an interview guide (interview protocol) that included a set of questions covering a wide range of issues to obtain detailed information on various circumstances surrounding research participants experiences as illegal residents in this country. Patton (2002) claims that the advantage of an interview guide is that it helps a researcher to ensure that he or she has already decided how best to use the limited time available when conducting interview. Although an interview guide/protocol is prepared to be a guideline for asking questions in the most efficient ways, a researcher/interviewer still remains free to build conversations within a particular subject that has been predetermined. Wengraf (2001) suggests that in designing the questions for 61

71 the semi-structured interview, researchers need to realize that their prepared questions need to be sufficiently open for the possible subsequent questions that have not been preplanned. Since most of the respondents answers cannot be predicted in advance, the interviewers have to improvise probably half, or maybe more, of their own responses to what the respondents say in regards to the interviewers initial prepared questions. I prepared an interview guide in advance to make sure that all issues that I proposed to investigate would be covered within the limited time available. However, I recognized that during interviews I might have discovered new issues to probe or find out that some original questions are redundant or repetitive. I tried to remain flexible and adaptive let interviewing follow its own flow and prepare for some surprises that might have emerged during the course of interviews. During interview sessions, each research participant had an opportunity to choose his or her preferred language, either Thai or English. All of them chose to speak Thai. All interviews were digitally recorded and field notes were also taken during interviews. Data from interviews was transcribed verbatim. Then, I carefully translated all Thai transcripts into English. In the report, I used a pseudonym when referring to each of the research participants in order to protect his or her identity. The name of the city and the places where they worked were not mentioned in the report as well. My Narrative Tale of Positionality As a Thai woman who had lived among members of the Thai community in a metropolis of the U.S. for several years and had two aunts who were former undocumented immigrants, I acknowledge that there is a personal agenda to my current 62

72 study. For years, I was curious about the reasons why individuals who came from good educational and affluent backgrounds chose to be undocumented immigrants in this country. It was not until I adopted the role of researcher that I had an opportunity to seek answers for the subject of my interest. I recognize that my identity and experience affected every stage of this study, beginning with my choice of research topic and the research setting, my challenge in finding potential participants, and also my interactions with the research participants. My lived experiences and the common views I shared with research participants positioned me to be a co-constructor of knowledge with them. Yet, as I needed to negotiate an insider/outsider status, I also faced many challenges throughout the course of this study. The following narrative is my attempt to document the effects of my personal experiences and the personas that influenced my research interests, interactions with research participants, and my positionality, as well as my understanding of the issue being investigated. My History with Thai Robin Hoods My interest in the lives of Thai Robin Hoods began when I was young. I had two aunts who came to the U.S. to di gold. Aunt Sue and Aunt Min were my father s cousins. Both of them earned diplomas from commercial schools. They wanted to seek a better life in the U.S. since their school diplomas did not provide then with many options in selecting careers. After being Robin Hoods for several years, both of my aunts got married to American men, and their status has been changed to legal residents ever since. Even before they got married, both of them always sent money and gifts to their family and relatives in Thailand. I knew from my father that both of them worked as servers in 63

73 restaurants; thus, I started to wonder why the server job could make a great deal of money like that. My father said that it was because the values of money were different between the U.S. and Thailand. As such, even labor jobs in the U.S. usually paid better than those in Thailand. Because I knew beforehand that the server job offered good money, when I came to the U.S. to obtain my master s degree, I looked for an opportunity to work in a Thai restaurant to earn extra money. Although my parents provided me with full financial support during my studies, I wanted more money for shopping and living more comfortably. All of the colleagues who worked with me when I was a part-time waitress were students or legal residents. When I graduated, I applied for the OPT 8 and moved to another place. My boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) was still working towards his master s degree and I wanted to be with him. Yet instead of applying for a job in an American company, I applied for the full-time server job at a famous Thai restaurant. I realized that my degree in technical communication made it difficult for a non-native speaker like me to find a job in an American company. Therefore, I decided to work in the restaurant for a while to collect some money before flying back home with my boyfriend. I had opportunities to become acquainted with several Thai Robin Hoods at my new workplace. Yet I noticed that my Robin Hood friends were different from Aunt Sue and Aunt Min in many aspects. All of them already had their bachelor degrees and came from affluent backgrounds. That made me curious why did these individuals prefer to 8 Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a period during which international students with F-1 status (full time foreign students) who have completed their degrees are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the area related to their studies for at most one year. Even though students cannot find jobs related to their areas of studies, they are still able to continue staying in the U.S. during that one year period. 64

74 stay here rather than going back to Thailand? Yet I did not dare to ask because I was afraid that my curiosity might make my friends lose face. I was thinking that if I was a Robin Hood, I would not like people to ask me that kind of question either. At the very least, these individuals realized that they were breaking the laws, and I did not think that anyone would feel good after they broke the laws or did anything against the mainstream. I also realized that even if I dared to ask, I probably would not get a sincere answer anyway. Although I was not a Robin Hood, I felt that my life in the U.S. after I graduated was not much different from that of my Robin Hood friends. All of us were illegal workers. I needed to be cautious as much as they were since there was a chance that I could get arrested by the DHS as well. When my OPT expired, I went back to Thailand for two months and then came back here with a tourist visa to stay with my boyfriend, who spent time in pursuing his degree longer than he had expected. I went back to work at the same place where I worked before returning home. A tourist visa, like a student visa, provided me with a legal status while I was living here. However, since I worked here without a work permit, I also possessed illegal status (as an illegal/undocumented worker). Somehow I was in a liminal state betwixt and between two positions just like my Robin Hood friends were. As a matter of fact, I felt like I could consider myself a Robin Hood. I was different from Thai Robin Hoods in the sense that my visa was still valid, and that allowed me able to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Thailand. However, if I still kept coming back here, the DHS might have suspected me and not 65

75 allowed me to enter the country. Moreover, I could have been barred from coming back to the U.S. for at least ten years. When the Research Journey Begins I lost contact with my Robin Hood friends after I returned to Thailand to work as a lecturer at a private university. I did not plan to come back here so soon. However, only a few years later, my employer offered me a scholarship to pursue my doctoral degree in the U.S. As soon as I arrived here, I went to visit my old friends at the city where I once resided and found out that most of my Robin Hood friends were still there. All of them were surprised when they learned that I became a doctoral student. Some of them had mistaken me as a Robin Hood when we worked together. These individuals did not know that I was holding a tourist visa at that time. Therefore, they never thought that I could have reentered the country so soon. I had to correct their misunderstanding. All of them praised me for my success, and I was very happy with our reunion after we had lost contact for three years. In 2007, I went to that city again to conduct a study with a group of Thai servers as a part of my organizational communication class project. Most of my Robin Hood friends were still there and some of them already owned restaurants. I started to wonder again about the reason why these individuals did not want to go home. But, again, as friends, I did not dare to ask I did not want to jeopardize our friendships by raising questions that might make them lose face. That question still lingered in my mind after I left the city. Later it became a research topic of my interest after I had opportunities to read several articles regarding the self-identity of ethnic minorities. I took qualitative 66

76 method classes to strengthen my knowledge about research methodology that I could utilize to discover new knowledge based on my personal interests. After adopting my new identity a researcher I revisited that city and started my research journey into the world of Thai Robin Hoods to look for the answers that I had been curious about for so many years. During my fieldwork, I realized that my insider status carried with it certain advantages. First of all, my social identity as a Thai woman who was a former member of the Thai community in that city helped secure my insider relationships. I did not have problems in gaining access to the research setting. However, I needed to deal with one significant question raised by almost every prospective participant why are you interested in my life? I explained to those who raised such a question by referring to my experiences nine years ago when I was an illegal worker just like them. I told them that all difficulties that I had to face during that time made me curious about how others who were in the same situation just like me felt. From my own experience, I realized that living in a foreign country was not easy, especially if we were not legal residents. Accordingly, I wondered why each of them preferred to stay here rather than going back to be with his or her family in Thailand. Since Thai Robin Hoods were considered members of a vulnerable population group, I realized that special care and attention were required when conducting studies with the vulnerable individuals like these (see Johnson & Clark, 2003; Liamputtong & Ezzy, 2005; Quest & Marco, 2003). It was my intention to exclude the label Robi n Hoods, visa overstayer, or undocumented immigrant from the answer I gave to my 67

77 prospective participants when they questioned me about my interests in their lives. I tried to make them feel that we were the same as I strategically recounted my experiences as an illegal worker. Vance (1995) points out that researchers need to establish reciprocity, trust, and rapport, and moreover, need to engage in self-disclosure they need to be more open to and willing to share their experiences with participants. When I engaged in selfdisclosure by sharing my experiences and feeling with my prospective participants, I was very successful in gaining their trust and rapport. All of them seemed to be pleased with the answer I gave for their questions, and showed their enthusiasm in helping me complete my research project. I was very excited and felt very grateful for their contributions. I believed that the common experiences that we shared would effectively help facilitate the process of data gathering until the fieldwork was completed. Although many participants in this current study were my acquaintances whom I knew when I resided in that city nine years ago, some participants were strangers who were introduced to me through my friend s networks. I realized that it was necessary for me to hang out with those individuals in order to acquaint myself with them before I started to conduct a formal study. By acquainting myself with these strangers, I had an opportunity to share my experiences with them, and that effectively helped facilitate rapport and trust among those individuals. Some of them started to perceive me as their friend. After rapport and trust were built, each of them seemed to be more willing to share their personal stories with me to help me accomplish my research goal. Generally, even before I started to conduct this study, I recognized many advantages of being an insider when conducting an ethnographic study, especially with a 68

78 group of vulnerable minorities like Thai Robin Hoods. Although I was not a Robin Hood, my identity as a Thai, who once resided in that city and worked as a waitress in Thai restaurants, helped facilitate the establishment of my insider status. Zinn (2001) mentions that people in minority communities usually develop self-protective behaviors for dealing with outsiders. Yet minority scholars who investigate their own communities can gain an advantage from being insiders, since they can ask questions and gather information others cannot. The minority researcher, thus, will be able to generate hypotheses and discover data precluded from traditional frameworks and the experiences of outsiders. During the course of my fieldwork, I realized that my insider status provided me with many advantages like Zinn suggests. I did not have problems in gaining access to the research setting. My research participants also showed their enthusiasm and were willing to disclose their personal, intimate information with me. They recognized me as an ally after I recounted my experience as an illegal worker with them. Accordingly, I was able to gather some valuable, important data that an outsider researcher might not have been able to obtain. Although my insider status carried with it certain advantages, I was aware of some disadvantages as well. When I conducted a qualitative study with a group of Thai servers in a Thai restaurant several years ago, I experienced difficulties when I attempted to establish rapport with my research participants while balancing an insider/outsider perspective. I tried not to become too involved in the setting to the extent that I could lose focus on the research agenda. When I conducted this current study, I needed to concentrate on the topic under investigation and also maintain my role as a researcher. 69

79 Since most research participants considered me their friend, I needed to make sure that they still honored my role as a researcher. It happened several times during the course of interviews that my research participants got off the track and distracted me. They did not pay attention to the questions I asked and changed conversation topics to something else that did not relate to my interview questions. Sometimes they even made joke with my interview questions or did not provide serious answers. I had to pull them back on the track and beg them to stay focused on the interview questions. The overlap between my identity as researcher and my identity as f riend somehow made it difficult for me to maintain my researcher s role during the course of my fieldwork. Nonetheless, beyond that I had opportunities to obtain intimate data that only a friend would have learned from my research participants. I acknowledge that as a Thai woman with legal immigration status, higher educational background, and a different set of social experiences, I might not particularly share the same experiences as my Robin Hood friends here do. Although I was once an illegal worker who was caught in a liminal state just like them, I already stepped out of that adventure state to gain my prestige back when I returned to Thailand eight years ago. More or less, however, my past experiences still helped me gain an insightful knowledge about my Robin Hood friends lives and how these individuals make sense of themselves and others. I also realized that subjectivity should have been a major concern of mine when I conducted a study with my people. As Zinn (2001) points out, although insider research offers obvious advantages, there are still objections regarding the subjectivity of researchers that can lead to bias in data gathering and interpretation. 70

80 Although I tried to make every effort to ensure objectivity, I realized that some biases might not have been able to withstand elimination. Yet those biases helped shape the way I viewed and understood my research data, as well as the way I interpreted my experiences in the field. Data Analysis My interview discourses, fieldnotes, and informal conversations were thematized and analyzed through the method of thematic analysis. According to Ezzy (2002), thematic analysis is an inductive tool used for identifying themes embedded within the data. Riessman (2008) states that thematic analysis is an intuitive and straightforward approach that is suited to various kinds of data. It can be used to analyze a wide range of narrative texts including data from interviews, conversations in group meetings, and texts in written documents. In conducting thematic analysis, Ezzy (2002) suggests that the categories into which themes will be sorted are not decided prior to coding the data. These categories are induced from the data. While the general issues of interest are determined prior to the analysis and are in fact a part of the semi-structured interview protocol, the specific nature of the categories and themes to be explored are not predetermined (p. 88). To conduct a thematic analysis for this study, I followed Madison s (2005) model that draws from a combination of various coding procedures. At the first stage of coding I read through my transcript and fieldnotes several times to get a sense of overall themes. After familiarizing myself with the data, I generated an initial list of ideas about what was in the data and what was interesting. Then, I did an open coding as I carefully 71

81 examined every sentence in the transcript. Open coding is the initial, unrestricted coding of data (Strauss, 1987). Coding was done manually as I wrote notes on the texts and used highlighters to indicate potential patterns. I highlighted and coded each code clump, a paragraph representing a small theme (e.g., part-time job, trouble in college, money problem, family s support). According to Glesne (2006), code clumps emerged when a researcher selected and sorted through scraps of collected data [by] putting like minded pieces together into data clumps, you create an organizational framework (p. 152). The central theme of each clump was noted in the margins. After the open coding was done, I started doing the next stage of coding. The first phase of this stage began with my reading through the initial codes that I assigned to each clump. While reading, I tried to identify relationships among the codes. I also created memos to reflect my thoughts on theoretical concepts and questions or concerns corresponding to the codes. These theoretical memos serve to flesh out the thematic qualities of the coding categories, or how their meanings shift across time, social actors, or other dimensions (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002, p. 220). Then, I compared and contrasted particular topics within each clump. Some overlapped topics were merged. Some topics were moved to another clump, while some were eliminated from the study completely. In the final stage of coding, I examined topics within each clump again before making adjustments for comparison and contrast across coding clumps. I created a thematic map to organize clumps and codes that fall into each clump, which helped me to clearly see the connections between the clumps. At this final stage, linkages and themes were created. I constructed a hierarchy of themes and subthemes that I discovered. 72

82 Memos were still written throughout the process of coding, and they were used in the final write-up of this study report. 73

83 CHAPTER 4: CONSTITUTING A ROBIN HOOD IDENTITY In this chapter, as well as in the next chapter, I discuss the major themes that emerged from the interviews, the informal conversations, and the observations, which I conducted with all 15 research participants. While each participant has his or her own unique experience as a Robin Hood in the U.S., their everyday experiences also intersected along several lines. To explore those shared experiences of my participants, I utilized the method of thematic analysis as my analytical tool (Ezzy, 2002; Riessman, 2008). By conducting a thematic analysis, I searched across the data set, which I had obtained from the interviews, the informal conversations, and the observations, to find repeated patterns of meanings. Through a thematic treatment of the issues, I discovered seven major themes that emerged from the data set. Each theme represents what the research participants have experienced as their status changed from legal to illegal, and how their attitudes towards their lives and their relationships with others have been changed after they chose to adopt the Robin Hood identity. In this chapter, I discuss four themes that illustrate how Robin Hood identity had been constituted. Those four themes include: 1. An American Degree is Thay (Cool): This theme revolves around the participants experiences and attitudes towards obtaining degrees in the U.S. It emerged when I asked the research participants interview questions regarding the reasons why they came to the U.S. in the first place. 74

84 2. Thai Robin Hoods, Gold-Diggers who are Addicted to Money: This theme clearly explains why the participants of this study decided to live as undocumented immigrants in this country. 3. Freedom: Happy Life in the Land of the Free: This theme emerged when I had conversations with the research participants about their feelings towards the U.S. and their life experiences in this country in general. 4. When in Rome, Do Like the Romans Do: This theme emerged when research participants described how they adapted themselves to their new lives as illegal residents in new cultural contexts. I will discuss each theme via detailed descriptions and extensive excerpts from the transcribed interviews and the fieldnotes data. Since all interviews were conducted in Thai, I needed to translate the interview data into English. I recognized that in translation, it was difficult to preserve some of the significance of assorted Thai words when replacing them with English words. Therefore, when providing detailed descriptions for each theme, where necessary I quoted Thai words followed by English translations to emphasize something very significant. In addition, the original words in Thai will be used in this chapter if those words were repeatedly used by my participants during the interviews. Throughout the discussion of emergent themes in Chapter 4 and 5, wherever necessary, I inserted my own voice into the discourses. This enabled me to illuminate the historical contexts related to participants narratives and allude to the original causes of the issues or history that influenced the issues. As I presented in Chapter 3 about my 75

85 history and relationships with the Thai community in the research setting and my experience as a liminal individual when I was a part of that community, I believe that my own voice could be one among the multiple voices that create a rich text on constructions and negotiations of Thai Robin Hood identity. An American Degree is Thay (Cool) The first theme that I will discuss is related to the major reason why most research participants of this study decided to come to this country in the first place. Obtaining a degree overseas was these individuals original goals. However, not all of them succeeded in pursuing their dreams; in any case, their lives have been changed in ways that they could never have imagined. When I asked my research participants during the interviews about reasons why they first came to the U.S., more than half of them told me that they intended to pursue degrees here. These individuals mentioned why having a degree abroad, especially a master s degree, was important for them, and that how the theme about the significance of obtaining a degree overseas emerged. With an American Degree, I m so Thay All my 15 participants have already received at least their bachelor s degrees. Most of them first came to the U.S. in order to pursue their degrees or to study in intensive English programs as a means of improving their language competency. Seven of these individuals first came here in the hope of completing master s degrees. Only three of them succeeded in this effort. May, who arrived here in 2006 to obtain her 76

86 master s degree and graduated from an accredited private university in 2008, remarked that obtaining master s degrees is a kind of fashion for Thais. As she described: Thai parents who have enough money usually sent their children to obtain master s degrees overseas. It s a kind of fashion, you know. Parents will be very proud when they can tell other people that their children graduate from abroad, especially from the U.K. or the U.S. If the parents are rich, they will usually send their children to the U.K. or the U.S. Some parents who don t have much money often send their children to Australia where everything is cheaper than the U.K and the U.S. She pointed out, however, that graduating from an Australian university is not as thay (cool/superb/elegant) as graduating from a British or an American university. May, as well as Sun, her fiancé, who also received a master s degree from an American university, suggested that Thais believe that the educational standards of Australia are lower than those of the U.K. and the U.S. Speaking to this, Sun noted: Tuition fees and living expenses in Australia are cheaper. Yet it means that you probably don t have enough money not rich enough to send your kids to the U.S. or the U.K., so you need to send your kids to Australia instead Thus, Thai parents prefer to send their kids to the U.S. or the U.K. if they are able to. It is a kind of preserve your face somehow. The concept of face is salient in Thai culture. Face saving or face-promoting is identified as one of dominant values in Thai society (Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009; Supatra, 1998). By sending their children to obtain degrees overseas is considered the 77

87 way Thai parents are engaged in face-promoting strategy. However, these parents need to take consideration about where to send their children to pursue their degrees as well. Those who can afford to send their children to richer countries like the U.S. and the U.K seem to be more successful in promoting face compared to those who send their children to the Down Under. Other participants who first came to the U.S. in order to obtain their master s degrees but then had to change their plans for some reasons agreed that Thais value education highly and that was the reason they came here in the first place. Generally, Thai people are education and competence oriented (Komin, 1990; 1995). Education is perceived by Thais as a means of climbing social ladders. Those who have a higher education usually enjoy a higher social rank (Maisrikrod, 1999). Many Thai people still believe the purpose of a university is job training. Accordingly, Thai students, as well as parents, look to university simply as a place to help them gain professional and material advancement (Prangpatanporn, 1996). Some of my research participants wanted their parents to be proud of them if they were able to obtain higher degrees, while some thought that having a master s degree is good for their future. A master s degree can provide them with better opportunities since earning a bachelor s degree seems to be very common in Thai society nowadays. Laughingly, Sun pointed out: In the next ten years, probably master s degrees would become something very common. Most Thai people would have at least master s degrees. A master s degree will not be thay enough, and you will have to earn a doctoral degree in order to get better opportunities to be special. 78

88 Whenever I talked to my research participants about their plans of pursuing degrees in the U.S., the Thai words thay and go popped up within their answers so many times. Both words mean elegant or superb in English. Thay is also similar to the American slang term cool. Some participants used the word jeng which also means cool. From my own experience and from the research data that I obtained, I learned that earning graduate degrees from overseas, especially from the U.S. is something that Thais view as cool something that Thais can use to ouad (show off). Being thay or cool might be better understood when we take the concept of face and dignity into account. A higher degree from abroad can be considered a symbol of pride. One would be proud of him- or herself when he or she received a higher degree from abroad, which would also become a part of the family s dignity. On the other hand, if one failed to obtain such degree, he or she, as well as his or her family, could lose face. When I was working toward my master s degree several years ago, the notable thing that I noticed was that within the Thai student community in the U.S., to be thay meant that you had to receive a degree from a highly accredited university. People who earned their degrees from row brick building universities, universities that used buildings in downtowns as their main campuses, are not perceived as being thay enough. This particular idea was confirmed by Ann, who also received her master s degree from an American university (but not the row brick building one, of course). Ann and her husband are still involved with the Thai student community in the city where she presently lives. Ann told me that nothing has been changed about Thai people s attitudes 79

89 towards row brick building universities. According to Ann, if they have a choice, Thai students want to study at universities that have a large campus, and row brick building universities are considered low grade universities compared to those with large campuses. Although obtaining a master s degree abroad is perceived as a fashion by many Thais, not every research participant was very enthusiastic about obtaining those higher degrees. Jen and Orm are two examples of those individuals. These two women received their undergraduate degrees from American colleges. However, both of them never considered obtaining their master s degrees. Jen said that since she was never interested in applying for a job in a company, a higher degree was not necessary for her. For Orm, since she never liked studying, having a master s degree was not part of her dream at all: Honestly, I don t like studying. I realize that it s necessary to have a bachelor s degree. It s good for my future. But I don t need a master s degree. People can succeed without master s degrees Yeah, it s thay, but I think I am thay enough now (laughing). It s not easy to earn a bachelor s degree overseas. I have one, so I think I am already jeng 9 enough. Although Orm only had a bachelor s degree, but because it was a foreign degree, Orm felt that she was cool enough. Orm told me about her experience on a subway during her first year in college when she encountered a group of Thais who were studying in an intensive English program. On that day, Orm discovered how thay she, as a student in an American college, could be in other Thais eyes: 9 Jeng usually means cool (as an American slang) 80

90 I was sure that they knew that I am Thai because I had a backpack with a Thai language sticker on it. Those people were in an intensive English program I knew it because I saw English exercise books that they were carrying in their hands. I had few textbooks put on my lap. They were big academic books with a sophisticated look, you know. I noticed that those people were looking at my books and their faces were like wow! I felt very proud I with big academic books. I was a college student not one of the language school students carrying English exercise books. It was so thay. Orm also knew many Thais who came to the U.S. to study English with the hope that they could apply to colleges after their English had been improved. For these individuals, as Orm pointed out, Thai students who had already been in college were like their inspirations or even role models someone they dreamt to be. In Orm s view, being a student in an American college/university was thay or cool. Although she realized that having only a bachelor s degree seemed to be very common, or in other words, not cool enough in Thais perspectives, Orm did not want to pressure herself to do anything she never liked. Thus, she preferred to hold on to her bachelor s degree from an American college, which was cool enough in her view. Without an American Degree, I am not Thay, but I m still Cool The participants who succeeded in obtaining degrees in the U.S. seemed to be proud of their own success and recognized how cool they were. Yet there were the others who could not accomplish their goals in pursuing degrees for some reasons, and that made me wonder how did these individuals feel when they were unable to 81

91 accomplish their original goals? When I asked this particular question during the interviews, the answer that I received was that they felt sia-dai (being disappointed when losing an opportunity to do something). Nonetheless, since they had no choice, they needed to find some ways to cope with that sia-dai feeling. For instance, changing their goals to something else like making money seemed to help them get rid of the sia-dai feeling effectively. From the interviews, I came to conclude that there were two main factors that forced my participants to give up their dreams in obtaining degrees in this country money shortage and language incompetence. Most of my research participants came to the U.S. before the middle of In the summer of 1997, while I was attending a graduate program in an American private university, there was a financial crisis in Asia known as the Tom Yum Koong crisis. 10 My family was fortunate to remain mostly unaffected by it. My parents did not lose their jobs like many people did and were still able to support my studies overseas until I graduated. Yet I remember well how shocked we were when the Thai economy suddenly collapsed and the currency (Thai Baht) weakened to its lowest ever value overnight. During the summer of that year, I went back to Thailand to spend time with my family. I still had two semesters left before I would receive my master s degree to make my parents proud of me. On the day I flew back to the U.S., the value of Thai Baht was dropped over night. The currency exchange rate of 10 The Tom Yum Koong crisis or the IMF crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997, and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown. This financial crisis started in Thailand with the financial collapse of the Thai baht caused by the decision of the Thai government to float the baht, cutting its peg to the USD, after exhaustive efforts to support it in the face of a severe financial over extension that was in part real estate driven. At the time, Thailand had acquired a burden of foreign debt that made the country effectively bankrupt even before the collapse of its currency (see 82

92 25 baht per one U.S. dollar that we had been used to it for decades suddenly changed to 30 baht per one U.S. dollar without any warning. My mother was relieved since she already exchanged money for my tuition fees and living expenses a few days before the Tom Yum Koong crisis occurred. Accordingly, I did not have a problem with paying tuition fees for my last two semesters and I still had enough money left over for my monthly expenses until I graduated. Yet not many people were this lucky. When I flew back to the U.S. at the end of summer 1997, I found out that many of my Thai friends had to drop out of schools/universities and fly back home. Some of them struggled to remain in schools/universities by working to support themselves instead of gaining support from their families in Thailand as they had been used to. Nai, who now owns a sushi restaurant, is one such individual. Nai came to the U.S. in 1996 to obtain a master s degree; yet, his non-fluent English made it difficult for him to get accepted by graduate school. Accordingly, Nai decided to study for his second undergraduate degree instead. Before the Tom Yum Koong crisis, although his parents provided him with full financial support, Nai worked as a part-time waiter in a Thai restaurant to earn extra money. When his parents salaries were decreased, and his younger brother was laid off from a relatively new job, Nai needed to make more money to support himself. Nai had struggled for a year until he decided to give up his dream in pursuing a degree. Then, he started working full-time as a waiter and a delivery man to make money with the hope that he could become an entrepreneur in the future. Nai told me that it was not easy for 83

93 him to give up his dream in pursuing a degree, but he recognized his own limits. As he asserted: I always recognize my own limits. I always do my best. But if I realize that there is no way I can succeed in something, I will change my plan turn my attention to something else. But I never give up my life. I need to be successful in something. After having failed in obtaining a degree, Nai turned his attention to making money and hoped to become a business owner. Turning attention to something else to look for a new goal and then try to accomplish it can be considered a way of coping for an individual who felt sia-dai when he could not accomplish his original goal. It might also be perceived as a means of preserving his face /dignity. We often heard people said that they were not concerned about something that they could not accomplish anymore because there was something else something much better that they would like to do. This might be a strategy that some people employed to preserve their face /dignity they did not want others to perceive them as persons who had failed or losers. In Nai s case, he mentioned that he needed to be successful in something, and these words represented how much he was concerned about his own dignity. Now, he has succeeded in having his own business and made a great profit from it. Eventually, his face /dignity was recovered after he already became successful in something as he intended to. In other words, he was still cool despite his failure in obtaining an American degree. Ice, the youngest participant in my study, and a new Robin Hood in town, came to the U.S. with a big dream and discovered thereafter that achieving that dream required 84

94 both money and capability two things that she did not have enough of. Ice arrived here in 2009 to study in an intensive English program. She planned to apply to graduate school after getting a competent TOEFL (Test of English as a Second Language) 11 score. Ice s mother provided her with financial support during her first 17 months in the U.S. But after taking the TOEFL test three times, Ice has still not earned a competent score. She also learned that her mother was sick and needed money to pay for her medical care. Although Ice s mother insisted that she would continue providing her only child with financial support, Ice rejected her mother s offer. She decided to drop out of the language school and start working full-time in order to make money. She too continues to dream of a master s degree. Her new plan, however, is staying in the U.S. for a few years to make enough money to move to the U.K. to obtain her master s degree. Ice s case also represents how tuning attention to something else helped an individual cope with her sia-dai feeling and probably maintain her dignity as well. Ice still dreams of a master s degree, but now her focus is on making money. Although she did not succeed in pursuing a degree in the U.S., Ice has never lost her pride since she still has another goal, probably a better goal in her view, that she is trying to accomplish. Ou is another participant who came to the U.S. to pursue a degree. Despite the fact that he could be more thay by obtaining a master s degree, Ou chose to study for his second bachelor s degree instead. Ou thought that studying for a master s degree would be too difficult for him. However, since his parents wanted him to get a degree 11 The TOEFL test measures international students abilities to use and understand English at the university level. This particular test evaluates how well students combine their listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills to perform academic tasks (see 85

95 from abroad because it would make them proud, Ou decided to come to the U.S. to get something for them: I thought that if I cannot obtain a second bachelor s degree, I will get at least a diploma or certificate something that my parents can ouad (show off) to other people as a proof that somehow I don t waste their money. Ou s case also illustrates how face and dignity is a concern for Thai people. Thai parents send their children to study abroad because it is the way that they can show off to others. If their children were successful in obtaining degrees abroad, this would become part of the family s dignity. However, Ou dropped out of the college after discovering that even studying for an undergraduate degree was not easy. He also felt bored with student life. He said that at first his decision to drop out of school made his parents disappointed, but when he told them how much money he could make when he worked as a full-time waiter and delivery man, his parents seemed to be alright with that. Because it was his own decision to quit studying no one or nothing forced him to do it Ou did not think that it was his failure when he did not succeed in education. Ou turned his focus to making money, which he really enjoyed, and tried to save money for his future. Every research participant agreed that having an American degree, especially a higher degree, was thay. However, some already recognized their potential limits even before arriving in the U.S. Thus, their goals were to study English in order to improve their language competence and probably continue to study for a certificate or diploma. For these individuals, anything they could obtain here was thay enough. Wat pointed 86

96 out that for him experiences he gained from residing abroad were more valuable than anything: I had opportunities to do more things than I had ever done in Thailand like working in a restaurant, cooking for myself, and hanging out with friends from different countries something like that. My English has been improved, of course. I also feel that I have more responsibility than when I was in Thailand. I have become more mature. June felt the same way about valuable experiences she gained while here. A bachelor s degree from a Thai university was sufficient for her, and she thought that spending her life in a foreign country to gain new experiences for a while was cooler than obtaining a degree. I came here to learn a new thing, and, honestly, I prefer to gain new experiences outside the classroom it s more interesting, said June. Thirteen of my research participants came to the U.S. with student visas in order to study something that could make them thay. Yet there are two participants, Nan and Ai, who came to the U.S. with tourist visas. This couple had no intention to be thay as the others hoped to be. 12 They wanted to make money and became cool by other means than education. When I asked Nan if she ever considered obtaining a graduate degree, she said that she never thought of it. She felt that a bachelor s degree was enough for her, and she preferred working rather than studying. She was happy when she could make a great deal of money on her own. Ai provided a similar comment. He also said that he was not a good student. He was very lazy but he realized that he needed to have at least a 12 Nan and Ai s profile is in APPENDIX B. 87

97 bachelor s degree in order to get a good job to support himself and also to make his parents proud of him. Nan and Ai were different from other research participants in the sense that this couple was not interested in pursuing higher degrees or improving their language competency by attending any intensive English programs. Nonetheless, both of them admitted to me that having graduate degrees is something cool. Additionally, from my observations, this couple seemed to love hanging out with Thai students without jealousy. They loved to invite Thai people, including Thai graduate students, to party at their houses. This couple rents rooms in their house to a group of Thai graduate students. Thus, they have a chance to get involved with the Thai student community in the city. I had visited this couple at home quite often because I once worked with them after receiving my master s degree and still considered them good friends of mine. I observed that Nan and Ai were good hosts as well as good renters. They were very kind to other Thais and treated Thai students who rented the rooms in their houses very nicely. When Nan cooked some special dishes, she always shared those with her tenants. Every tenant seemed to love and respect Nan and her husband very much. Nan told me one day during our informal conversation 13 when I visited her at home about how she loves to hang out with young Thai students: 13 The data obtained from the informal conversations that I had with my research participants was recorded in my fieldnotes after the conversations ended at least an hour. Since I had to memorize and then recall those conversations when noting them down in my journal after the real event ended, most of them were not recorded in the exact words. Consequently, it is important to note here that the excerpts from the informal conversations presented in this report are not the original phrases like those from the formal interviews which were transcribed verbatim. 88

98 Nan: They are young and full of energy. I feel alive when I am with them. I really like smart people. Jirah: Nan: Don t you think they and we 14 are speaking different language? Sometimes (laughing). We are much older than they are, aren t we? Jirah: Yeah. But I also mean that they are living in the world that is different from ours, you know. We work and they study 15 different lifestyle. Don t you feel uncomfortable when those kids talk about college stuff? Nan: Well Nope. I love to hear it. I have learned a lot of things from those kids. Like I said I like smart people. I can learn many things from them so that I can become a smart one too. I have known Nan for almost ten years since I started working in the same restaurant as her after I received my master s degree. In my view, Nan is an optimistic person and the above conversation seems to represent her optimism well. I remember how Nan reacted when we first met and I told her that I already got my master s degree she was very amazed and taken with that. Nan loved to talk to me about my experiences 14 I often used the pronoun we when talking or interviewing the research participants to create mutual relationships. This strategy worked well, especially with those whom I have known since I was a part of the Thai community there several years ago. Although many Thai there, including some of my research participants, once mistook my identity as a Robin Hood, when I went back there with my new identity as a researcher, sometimes my research participant seemed to forget that I was an Other. Usually, I was able to use we when talking with them about the life of Robin Hoods and nobody felt awkward about me doing that. 15 This is an example that illustrates my point above. This participant and I once worked in the same Thai restaurant several years ago, and when I collected data for this study, I adopted a role of participant-asobserver at her restaurant for a while. Thus, she seemed to forget that I am also a student, but perceived me as a wage-earner just like her. 89

99 in the U.S., and she loved to hear about my experiences in graduate school as well. While listening, her face always expressed the feeling of Wow! That s so cool! Nan seemed to admire smart people very much, and graduate students were people who were so cool! in her eyes. In Nan and Ai s case, since education was not their goals in travelling to the U.S., both of them never needed to find a way to cope with any sia-dai feeling. These individuals only focused on their original goal making money and they seemed to be very successful in doing so. Nan and Ai now owns a house and they are planning to buy a restaurant. Since both of them have never failed in achieving their original goals which influenced them to come to the U.S. in the first place, their dignity has still remained in its place. They are cool as a happy couple who makes a great fortune abroad and are soon to become business owners. The information I gained from the field, as well as from my own experiences, suggest that in my research participants perspectives, obtaining American degrees, especially higher degrees, is thay or cool. Even for those who are not interested in obtaining higher degrees, they recognize how thay people who have graduate degrees can be. Individuals who recognize their own potential limits might not obsess much in obtaining graduate degrees, yet they once planned to bring back home something as proof of the coolness they gained while living abroad. Those cool things include second undergraduate degrees, certificates, or diplomas. Literally, being thay is closely related to an individual s f ace and dignity. When individuals were unable to succeed in 90

100 accomplishing their goals in education, they lost face and pride. Consequently, they had to find new goals as a means of recovering their face and dignity. From 15 research participants, only five succeeded in getting cool things to make themselves and their parents proud. Yet, they, like the other ten, chose to continue staying in this country as Robin Hoods instead of going back home to ouad to people there how thay they were. One important factor that made these individuals remain in this country was money, the theme that I would like to discuss next. Thai Robin Hoods, Gold-Diggers who are Addicted to Money Before I became interested in studying undocumented Thai immigrants, whenever I heard people talking about Thai Robin Hoods, it was always followed by the phrase gold digging. I realized that the meaning of this particular phrase that Thai people used to describe Thai Robin Hoods objective when they travelled overseas was probably not the same as gold digging in American English. I once asked Aunt Sue, my father s cousin, who had been a Robin Hood in the U.S. for almost six years, about the meaning of this particular phrase. Aunt Sue told me that for her and most Thai Robin Hoods she knew, gold digging could mean either making money or searching for a better life in the U.S. Generally, Thai people view the U.S. as a developed country that provides better opportunities for everyone, and that was the reason why two of my father s cousins, Aunt Sue and Aunt Min, came to di gold here. Both of my aunts are two examples of the old generation of Thai Robin Hoods who came to this country to make money and also seek a better life. Neither of them possessed a degree; thus, it was difficult for them to 91

101 find better careers in Thailand where people valued education highly. For the new generation of Thai Robin Hoods, however, since many of them already had their bachelor s degrees and came from affluent backgrounds, it raises an important question why do these individuals choose to live illegally in the U.S.? Do they intend to di gold here like their predecessors did? As I discussed in the previous theme, most of my research participants first came to the U.S. in order to obtain degrees or study English to improve their language competency. Only two participants came here with tourist visas and had planned to continue living here after their visas expired. In other words, these two individuals planned beforehand to dig gold in this country. However, after I looked across the discourses from my fieldwork, I discovered that money was a major factor that attracted each individual who participated in my research to reside illegally in this country. No matter what the reasons that brought each of these individuals to this country in the first place, at the end, gold-digging focusing on making money has become the activity each of them has been doing. Unlike most of their predecessors, all of my research participants came from better educational and more affluent backgrounds. Accordingly, searching for a better life in this country certainly was not their main purpose. Since they did not have work permits, none of them were able to apply for a job in an American organization. The jobs that they could find here were mostly in the restaurant business. Those who are young and can communicate in English well usually prefer to work as servers or delivery persons. Kitchen jobs are typically reserved for those who do not understand English well 92

102 or too old to do the server job which requires nimbleness. On the average, servers and delivery persons of Thai restaurants can earn $80- $100 a day by working approximately 12 hours daily, while kitchen people earn around $7-12 per hour. If they work in famous, busy Thai restaurants or Japanese restaurants, they can earn a lot more than that. Despite the fact that each participant could make a great deal of money, he or she needed to diminish his or her social status to work as a server or a driver, which was not an ideal job for those who had already received degrees and came from middle or upper-middle class backgrounds. Their lives here as undocumented immigrants seemed to face more difficulties and dilemmas in comparison with their lives back in Thailand. Nonetheless, all of them chose to be here in order to make money to dig gold as their predecessors did. While many of their predecessors travelled to this country to seek a better life, I had never heard any of my research participants mention the better life they discovered here. However, all of them mentioned directly or indirectly how the money they had earned here could bring them happiness and create a bright future. These individuals probably have never had a better life in this country, but, according to their comments and the things that I observed, it seems to me that most of them have already discovered a happier life right here in spite of all difficulties they need to face as illegal residents. Money was a major element that brought them such happiness. Unlike most of the old generation of Thai Robin Hoods, my research participants did not have to support their families in Thailand. Therefore, they could spend all the money they made for their 93

103 comfortable living in the U.S. In addition to money, freedom was also an important part of their happier lives, and this will be discussed later as part of the next theme. Although money was the main attraction that convinced all of my research participants to adopt the Robin Hoods identity, through the analysis of the discourses, I learned that each participant perceived his or her earnings here differently. I would like to argue that understanding what money means to these individuals is very essential since it will help generate an insightful knowledge of Thai Robin Hoods experiences, which is a main research question of this study. Through the analysis I discovered that the money each participant earned here could be perceived in three different ways: something they like, something they need, or a symbol of pride and happiness. When Money is Liked (Extra Money) All of my research participants who came to the U.S. with student visas worked as part-time employees in the restaurant business while they were in schools/universities. Through the interviews, however, I discovered that most of them never thought about digging gold when they first arrived in the U.S. their focus was on studying. These individuals had no idea that they could make a great deal of money despite their international student status. They learned shortly after arriving in the U.S. that the server job was popular among Thai students. Even without work permits, they could earn good money by serving or delivering food for restaurants. After realizing the opportunities in making money outside class schedule, my participants started working in restaurants as part-time employees. Many of them did that for extra money they could spend on more 94

104 comfortable living (i.e., renting a nicer apartment, buying a luxurious cars, dining out) since the money they received from their parents was only enough for their tuition fees and basic living. May was one of those who were attracted to extra money. Before coming to the U.S., May never realized that she could earn a great deal of money by being a waitress. May s parents provided her with financial support while she was studying for her master s degree; therefore, money was not a concern for her. Even so, she decided to work as a part-time server during her first semester in graduate school. May told me that Sun, her fiancée, who was also a participant of this study, was the one who needed to find a part-time job to support himself while studying for his master s degree. After Sun started working at a Thai restaurant and showed May how much money he could make each day, May decided to apply for a server job at the same restaurant. According to May, she made at least $1,000 a month while working as a part-time server. After she graduated, May started working as a full-time server and could earn at least $2,000 a month. May told me that extra money for shopping was the reason she decided to work as a part-time server when she was in graduate school: Most Thai students I know also work in the restaurants Thai or Japanese. Many of my Thai friends here are rich but they still work as servers or delivery men. These people want extra money for shopping or for their luxurious living. Although their families are rich, their parents have never spoiled them. Parents usually give their kids enough money for tuition fees and living expenses. But if the kids want more, they need to work. 95

105 Extra money was also the reason that Orm, Ann, Jen, Nat, and Ou worked as part-time employees in restaurants during their studies. Although these individuals received money from their parents every month to spend on their tuition fees and living expenses, they still needed more money in order to have a more luxurious life. Like the others, June worked for extra money while attending a language school. Yet June s purpose was not about earning extra money to spend on a more luxurious life. Instead, she tried to save money for her future. June had never spent much money on shopping like most of her Thai friends did. She also remarked that, in her view, most Thai people whom she has encountered in the U.S. are materialists: Thai people here like shopping and love to use brand name products. I am not crazy much about brand name stuff, but most of my Thai friends here are very crazy about those. They are kind of materialistic. My colleagues at the restaurants have often spent half of the money they have made buying brand name clothes and accessories. Some loves to buy very expensive high-tech stuff. May is another participant who mentioned materialism among the Thais she knew. May also accepted that she was a materialist as well, but she considered shopping as a means of coping. May claimed that she worked hard and needed something to make her relax. Shopping was considered her favorite hobby. She enjoyed shopping with her friends and felt relaxed, and she believed that many Thais here felt the way she did. From my observations, I saw many Thais in that city, including several of my research participants, who used brand name expensive products as June and May pointed out. It was interesting to see many Thais who worked as servers wearing brand name 96

106 clothes and accessories to work. I did not know if any customer noticed that their servers were wearing the $2,500 Tag Hauer or Omega watches and expensive brand name shirts like Versace or Dolce Gabana. Some of my research participants drove expensive cars like the brand new Honda Accord, 4WD Chevy, or Jeep. These individuals also spent a lot of money on dining, partying, or playing golf. In Thailand, materialism is listed as one of dominant value in wide sectors of Thai society (Supatra, 1998). Since Thailand is a hierarchical culture, the way Thai people were engaged in using costly materials and commodities probably related to the indication of the individuals status and prestige. All participants in this study came from middle- or upper-middle class backgrounds, and their educational backgrounds positioned them at a higher level of Thailand s socioeconomic pyramid. Many of these individuals were still accustomed to their relatively luxurious lifestyle back home. Accordingly, when they were here, they tried to spend their lives the way they were used to. For some individuals, they may strategically use expensive materials and commodities as a means of showing off their prestige and maintaining their dignity. The idea of materialism in relation to the Thai hierarchy of social status is welldescribed by Auan s case. Auan, who was now a manager of a Japanese restaurant, came from an economic elite family (his last name is also well-known in Thailand since there are some celebrities, as well as an upper-middle bureaucrat, who also have this particular last name). Auan came to the U.S. in 1999 to study in an intensive English program after he was laid off from a bank in Thailand as a result of the Tom Yum Koong crisis. He was mature enough to support himself; thus, he came to the U.S. with his own savings to 97

107 explore something new and planned to fly back home after the Thai economy got better and apply for a new job. Auan s father died before he came to the U.S., and his mother has been taken care of by his older sister. Thus, he is not concerned about anything except his own wellbeing. As he asserted, I am not responsible for anything else except my own life. Thus, I can spend money on anything I want. Since he did not have to support his family in Thailand, Auan has spent most of the money he has made here for his luxurious living. He admitted to me that he became lavish since he started working as a server and received tips daily. He could spend $100 today without much consideration since he could make another $100 on the next day. After he became a restaurant manager and received a salary instead of tips, the way he spent money never changed since his goal was to live comfortably. Auan drove a brand new car, loved to buy high-tech and highend products, and went to the Thai Karaoke bar to drink and have dinner at least three times a week. He also played golf regularly and gambled occasionally. Although Auan said that he became lavish when he was a server, from the conversations I had with him during the course of my fieldwork, as well as his affluent background, I believe that his lavish lifestyle started even before he came here. Despite his extravagance, Auan claimed that he still had some money in his savings which he intended to use for some investments in Thailand. Auan s extravagance and materialistic lifestyle represented how the Thai class structure and social status influenced people s behaviors and the way they presented themselves in the society. Even when one travelled to another country where he or she 98

108 became a minority and needed to diminish his or her social status to do a labor job, he or she still found a way to show his or her prestige and maintain dignity. Yet the important question was why an individual from a higher class status and affluent backgrounds like Auan preferred to stay here as an undocumented immigrant rather than going back home. The answer to this question was about a free lifestyle he could obtain here, and this will be discussed as part of the next theme. The way Auan showed his family that he was mature and could support himself while studying overseas by seeking a part-time job could be considered the way he tried to preserve his own dignity. He did not want his family to perceive him as a loser. Although Auan has worked to support himself since he arrived in this country, his earnings here can be considered something extra not a necessity since he does not have any financial difficulty. Presently, he is an undocumented immigrant who focuses on making money. Yet his earnings are still not something he really needs since he can go back to Thailand at any time to claim his extravagant life back. Auan told me that he was not afraid of facing financial difficulties if he lost all his savings on his luxurious living in the U.S. since his mother was willing to support him. However, since he was almost 50- years-old, Auan did not want to go home with empty hands and ask for his mother s support. Again, his statement suggests how much concern he had regarding his dignity in others views. Auan said that his present plan was to continue staying here for another few years to save more money before going back home. Orm is another participant whose family is rich. Yet she chose to dig gold in the U.S. after receiving her bachelor s degree instead of going back home to help her farther 99

109 run the family-owned textile business a type of business that she has never been interested in. Like Auan, Orm also prefers the free lifestyle she can obtain here. Notably, although these two participants once worked in the same restaurant for many years, their lifestyles are completely different. While Auan spends most of his money on luxurious living, Orm saves most of the money she has made for her future since she was in college. Orm said that even though her father was rich, he taught his children to be diligent, and that was the reason why Orm started working as a part-time waitress while she was in college. She said that she was very proud of herself when she was able to make money on her own and believed that her father was proud of her as well. Like Auan, money was not a concern for Orm since she was born in another rich family. Accordingly, Orm perceived her earnings here as something she liked but not needed. In addition, she also perceived her earnings as a symbol of pride. This particular issue will be discussed in detail later. When Money is Needed Not all research participants who came to the U.S. with student visas received full financial support from their parents. Some were partly supported by their families in Thailand, while some spent their own savings to support themselves. These individuals absolutely needed to work after arriving in this country in order to earn more money to pay for their tuition fees and living expenses. Sun was one of those individuals who used his whole life savings and the money he got from loans to support himself while studying for his master s degree. Sun told me that before he came to the U.S., he sought information about part-time jobs around the city: 100

110 It s not difficult to find a job in a big city like this. Most Thai students I know have part-time jobs. There are also a lot of Robin Hoods who come to dig gold here. This city is considered the City of Opportunity. Other research participants who needed to work to support themselves when they began their studies in the U.S. include Em, Nai, Wat, and Auan. All these individuals knew before coming to the U.S. about how easy it was to find jobs in that city even though they did not have work permits. That city was like a gold mine for them, and that was the reason why all of them had never moved to somewhere else after their residential status changed to illegal. Wat, a participant who came to the U.S. to study in an intensive English program and then flew back to Thailand after feeling bored with student life, told me about why he decided to return to that city with a tourist visa and continued living there as a Robin Hood after his visa expired: [This city] provides people with so many options. If you are students, there are a lot of universities you can choose to apply to. If you are looking for jobs, there are a lot of Thai restaurants here. The living expense here is also not very expensive. There are many types of apartment to choose from In my view, living in [this city] as a Robin Hood is not really difficult. There are a lot of jobs and a lot of Thais. You never feel lonely. June, who moved from another metropolis to that city, conveyed the similar idea about how that city provided its residents a lot of choices. After hearing from one of her Robin Hood friends who once resided in that city about how nice the city was, June 101

111 decided to move without hesitation. June also said that she preferred to live there and never wanted to move anywhere else. Through the interviews, I learned that the city where I conducted this study was preferred by every research participant since they could find numerous jobs there. There were many Thai and Asian restaurants around the city that hired people to work without concerns for their residential status or work permits. Since there were many Thais in that city, Thai restaurant owners seemed to prefer hiring people from their motherland to work for them. This illustrated an important aspect of collectivistic, relational-based culture that still played its vital role among the Thai community overseas. Thai people are interdependent and concerned about others and that was the reason why my participants preferred to live in the city where there were a lot of Thais. They felt warm when they were surrounded by other Thais and believed that they could gain help from those people during difficult times. Before my research participants immigration status changed to illegal, each of them had perceived his or her earnings differently. The individuals who received full financial support from their families during their studies thought of their earnings here as extra money that they could spend on anything they wanted. In contrast, those who needed to support themselves during their studies thought of their earnings here as a necessity and spent it only on something necessary. Yet no matter what their attitudes toward the money they made here were, eventually, money became a main factor that influenced all of these individuals to continue staying in this country by adopting the Robin Hood identity. After becoming Robin Hoods, most of those who once perceived 102

112 their earnings as extra money had to change their perspectives since they did not receive financial support from their families in Thailand anymore. They needed to work for money, and that money became a necessity and helped them survive while they were here. When I asked my research participants who already fulfilled their dreams of obtaining degrees here about the reasons why they chose to become Robin Hoods, many of them referred to an unstable economic situation in Thailand, and said that staying here provided them with better opportunities. Money here is much better, said Ann, a participant who received her master s degree in 1997, then went back to Thailand, and then came back here again two years later to accompany her husband. 16 Ann continued her comment: I decided to quit my job in Thailand and came back here because I can make much more money here. Although the living expenses here are much more expensive, if you manage money well, you can still save a lot of money Working in Thailand is also risky. You don t know when you will be laid off. But working here, the restaurants don t fire you so easily. Even if you get fired, you can find a new job very quickly. Ann s comment illustrates her feelings of insecurity while she was in Thailand. Most participants came to the U.S. during the Tom Yum Koong Crisis and still 16 Before coming back to the U.S. in 1999, Ann married to a Thai doctoral student who was sponsored by the Thai military. Accordingly, she was holding a J-2 visa (a nonimmigrant visa granted for the dependants, including spouses and unmarried children under 21 of J-1 visa holders, exchanged scholars) when she returned to the U.S. However, her husband decided to drop out of school a few years later. He became a Robin Hood ever since and that made Ann s status change to undocumented immigrant as well. For Ann s profile, see APPENDIX B. 103

113 remembered its consequences well. They felt that living in a developed country like the U.S. offered them more security in terms of their opportunities in finding jobs and getting well pay. Yet they needed to be cautious about the way they spent money since living expenses in developed countries usually were much more expensive than a developing country like Thailand. The participants also realized that there were many Thai restaurants in the city that looked for employees. If they did not like their present jobs or got fired, they could find new jobs very easily. Sun, who received a master s degree in Design, got a job in a small American software company as soon as he graduated. Sun told me that it was not easy for international students to find jobs in the U.S. Although one could get a job, the salary he or she received would be very low. Sun had also received a very low salary from his company. However, since he wanted to gain work experience in an American company, he had to accept such low pay. Sun asserted that although his company did not pay him well, the money he had made here was probably more than that he could make if he went back to work in Thailand: My friends in Thailand have made less money than I do here. They also need to work harder than me and have no idea when the companies will lay off their employees. Everything in Thailand is still unstable economy and politics are still insecure If I stay here and I get fired, at least I know that I can go to work in a restaurant. But in Thailand, if I am laid off or get fired, it s not easy to find a new job and there is no way that I can go to work in a restaurant. 104

114 Sun s comment was similar to Ann s in the sense that both of them recognized that the U.S. offered them a higher level of financial security compared to Thailand they could make more money and finding a new job here more easily. The value of money is also different between U.S. dollar and Thai baht. Sun realized that he earned more money than his friends in Thailand despite the fact that he worked fewer hours and also did fewer tasks than his friends did. Additionally, Sun felt that while here he did not have to be concerned much about his dignity as he needed to do when he was in Thailand he was able to break out of the Thai class structure. He could spend his life the way he wanted, and this will be discussed as part of the next theme, Freedom: Happy Life in the Land of the Free. It is important to note here that Sun s situation differs from other research participants in the sense that he became a Robin Hood without his intention. 17 At the time I conducted this study, Sun still worked for the software company despite the fact that his immigration status changed to illegal. He had no idea when his company would realize that he already became an undocumented immigrant. If that time comes, and he decides to continue staying here, he will absolutely need to find a new job, and that kind of job cannot be anything beyond the service business. Sun noted: Actually, after working for the American company for a year, I feel that working in the restaurant is much easier. You get more money too. It s a kind of easy money, you know. It requires physical strength but you don t have to use your 17 See Sun s profile in APPENDIX B 105

115 brain much. I am more tired when I work in the company I have to think a lot. It s more challenging. But when talking about money, it s not worth it. Sun had experiences in working as a part-time waiter. Although he did not like the server job much, Sun felt that the server s tasks were much easier than those of software designer. While working as a server, he did not have to think much since his main task was only serving food to customers, yet received better pay. In contrast, while working in a company, his routine job required him to sit in front of a computer for whole day, and he needed to come up with very innovative ideas in software designing. Despite all challenges and tiresomeness, he received very low wages. Money as a Symbol of Pride and Happiness The money each research participants made could be considered either something he or she liked or something he or she needed. However, among those who liked and those who needed money, there were some participants who also perceived their earnings here as a symbol of pride and happiness. Orm is one of those individuals. Since her family is rich, money is not a concern for her. However, Orm enjoyed making money and was proud of what she was doing. She asserted, I am happy every time I look at my bank account statement. I work very hard to earn that money. I am proud of myself and I know that my parents are proud of me too. May is another participant who would never encounter financial difficulty if she chose to go back to Thailand instead of living illegally in this country. May s parents who work for private companies can help their only child find a good job through their business connections. However, May chose to stay here as a visa overstayer to 106

116 accompany Sun, her fiancé. May also said that she enjoyed making money here and would like to continue doing it for a few years before going back to apply for a job in Thailand. However, since May already received her master s degree, and the server job is not a kind of job that Thais with higher degrees will normally have in Thailand, I asked May how she felt when she needed to lower her status to do that kind of job here. May said that as long as money was good she had never been concerned about diminishing her social status to do a labor job like this: Actually, we all have no choice. Either you are students or Robin Hoods without working permits, you need to work in restaurants. Most people I know work in the restaurant. It s very normal here. No need to be ashamed about it. But money in the restaurants is good and I am very happy about how much I can earn from this job. The excerpt above illustrates that May had never been ashamed about the choice she made. She was proud of what she was doing and the money she earned could be considered a symbol of happiness and pride. Despite the fact that both Orm and May received their degrees from American colleges and were able to apply for the OPT 18 after their graduation, these two women were not interested in applying for jobs in any American company. Orm realized that her degree in Arts made it difficult for her, as a foreigner, to find a job here. Therefore, after graduating, Orm decided to work as a full-time server from which she could make at least 18 Optional Practical Training is a period during which international students with F-1 status (full time foreign students) who have completed their degrees are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the area related to their studies for at most one year. Even though students cannot find jobs related to their areas of studies, they are still able to continue staying in the U.S. during that one year period. 107

117 $2,000 a month. For May, a fear of mainstream American life seemed to be her motivation to remain lowering her status working in the restaurant business: I don t like working in an American company. I don t know probably I am afraid of trying to fit in. This is not my culture. I don t know how to deal with bosses and colleagues from another culture. It scares me, you know. Because May recognized how different it was between the host culture and the culture she came from, she did not want to put herself in an awkward position while trying to assimilate into the host culture. When I took a role of participant-as-observer and worked with May at the Thai restaurant for several days, I noticed that this particular participant spoke English almost fluently and seemed to possess a high-level of selfconfidence. This became a contradiction with her statement regarding her fear of dealing with American colleagues. In my view, May probably did not want to put herself in any situation that could make her lose face. Thus, she chose to remain among her people within a cultural environment that she had been accustomed to an environment that also sustained her self-confidence as well as her self-esteem. Sun, May s fiancé, was another participant who mentioned money as a symbol of pride. Although he came from a bureaucrat family that valued dignity highly, Sun did not care about giving up his own dignity if he could make a great deal of money by doing a labor job. Notably, Sun worked in an American company, but he never mentioned to me his fear of mainstream American life as his fiancé did. Sun was enthusiastic to gain work experience in an American company, and that was the reason why he looked for a job in an American company even before he graduated. Although Sun was more willing to take 108

118 a risk than his fiancé did by immersing himself into American culture, he told me that he preferred hanging out with his colleagues from other Asian countries rather than American colleagues. In his view, Americans liked to compete with each other and were not concerned much about others. Unlike Americans, people from other Asian countries usually expressed their concerns about others and being humble like Thai people normally did. For this reason, Sun preferred to hang out with his Asian friends who have many things in common with him. When I asked other research participants how they felt as they needed to diminish their social status to work in the restaurants, none of them said that they were reluctant to do it or felt bad about it. Where money was concerned, anything else seemed to be ignored. I remember my conversations with Auan, Orm, and Ice on the day we went to a Thai karaoke bar together. I was the one who started talking about my Aunt Sue s new husband, a Chinese-American who once worked as a mailman, and the conversation that I started led to the topic about low gr ade jobs in this country: Jirah: When my family in Thailand heard that my aunt married a mailman, they thought that my uncle-in-law had to be very poor. My aunt had to explain to them that a mailman job here gets paid very well. Orm: Yeah. People in Thailand have no idea how much low grade jobs here get paid. Auan: I heard that garbage men here made very good money too. 109

119 Ice: I heard about that too. Labor jobs here usually offer very good salaries. Auan: But usually Americans don t want to do it unless they have no choice. It s a kind of a dirty job. Jirah: Auan: Orm: If you could apply for the garbage man job, would you do it? Sure. Why not? Yeah. If I can earn $1,500 a month by doing that, I am ok. I think I will like it better than the server job. At least, I don t have to deal with fussy customers. Jirah: Wouldn t you feel ashamed when you tell others that you are a garbage collector? Orm: Nope. I think I should be proud about that. I would choose to do it not because I have no choice, but because I want to. If I tell my family and friends in Thailand that I make 45,000 baht a month by collecting garbage, they would think that it is very amazing. Auan (Laugh) I agree. It s so thay. Your father is a business owner but you choose to be a garbage girl. That s amazing! Your dad should be proud of you too. The above conversation indicates that as long as money was good, although they had to shift their identities from the one with higher prestige to the other without prestige, some research participants seemed to be okay with that. They were not concerned about losing their dignity if they could earn a great deal of money from any low grade job. They 110

120 were proud of what they were doing because their actions were freely willed nobody forced them to do it. Thus, there was no need to be ashamed about it. Identity-shift can also become turning points in individuals behaviors and attitude change. Ice mentioned that she was once a spoiled child. But when she was able to make a great deal of money on her own from the job that most people considered a labor job, she was proud of herself: I am proud of what I am doing. Before I came here, I was a kind of spoiled kid. I had a maid doing everything for me. But now, I am working hard. I can make money on my own a lot of money by serving food to people. I had never imagined I could do this. My mom is very proud of me too. I feel so great. Like Ice, May said that she was a spoiled child when she was in Thailand. There were two maids in her house and they both did everything for her. May had never made her bed, washed and ironed her clothes, cooked food, or done any cleaning. But when she was in the U.S., she needed to do everything by herself. After becoming a Robin Hood, May had to become more responsible since she did not receive financial support from her parents anymore. May was able to earn more money by working as a full-time waitress after her immigration status changed, and more money brought her more happiness as well as more pride. May also remarked that making a great deal of money by doing a labor job also made her proud of herself. May had never considered that a spoiled child like her could do something like this. May s case also illustrates how a Thai residing in the U.S. could break out of the Thai class structure; while she was here she did not have 111

121 to be concerned about the hierarchy of social status as she needed to do when she was in Thailand. May also stated that because she already earned her master s degree, the way she chose to diminish her social status by living illegally in this country even added more pride to her life. As she noted, I chose to be here not because I do not succeed in my life and have no choice. I have everything but I choose to be here because I want to. May chose to live illegally in this country to accompany Sun, her fiancé, and made money for a few years before going back to get a job in Thailand. Because May felt that she did this on her free-will, she was proud of the choice she made and never regretted it. Although she realized that she broke the laws as she chose to be an illegal resident in this country, she was still proud of what she was doing in the sense that she had an opportunity to become smarter about life: Every undocumented immigrant has to learn how to survive in this country. We need to be observant, enthusiastic, and thorough about life When I was studying, I was kind of careless never looked around, never tried to watch my back. May s statement suggests how identity-shift became a turning point in her behavior and attitude change. She became new May because of new experiences she has gained after becoming a Robin Hood, and she seemed to be proud of what she has become. The way May and some other participants mentioned their pride despite the fact that all of them diminished their social status to work illegally in this country could be considered the way these individuals attempted to maintain their self-esteem. It was also 112

122 possible that these individuals used such excuses to manage to get through their feelings of status loss and negativity caused by not being able to gain the same social status they ever had back in Thailand. These individuals also turned their focuses to making money and considered their earnings a symbol of pride and happiness. For the new generation of Thai Robin Hoods, no matter what reasons that made these individuals come to the U.S. in the first place, all of them eventually ended up working for money digging gold in this country. Most research participants have resided in the U.S. for more than ten years. Although their original plan was gaining experiences abroad, making money for a few years, and then flying back to their motherland, now all of them seem to become addicted to money. Even those who perceive money they have earned here as something extra, not necessary, have become addicted to their earnings here as well. Consequently, all of them have never leaved this country like they original planned. Nat pointed out that since money here was very good, it was very difficult for him to leave this country despite his homesickness: [w]hen I can make a lot of money, I have become addicted to it I don t want to lose a chance in making money here. I feel sia-dai (being disappointed when losing an opportunity to do something). My life here is much more difficult. But if I go back to Thailand now, I have to restart everything. I have to take a risk and I cannot be sure that my business there could be successful or not. But here, my life is secure enough. I m used to everything here. So I decide to continue staying here probably not for my whole life but at least for several years. 113

123 Auan conveyed a similar idea. He admitted that he became addicted to the money he earned here. He could make at least $100 a day by doing a kind of job that he thought was very easy. As he said, Serving food is very easy much easier than working in a bank. 19 Delivering food to customers houses is even much easier. I enjoy doing that. Auan had often told many people around him about his plan to go back to Thailand and then he had never left: I told my friends every year that I would go back to Thailand next year (laughing). But then I m still here. I really want to go home but I felt sia-dai I don t want to lose opportunities in making money... I am not sure if I can make more money in Thailand than I do here. I miss my home but I also enjoy my life here. It s very hard to make a decision. Many participants had similar ideas regarding easy money they earned here. Although working in a restaurant was not an ideal job, it much easier than working in a company and the money they earned was very good too. As such, these individuals were addicted to this easy money and wanted to stay here to make some more before returning to their home country for good. For the research participants whose immigration status just changed to illegal for only a few years or less like May, Sun, and Ice, these individuals said that they planned to reside here for a few years only in order to make more money before returning home. Yet it is interesting to see if these individuals will eventually change their plans like their 19 Auan worked in a bank before he came to the U.S. His profile is in APPENDIX B. 114

124 predecessors once did since this country is considered a gold mine for any Robin Hood and usually makes people feel sia-dai when they need to leave this treasure. Money was one major factor that attracted the Thai Robin Hoods in my study and made them decide to reside illegally in this country. For these individuals, money was an element that had brought them happiness, in quantities that are probably much greater than they could earn when living in their homeland. However, money was not the only thing that convinced my research participants to continue staying in this country by adopting the Robin Hood identity. Freedom was another major factor that influenced these individuals to stay here rather than going back to Thailand. Because of its influence, the next theme that I will discuss in this chapter is about the independent life that each of my research participants has earned by living illegally in the U.S. the country that many still recognize as the Land of the Free. Freedom: Happy Life in the Land of the Free When I asked my research participants how they felt when they first arrived in the U.S., many of them mentioned the word freedom. In these individuals views, the U.S. is the Land of the Free, and they really enjoy the freedom they have found here. They could take more control of their lives outside the confines of Thai customs and social statuses. By analyzing the discourses, I learned that there were two separate kinds of freedom that my research participants were enjoying while living here: free lifestyle and legal freedom. 115

125 Free Lifestyle: Enjoy Life as the Way I Want Spending their lives the ways they want without concerning themselves about others seems to be the thing that my research participants enjoy most when talking about freedom they have earned by being Robin Hoods in this country. Thailand has a strong value system and Thai people are very conservative. Therefore, there are many Dos and Don ts about which research participants needed to be conscientious when they were in their home country. But while here, they were away from the traditional confines of Thai customs; thus, they could do several things that they could not or should not do in Thailand. For instance, as Jen pointed out, while here she could move into her boyfriend s apartment without feeling concerned about how others would think about it. In Thailand, in contrast, she could not live with her boyfriend before getting married since it was not an appropriate thing to do: Thai culture is very different from American culture My boyfriend and I cannot live together if we are not yet married. It s inappropriate We do not encourage people to have sex before getting married. If you do that, don t tell anyone. It s something that you should feel ashamed of. May and June expressed similar idea to Jen. These two women, like Jen, had experiences in living with their partners just like couples without getting married. May also suggested that although many Thais, if not most, seemed to be Westernized in some degree, it did not mean that all Western values were acceptable among Thais, and those included having sex or living with partners before getting married. May said that most Thai women above 25-years-old she knew already lost their virginity, yet it was 116

126 something unspeakable. As she asserted, I can talk about it with my close friends but not with my parents. My parents will feel very upset when they know about it. While here, these female participants were able to break out of the Thai traditional confines. Thailand is a patriarchal society where women still have a lower social standing than men (Meesomsarn, 2004; Nirunnoot, 2003). Additionally, Thai women are constrained by more social rules and cultural norms. For example, it is more acceptable for a Thai man to curse, but a Thai woman who does such thing is considered a coarse, low class woman. Thai men are able to learn about sex and have sex as part of gaining an experience or becoming a real man before getting married. But for Thai women, even being curious about sexual stuff is a taboo, and of course, they are not culturally allowed to have sex before getting married. In the U.S., some female research participants discovered the free lifestyle that they never had in Thailand. More specifically, these women did not have to be concerned about the taboo regarding romantic and sexual relationships. They became free and were very happy when they could live with the ones they love without being concerned about how others would think of them. Unlike the old generation of Thai Robin Hoods, none of my research participants had to send money they earned here to help their families in Thailand. Therefore, they became financially independent and could spend money on anything they wanted. Consequently, freedom in spending money, buying anything they liked at any time they wanted without thinki ng much, was another freedom that some participants were enjoying. Nat said that when he was in Thailand, even though he did not need to support 117

127 his parents, he could not freely spend the money he made. After he received his bachelor s degree and started working in a medium-sized company, his parents kept tracking his spending to make sure that he did not become lavish. After becoming a Robin Hood living far away from home and making a great deal of money by being a sushi-chef, Nat freely spent money on anything he wanted. Yet he insisted that he was not a lavish person, and his parents were proud of him when he told them how much money he had in his savings. Wat is another participant who mentioned about how he enjoyed living far away from his family in the sense that he could take more control of his own life and freely spend money on anything he wanted. While living in Thailand, Wat always consulted his mother before spending his own money on any expensive stuff like a car or his trip to Europe: When in Thailand, although I used my money to buy big things, I had to ask for my mother s opinion. I did not want to hear her complain about the things I bought, so I needed to let her share her ideas. While living far away from his mother like this, Wat could do anything with his money without consulting her. Wat made his own decision when he bought a new luxurious car and a house. He also planned to buy a restaurant. Wat said that his mother became less particular about his life. She might have thought that he was ol d enough and had experienced a lot of things so that he could take good care of himself. Also he lived far away from her now; thus, it was difficult for her to find fault with him. 118

128 Respect for hierarchy and the custom of bhunkun which emphasizes the indebtedness towards parents are very important values for Thai people (Maisrikrod, 1999). Nat and Wat s cases illustrate how Thais, even adults, are influenced by their parents, and how bhunkun is a salient value in Thai families. When they were in Thailand, both Nat and Wat were trying to be good sons by listening to their parents and trying to satisfy them. Yet when they were here, they became more independent they took more control of their lives and both of them seemed to be very happy with their independence. The aspect of bhunkun and gratitude which are two important values in Thai society will be discussed in more detail later in the next chapter. For some participants like Auan, Em, and Ai, even a basic thing like the freedom to dress in any style they loved was very enjoyable. Auan said that while being here he was very happy when he could wear any style of cloths he liked. When going out, Auan often wore a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and a pair of slippers. But in Thailand, he had to be cautious about his attire. Even when he went to shopping malls in Thailand, he needed to look good and respectable: There was a chance that I could meet my subordinates at a mall. I still need to maintain respect in their eyes, you know. I did not want them to gossip about how I looked outside the workplace. I don t need to wear a shirt and a tie, but a tee and a pair of slippers were considered inappropriate. When in Thailand, Ouan worked as a bank supervisor, and his image was very important to him. Image in this sense related to social status and hierarchy. In Thai society, clothing and general appearance are normally used as a means of measuring 119

129 seniority as well as status (Hollensen, 2004). Auan realized that his status somehow forbid him to be himself as he could not dress the way he liked. It was important for him to look good in others eyes in order to maintain a good image and gain respect from people. But while here, he did not have to be concerned about his good and respectable image. He could break out of the confines of the Thai class status by wearing anything he wanted and being himself. Some other participants like Em and Ai expressed similar ideas regarding how comfortable they were when they did not have to worry much about their looks while they were here they could dress in any style they wanted. These individuals once worked in large Thai organizations where they needed to maintain their good images to earn people s respect. But in the U.S., all of my research participants had not concerned themselves much about status differences. They recognized that all Thai people here were members of an ethnic minority group and were subordinate to Americans, the majority. Most of their colleagues and their friends were illegal workers as they were. Accordingly, they never tried to gain respect from other Thais like they ever did in Thailand. They could do anything they wanted with their bodies, and they seemed to enjoy this kind of freedom they discovered in this country very much. Some research participants pointed out that they were enjoying their freedom in this country in the sense that they did not have to be concerned about their dignity while working. Since most Thais worked in the restaurant business, they did not pay attention to status differences. Nat pointed out: 120

130 My Thai friends, either with green cards or Robin Hoods, work for money. We don t care about having been promoted. If I want to be a restaurant manager, it is because I need more money but not because I want to gain power, you know. I think that most Thai here prefer to be servers, not managers because they don t want to have more responsibilities. Managers earn more money but not like a lot more. It s probably not worth it if we think about the amount of tasks and responsibilities they need to deal with. The above excerpt illustrates that the idea of Thai class structure does not play a crucial role among Thais here. As I discussed earlier, my research participants seemed to recognize that most Thais with whom they were associated here possessed the same social status as they did they were undocumented workers/immigrants and Nat s statement clearly emphasizes this point. For these individuals, while here, money was much more important than the power or dignity one could gain from his or her higher status in workplaces. In contrast, while in Thailand, they had to be concerned about dignity in addition to money. Sun told me what his parents taught him about choosing his career path: I come from a bureaucrat family Money is not more important than dignity. My parents always said that I need to find an honorable job, like being a professor or a civil employee a job that earns people s respect, you know. They never wanted me to be a merchant because that s not an honorable profession. They 121

131 wanted people to give me a wai. 20 But if I am a merchant or a service provider, I have to give people a wai and that is the thing my parents really don t want me to do. Wai is a traditional way Thais use to greet each other. It also reflects the status of those involved. This particular way of greeting also implies respect that is expressed through the act of bowing. It is customary for the younger or lower in status to begin the greeting by giving a wai to those who are older or higher in status to show them respect. Sun s father, who died ten years ago, was a former Commander of a Thai central prison. He and his wife wanted their children to have professions that earned people s respect which was also important in maintaining the family s dignity. For Sun s family, the hierarchy of social status seems to be much more important than the hierarchy of economic power. Sun said that his family was not rich. Although his father was an uppermiddle level bureaucrat, his earning was very low compared to those working at the managerial level of private organizations. Accordingly, Sun had to use his whole life savings and the money he got from loans to support himself while studying here. He told me that when he needed to work as a part-time waiter and cashier to earn more money while studying for his master s degree, his mother was not pleased about that. Yet she could not complain anything about it since she realized that he had no choice. Sun noted: I needed to support myself, so [my mom] could not say anything about it. But right now, I ve already graduated. If I choose to go back to work in the restaurant 20 Wai is the way Thai people greet each other. It consists of a slight bow, with the palms pressed together in a prayer-like fashion. 122

132 again, my mom will have a problem with it, and she will force me to go back to Thailand immediately. Some research participants told me the stories about how they grew up in other families that took dignities seriously as Sun s family did. Yet these individuals seemed to be luckier than Sun in the sense that their families perceived money as a symbol of dignity and pride. Consequently, when these individuals chose to lower their status living illegally in this country, their families did not have a problem with it as long as they were able to make a great deal of money from any kind of jobs they chose to do. Sun said that he needed to continue staying in the U.S. for a while to earn more money that he would use to pay off his loans in Thailand. Therefore, if he could not work with his present company anymore, he needed to go back to work in a restaurant. In Sun s view, money was much more important than dignity or could be perceived as a symbol of dignity. While living in this country, he could have any job he liked, and he really enjoyed his freedom outside the Thai class structure here very much. Like Sun, all other research participants mentioned how happy they were when they did not have to care about people s attitudes towards what they did for living while they were here. These individuals were free from the cultural confines of Thai class structure and seemed to enjoy their free lifestyles in the Land of the Free where money made everything possible. Legal Freedom: Being Invisible is an Advantage Being a Robin Hood gave each research participant a major benefit in terms of freedom he or she had in daily life. This was one major reason why most research 123

133 participants chose to become undocumented immigrants instead of trying to seek other options that could help them retain their legal status in this country. All of my research participants realized that the easiest way to remain in this country with legal status was to purchase the I from language schools. However, all of them thought that it was not worth it. First of all, they need to pay more than $1,000 per quarter to obtain the I-20. If schools require class attendance, it means that they will not be able to get full-time jobs. Some schools do not require class attendance at all, but the I-20 they issue might be a forgery. In this case, it means that buyers lost money for nothing since that fake document cannot be used to retain their legal status. Wat, who had an experience in buying the I-20, suggested: You cannot be free when you are holding a student visa. It s like you are under surveillance. The DHS can track your record and if they find out that you never go to school, you will get into trouble. They will arrest you, send you back to Thailand, and you will not be able to re-enter this country for ten years. Because student visas limited their freedom and could bring them trouble rather than help, my research participants who were now interested in gold-digging rather than studying chose to adopt the Robin Hood identity, which provided them with more freedom and less risk. Orm pointed out: In fact, Robin Hoods and students are not much different. International students of any language school are not allowed to work, while those who have already been in colleges can work no more than 20 hours a week. But I ve seen a lot of Thai 21 The document issued by schools/universities to every international student who is holding F-1 (selffunding student) visa. 124

134 students work in restaurants without work permits or work beyond 20 hours a week. The DHS has records of every student. If the DHS finds out about those who work, they will arrest those students and send them back to Thailand. I have seen that happen with several Thai students here but never seen it happened to any of my friends who are visa overstayers. Orm thought that if one s goal was to make money, he or she better lived as an undocumented immigrant rather than buying the I-20. To make sure that they will not get into trouble, student visa holders must not work beyond the hours allowed. They also need to attend class to maintain their student status. According to the rules that students needed to comply, as well as the large amount of money that they needed to pay for schools, Orm s thought that it was not convenient and not worth the money one lost at all. This was the reason why Orm suggested Ice, her girlfriend s classmate, abandon her student status so that she could devote all her time and energy to making money. Wat pointed out that as a matter of fact Robin Hoods were able to do everything just like legal residents did. Yet, in his view, Robin Hoods had even more freedom than Americans in general because they were constrained by fewer rules and laws. In his words: I own a house and a car. I can be a restaurant owner. I am not different from American citizens and perhaps better than Americans I don t have to pay tax, don t have to get involved with politics, and don t have to file for jury duty. Because he had money, Wat could own any asset like Americans did he could spend his life just like an American citizen. However, he felt that he had more freedom than 125

135 American citizens in the sense that he was not required by American laws to do any civic duties. He could spend his life the way he wanted without concerning himself about being a good civilian of this country. He only needed to be cautious about not breaking the laws that might have caused him to lose his freedom to remain in this country and have to go back home. Nai mentioned the same thing about how he could own every asset like Americans did. As he attested, I can apply for a mortgage. I own a house and a restaurant. If you only have good credit, 22 you can own anything. Nai also said that this country offered him the free lifestyle he wanted, and he was very happy to reside here. Even though he realized that he needed to trade off something to earn his independent life in this country, he was alright with that: One freedom that I have lost for sure is freedom in visiting Thailand anytime I want to. I miss my family there. Yet I think I made a right decision. I have earned many things here that I couldn t have done if I were in Thailand I also enjoy my freedom here as I can live my life the way I want to. Losing freedom in spending their lives the way they want in the Land of the Free seemed to be the thing that my research participants never wanted to happen. All of them enjoyed the freedom they discovered in this country as they lived far away from the 22 Typically, in order to possess good credit, one needs to have social security numbers which they can use to open bank accounts and apply for credit cards. In the past, all international students received social security numbers automatically through schools and colleges they were attending. But recently, international students who want to have social security numbers need to ask for reference letters from their schools/colleges and bring those letters to apply for social security numbers at the office of Social Security Administration. Schools and colleges will approve case by case before giving reference letters to each student. Mostly, students who want to apply for jobs in campus are likely to get approval by schools/colleges to have reference letters that they can use to apply for social security numbers. 126

136 traditional confines of the Thai class structure and customs and could spend their lives the way they wanted. They also found out that by remaining invisible not trying to expose their status by any means provided them many more benefits. Accordingly, most of my research participants had never been interested in changing their immigration status back to legal. These individuals have enjoyed their freedom as undocumented immigrants who are invisible in the American society, thus being hard to track down. If they decide to change their status back to legal by getting married to American citizens or applying to the Green Card Lottery, it means that they need to make themselves visible again since they need to expose their immigration status to the officials. Auan suggested that it was risky for any undocumented immigrants to reveal their illegal status: You reveal your illegal status, but there is still no guarantee that you would succeed in getting a green card 23 or becoming an American citizen. Now, officials will know about your illegal status, and you probably get arrested if they don t approve your application. For me, it s not worth the risk. Em, who held a similar view, told me the story about one of his Thai friends who hired a Mexican woman who had a green card to marry him, yet she caused him much trouble. Em asserted, He had to pay $5,000 to get a marriage certificate, but that woman still threatened him for more money and also moved into his house. He was just like her prisoner. Other research participants also heard similar stories about some Thais who got into trouble after hiring someone to marry them. In these individuals views, it was 23 The permanent residency card which allows a foreigner to live and work unrestricted in the U.S. 127

137 not worth the risk, and all of them preferred to retain their illegal status and enjoy their freedom as they were doing now. Nat, who once considered taking the risk in obtaining a green card through the Green Card Lottery, said that he changed his mind after learning that he needed to deal with some restrictions that would limit his freedom after receiving a green card. Nat understood that holding a green card meant he would be required to stay in the U.S. continuously at least six months a year in order to retain his legal residential status (author s note: this rule does not apply anymore), and for him, this was not convenient at all: I want to go back to live with my family in Thailand and run a small business there, but I need a green card so that I can enter this country anytime I want to. If I have to come back here every six months, I think that it s not convenient at all. How could I leave my business for six months? And when I come back here and stay for six months, what will I do for a living? Serving food? I own my business in Thailand but I have to be a waiter here it doesn t make any sense, right? Nat thought that having a green card was not convenient for him. He also felt that if he went back to Thailand to claim his prestige back by becoming an entrepreneur, he certainly would not be willing to come back here to lower his status to do a labor job again. It seemed to be impossible for him to switch his roles/identities every six months if he had to travel back and forth between the U.S. and his home country. After weighing advantages against disadvantages, Nat, like most research participants, agreed that attempting to remain invisible was probably the best way to help 128

138 him retain his freedom in this country and feel safe. Consequently, almost every research participant preferred to keep their illegal status as a secret. 24 Only their close friends mostly those who were Robin Hoods as well knew about their illegal status. All of my research participants said that as a matter of fact they did not care much if they would be arrested by the DHS officials and needed to go back to Thailand. Wat remarked: You stay in jail for a while and then they send you back to Thailand it s not really bad, isn t it? I ve already had everything in Thailand. In fact, I can return home anytime I want. But as long as I can stay here, I am very happy because I have still made a lot of money here. I don t want to lose opportunity in digging more gold here, so I have tried not to get arrested by the DHS. Other research participants expressed similar ideas to Wat. Their lives in Thailand were not bad, but all of them preferred to stay here at this moment in order to dig gold or to enjoy lives that provided them with more freedom than they ever had in Thailand. These individuals needed to play safe by maintaining secrecy about their immigration status. They also realized that trying to change their status back to legal by any means could cause them trouble since they needed to disclose their status to officials. Only a few research participants told me that presently they were considering changing their status back to legal. Those individuals included Nai, Jen, and Em, who were the restaurant owners. These three individuals have a better chance than other research participants in 24 Only one participant, Orm, told me that she has never tried to conceal her immigration status because she does not think that anyone would use that fact to do her any harm. Orm s comment on this issue appears later in this chapter. 129

139 the sense that they own their businesses; if they pay a large amount of taxes to the state every year, they will be able to apply for green cards. Nai noted: There is still no guarantee that we can get it. But I heard some people said that even though your application is not approved, the officials will never send you back to Thailand. You pay tax to this country more than some Americans do. Thus, they will never be cruel to you. However, these three individuals told me that this was not their concrete plan yet. Running businesses here, in fact, never requires legal residential status. As Em pointed out, As long as you have money and good credit, everything is possible here. Generally, living as Robin Hoods in this country offered my research participants the freedom to break out of the Thai cultural confinement. They could spend their lives the way they wanted without concerning themselves much about how others would perceive what they did. These individuals also enjoyed their freedom here as their invisible status positioned them outside the confinement of American civic duties; they were constrained by less rules and laws compared to American citizens. However, there was one certain freedom that all of these individuals lost freedom in visiting their motherland anytime they wanted to. Although these individuals enjoyed their free lifestyles in this country, none of them said that they intended to reside here for good. Their plan was to collect some money before returning to their home country. Most of them said that they would like to do some investments in Thailand using the money they earned here. Even those who got married and have families here have still planned to spend the last moment of their lives in Thailand and rest in peace there. 130

140 While enjoying freedom they found in the Land of the Free, all research participants needed to adapt themselves into new cultural environments in order to survive and live happily in this country. Behaving as those around them do or adopting the strategy of imitation was a tool that helped these individuals to adapt into the new cultural environments effectively. Their experiences regarding how they imitated others will be discussed under the next theme When in Rome, do like the Romans do. When in Rome, Do Like the Romans Do Every research participant mentioned that after they chose to live illegally in this country, they found themselves changing in many aspects, mostly in positive ways. Some participants said that they became more mature and cautious about how to spend their lives. Most of them were alone in this foreign country and did not feel as safe as when they were surrounded by their family members. To survive in this alien country, the most effective strategy that these individual utilized was doing like Romans do. Em was the first participant who mentioned the proverb When in Rome, do like the Romans do 25 during the interview session I had with him: When in Rome, do like the Romans do is the strategy that I always employ whenever I enter into any strange place I think that most Robin Hoods here do the same thing as I do. I asked Em to describe what he meant by doing like the Romans do and provide me some examples. Em explained that he had usually observed general behaviors of other 25 In Thai language, we say when in the city where people look with one eye closed, do close one eye just like them. 131

141 people around him and tried to imitate those behaviors so that he would not be perceived by others as an alien: Since I decide to reside here, I need to observe the behaviors of Thai people here. Certainly, their behaviors are much different from those in Thailand because this is not our country it s not our culture I found out that Thai people here are more self-reliant they are kind of individualistic. Thus, I need to adapt myself try to be self-reliant and not to depend much on others. Nat is another participant who used the proverb When in Rome, do like the Romans do as he talked about how he changed after becoming a Robin Hood. Nat said that he needed to be observant about how other people around him behaved and then tried to behave like those individuals so that he could live here comfortably and never get into trouble. Nat also made a similar comment to what Em said about how Thais, especially the ones who were visa overstayers, were more likely to rely on themselves compared to those living in Thailand. In order to survive in this foreign country, Nat said that he needed to make a lot of changes about himself using the Thai Robin Hoods who had resided here longer than him as his role models. Nat admitted to me that presently he was more concerned about his well-being rather than that of others just like his Robin Hood friends did: Many Thai visa overstayers here are self-reliant and do not care much about others not being generous to others. I don t want to be like that, but I have no choice. When I was in Thailand, I had never rejected anyone who asked for my help. But here, my life is difficult enough. I cannot help others if I still struggle 132

142 like this. I need to ignore other people s problems if I am not sure whether or not they would bring me troubles as I get involved. The more difficulties they had faced in daily life while living as minorities in a foreign country made some participants feel that they were less concerned about others. However, this less concern did not equal selfish. From my observations, these individuals were willing to help anyone, especially their own people, who was in trouble. Yet mostly they did not offer their help before those who were in trouble dared to ask. In some sense, they tried to avoid getting themselves into trouble. More or less, namjai (generosity) never disappeared among Thais living overseas. Other research participants did not use the proverb When in Rome, do like the Romans do as Em and Nat did. However, the data from the interviews and observations indicated that in order to survive and live happily in this foreign country, each research participant was employing the strategy of imitation in different degrees. These individuals had observed behaviors of others around and then tried to behave just like those people. At the most basic level, these individuals imitated others in terms of what they did for living. Typically, Thai Robin Hoods do not have many options in choosing careers. Most jobs they can find here are in the restaurant business the kind of jobs that they will never do in Thailand. Several research participants who first came to the U.S. in order to study told me that before travelling to the U.S. they already knew about job opportunities in many Thai restaurants here. However, at that time they never considered applying for low grade jobs like those. Their attitudes were changed after seeing that many Thais, 133

143 even those who were rich, worked in the restaurants. Consequently, they decided to do it as well. Ou is one of the research participants who once looked down upon the server job and changed his attitude soon after: I once thought that serving is a kind of labor job. I saw many Thai students did it but I thought that those students had to work because their families did not provide them with financial support. I realized soon that I was wrong. Many people who work in the restaurants came from rich families. They work for extra money. Thus, I decided to try it for extra money and found out that it s not bad at all. Thai class structure has a large influence on Thai people s attitude towards careers. Participants who possessed degrees and came from affluent backgrounds once had a negative stereotype towards the server job which they thought was reserved for those who were poor or less educated. May and Ice expressed a similar idea to Ou regarding how they once perceived the server job as a kind of labor job reserved only for those who had financial difficulties. Yet after seeing many of their friends who worked in restaurants and made a great deal of money, they decided to apply for jobs in restaurants as well. May asserted: Many Thai people I know work in restaurants. I happened to realize that there is nothing wrong about it This is not Thailand. People do not look down upon you because you are a waitress. It is a normal job that many Thais do here. 134

144 The research participants could break out of the Thai class structure when they were here. But before all of them would dare to do anything unconventional in general Thais views, they needed to see examples or models first. These individuals were not likely to take risks on their own they needed guidance. This kind of risk aversion represented the characteristic of avoidance of uncertainty (Hofstede, 1997). These individuals needed predictability that helped them cope with the fear of uncertainty, and that was the reason why they needed examples that showed them success not failure. Ice was another participant who needed a model before she could make up her mind about applying for a low grade job, like the server job. One of her friends convinced her that server was a kind of job that most Thai people here did. According to her friend, even famous people like Thai singers or movie stars worked in the restaurants during their studies in the U.S. Thus, I should not be ashamed about that my friend said. Everybody does that, and I should be proud of myself that I could make money on my own, said Ice. When I asked my research participants about the reasons why they chose to do something, I noticed that the words that implied the imitation strategy often popped out during interviews, as well as during our informal conversations. Even when I asked the research participants why they chose to become Robin Hoods, although many of them mentioned money as a major factor, these individuals also added more comments like, I saw many Robin Hoods here made a lot of money (Ai); My ex-fiancé s parents are Robin Hoods, but they look quite happy to me (June); or I saw many visa overstayers who now own their restaurants, I believe that I can be just like them (Wat). Because 135

145 these individuals looked at their predecessors and realized that those people seemed to be happy and had good lives, they decided to imitate those people by adopting the Robin Hood identity. According to my research participants, before they decided to live in this country illegally, each of them had at least few acquaintances who had already resided here as undocumented immigrants. Therefore, they had gained enough information from their predecessors before they decided to become undocumented immigrants just like them. My research participants had learned that being a Robin Hood was not as difficult as they once thought. Undocumented immigrants had opportunities to own assets and become business owners like Americans. Many Robin Hoods were rich and had happy lives. Some participants also learned tips about how to avoid getting arrested by the DHS and survive as an illegal worker even before they decided to abandon their legal status. All valuable information they had learned from their predecessors made these individuals decide to take their risks in becoming undocumented immigrants. In some sense, those predecessors became the research participants role models and provided them the essential knowledge about how to survive as illegal residents in this country. Ice said that it was very necessary for any Robin Hood to learn from predecessors as she was doing. For her, Orm was considered her teacher, as well as her role model: Ice is a former classmate of Orm s girlfriend (Orm is a lesbian) when they attended the intensive English program together. She and Orm s girlfriend work together at a Japanese restaurant. Presently, Ice is renting a room in the same building as Orm. 136

146 I want to be just like Orm. She is very brave and smart. I always watch her learn from her. It s not easy to live here illegally. You need to know what you should or should not do to avoid troubles. Every visa overstayer needs to have someone who can guide him or her. I am lucky that I know Orm and receive advice from her. Ice also admitted to me that as a matter of fact, Orm was her inspiration in becoming a Robin Hood. She recalled: Orm told me the stories about her life after becoming a Robin Hood. It sounded not bad at all. She has made a lot of money even owned a restaurant once. 27 She seems to be very happy and I want to be just like her. When I told Orm about Ice s comments, laughingly, Orm said that she had never realized that Ice considered her a role model: I just want to help her. I have helped her since she first moved to this city gave her some advice. Then, I became her private consultant somehow. It s good to know that someone thinks of you as their role model. But I m not perfect and I don t want Ice to imitate me in a wrong way. Orm also said that as a matter of fact, she had her own role models too. She knew several Robin Hoods in the city and learned a lot from them. However, as she pointed out, it was necessary to imitate only good things. Many Thai Robin Hoods she knew were 27 Orm ran her own restaurant in another state with two Thai partners. She left the business few years ago after having a strong argument with her partners. Then she moved back to this city and applied for the job in the Thai restaurant where she had worked for several years before she opened her own restaurant. 137

147 extravagant and loved parties. 28 But for Orm, she was very cautious about how to spend money and never crazy much about having party or drinking. June is another participant who suggested being cautious before imitating others or following others advice. June told me that she learned useful tips about how to survive as a Robin Hood from her ex-fiancé s parents who were also Robin Hoods. She had also observed other Robin Hoods and then imitated them: I have tried to be observant. I have watched other Robin Hoods and learned from them. Imitate good things and ignore bad things. Many Robin Hoods here are lavish. Don t be just like them. Some are careless they have big mouths. 29 Don t be just like them. You have to be careful about what you say if you want no trouble. Other research participants mentioned observing and learning from others as well. For these individuals, they believed that guidance from predecessors was necessary and valuable. Sometimes, they could ask the predecessors directly for information and guidance, but sometimes they needed to observe and then imitated on their own. June also suggested that in addition to being observant, every Robin Hood needed to be willing to change him- or herself in order to survive: 28 Orm mentioned Auan s name as one of her role models. They once worked together as the managers of a famous Thai restaurant. Orm said that Auan is very diligent and generous, and she wants to be just like him so that her employers and friends would admire her. Nonetheless, as Orm pointed out, Auan is an extravagant person. He also loves parties and drinks too much, and these are the things that make Orm very disappointed in him. 29 June did not mention the name of the particular persons who have big mouths. But since she works in the same restaurant as Orm, I guess that one of those persons could be Orm who admitted to me that she has a problem about her big mouth and has been complained about by many of her colleagues. 138

148 This is not our country and we are illegal now. You don t want to get arrested; thus, you need to change yourself. We can no longer be ourselves if we want to survive In my case, I was once an optimistic person, but now I ve become pessimistic. I ve seen many people get into troubles because they trust somebody too much. I am very careful when getting involved with anyone. You can trust no one but yourself. I want to make sure that nobody could do me any harm. In June s view, one needed to adapt him- or herself into a situation in order to survive. He or she needed to become more self-reliant and be cautious when interacting or having relationships with people. Like June, all other research participants accepted that they needed to make changes of themselves after choosing to be Robin Hoods in order to survive and live happily in this alien country. Some mentioned their changes in behaviors, some mentioned their changes in attitudes, and some mentioned both. These individuals agreed that they could no longer be themselves. Wat remarked that in his view it was very important to follow the mainstream: You need to be like a majority. Absolutely, you don t want to create enemies who can inform the DHS about you. You need friends. I was once a kind of isolated person. I don t like parties. I don t care about making friends. But now, I need to change, I try to hang out with my friends more often try to be more friendly. I don t want anyone to hate me and cause me any trouble. While some participants, like June, indicated that they became more self-reliant after choosing to reside here illegally, the others, like Wat, said that they became more interdependent. The latter realized that making friends and maintaining good relations 139

149 with others provided them many advantages. This issue will be discussed in detail in the final part of the next chapter. Auan is another participant who mentioned his lifestyle changes after becoming a Robin Hood. He also became more interdependent as he tried to be a part of his group. According to Auan, before he decided to become an undocumented immigrant, he had never liked going out at night. He preferred to stay home and watch television. However, after choosing to be a Robin Hood, he became acquainted with many other Thai Robin Hoods who loved going out at night. Therefore, he changed his lifestyle in order to fit in the group. Auan also claimed that he has copied many bad behaviors from his Robin Hood friends. For instance, he has become an extravagant person as well as a materialist 30 just like his Robin Hood friends were: Most of my Robin Hood friends are just like that. They spend a lot of money on dining, having parties, travelling, and buying high-end products. They are very happy in doing it. It s like they are living their lives to the fullest. I work very hard and I think that I deserve happiness too. Thus, I become just like them live my life to the fullest. Eat what I want to eat. Buy what I want to buy. Never think too much when spending money. Just buy happiness for myself. Auan realized that being lavish or materialistic was not a good thing. Yet as long as his behaviors had not negatively affected anyone, Auan was not willing to make changes 30 As I mentioned in the second theme, I observed that Auan s lavish lifestyle probably has happened since he was in Thailand. However, it seemed to me that he tried to find excuses for that. He also said that he imitated his friends in becoming materialist. He probably tried to maintain his positive self-image even before a researcher like me by blaming something or someone else as a cause of his bad behaviors. 140

150 because these new behaviors had brought him happiness and made him a part of his group. Auan s case illustrates how being a part of the group was really important for those who lived far away from home. Becoming a part of their groups made these individuals feel warm and safe. Conformity becomes salient when one struggles to survive in a foreign country. Auan was happy with what he was doing. He also found out that his new lifestyle made him happy and somehow it became a means of coping. Like Auan, Nat claimed that in order to become a part of his group, he needed to change his lifestyle in an unfortunate way. Nat said that he had never gambled until he became acquainted with a group of Robin Hoods who had regularly visited casinos at least twice a month. Nat said that he enjoyed hanging out with these particular friends since they all had many things in common, except the gambling thing. Yet Nat tried to change his behaviors as well as his attitudes toward gambling in order to get along with his friends: But since [my friends] love to go to casinos, they tried to convince me to go with them. Ok I tried. Then, I found out that it wasn t bad. There are a lot of things to do at casinos. They have games and entertainment too In fact, I still haven t liked gambling much, but I have to go to casinos with my friends because we always stick together. Yet I ve never spent a lot of money on gambling just play it for fun. Mostly, I was standing next to my friends at the tables and cheering them. 141

151 Thai people in general are interdependent-oriented (Komin, 1990; 1995). They like to conform to others and maintain harmony (Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009). Accordingly, they are likely to follow the majority rather than trying to be outstanding from others which can cause conflicts. As June suggested, all the Thai Robin Hoods she knew, including herself, tried to be humble in order to avoid any trouble and conflict. They did not want to create enemies who could report the DHS about their illegal status. June said that before she chose to become a Robin Hood, she liked to show off her competence. But after her immigration status changed, she realized that trying to follow the mainstream offered her many more advantages: You should not try to make yourself stand out. Most people here don t like that. They prefer humble people. If you want to be sure that people will like you and be willing to help you, you need to be humble try not to get ahead of someone. Although June attested that she became more self-reliant after deciding to live illegally in this country, she still cared about how others would perceive her. She did not want others to hate her. Thus, trying to use a self-protective strategy like being humble, rather than a self-promoting strategy like showing off competence was considered essential. But not every research participant was cautious about making his or her behaviors like the majority. Orm told me that every Robin Hood she knew was trying to do his or her best to remain secretive about his or her immigration status. For Orm, she had never attempted to conceal her status and even told American customers about her illegal status. I don t care, said Orm. I don t have enemies and I don t think that there is anyone who hates me and wants to report the DHS about me. However, Orm accepted that some of 142

152 her colleagues warned her about her big mouth since they did not want to get into trouble. Orm recalled: My colleagues the ones who are visa overstayers asked me to be more cautious about what I would say to customers. They were afraid that my big mouth could lead the DHS to our restaurant. Alright, I understand them, so I try to be more careful about what I say. I don t want to make them get into trouble. Although Orm was a sort of self-centered person, she realized that being herself in some situations could create conflicts. Additionally, Orm was not a selfish person. She was concerned about others well-beings and did not want to cause her friends any trouble. Therefore, she had to change some of her personality and behaviors to conform to others. To some extent, Orm was still interdependent-oriented like most people from her home country were. Generally, all of my research participants agreed that trying to be observant about others and to behave like those around helped them live more comfortably within the Thai community here. Although most research participants mentioned their changes in terms of being more independent and self-reliant after becoming Robin Hoods, these individuals had still been very concerned about others, especially those whom they considered friends. Since friendship really mattered for all research participants, I will discuss the issues related to friendship among Thai Robin Hoods as a separate theme in the next chapter which focuses on bridging a Robin Hood and Thai identity. 143

153 Chapter Summary In this chapter I explored four major themes that emerged from the data I obtained through interviews, observation, and informal conversations that I had with all 15 research participants. These four major themes were (1) An American Degree is Thay (Cool); (2) Thai Robin Hoods, Gold-Diggers who are Addicted to Money; (3) Freedom: Happy Life in the Land of the Free; and (4) When in Rome, Do Like the Romans Do. Each of these emergent themes represent what the research participants had experienced as their status changed from legal to illegal and how their Robin Hood identity had been constituted. These four themes also represent factors that are critical to participants performance of identity and communication strategies that they used in social relations contexts which I will discuss later in the final chapter. In sum, the research data indicated that most individuals who participated in my study came to the U.S. in order to attend schools/college. However, they turned their attention to digging-gold making money after living in the U.S. for a while. Even those who already received their higher degrees decided to continue staying here as undocumented immigrants in order to dig gold. Despite the fact that all of my research participants come from good educational and affluent backgrounds, they seemed to become addicted to the money they could earn here. Freedom was another major factor that influenced the participants of this study to continue residing here illegally. While here, they were able to spend their lives the way they wanted. These individuals were able to break out of the Thai cultural confinement 144

154 and the Thai class structure and could do several things that they were not allowed to do in Thailand. To survive and enjoy their freedom in this foreign country, imitation became an important strategy that all research participants used in daily life. Typically, these individuals tried to conform to the majority. They usually observed what their friends and predecessors did and then imitated those individuals. In the next chapter, I will discuss three more themes that relate to the strong bond between the research participants and their home country. My findings suggest that, generally, Thai-ness has still appeared in almost every aspect of my research participants lives, and it largely affected the ways these individuals constructed, negotiated, and performed their new identities in this foreign country. 145

155 CHAPTER 5: BRIDGING A ROBIN HOOD AND THAI IDENTITY In this chapter, I continue discussing major themes that I discovered from discourses and fieldnotes data. Specifically, all three themes that I discuss in this chapter relate to the interplays between the Robin Hood identity and the Thai identity. I learned that although most research participants have resided here for more than ten years, all of them are still being influenced by Thai socio-cultural values to a high degree. These individuals incorporated Thai-ness into their new identities as undocumented immigrants in a foreign country. All three themes that I discovered illustrated how the Robin Hood and the Thai identity have been bridged and what dilemmas the research participants had to face while living in between two contradictory cultures. The three themes which I will discuss in this chapter are: 1. Family Relations: This theme represents the relationships between research participants and the family members they left behind. Although they lived far away from home, there was still a strong bond between each research participant and his or her family in Thailand, especially his or her parents. 2. Thai-Ness: Ties that still Bind: This theme illustrates how Thai socio-cultural values had still largely affected each research participant despite the fact that they all were living in a foreign country. 3. Friendship really does Matter: This final theme focuses on how the research participants interacted with those around them. Although many participants indicated that, they had become more self-reliant after choosing to be Robin Hoods, they still needed friends. 146

156 Family Relations The first theme I discuss in this chapter is about the relationships between the research participants and their family members, especially their parents, whom they left behind. Unlike the old generation of Thai Robin Hoods who travelled to the U.S. in order to di gold to make money and then sent that money to support their families in Thailand, all of my research participants made money only for themselves and their families here. Yet this shift did not mean that these individuals had forgotten someone they left behind. They still had a feeling of nostalgia and cared about their families in Thailand while enjoying their independent life in the U.S. Since many of the new generation Thai Robin Hoods are from affluent backgrounds, their families in Thailand do not have financial problems. This is the reason why all of my research participants do not have to send money back home. These individuals make money only for themselves. For those who already got married, money they have made is also used to support their families here. These individuals have become independent after they chose to be Robin Hoods in this country. However, they have still expressed gratitude towards their parents in Thailand, and sending money to their parents has become an option that they can do as a means of tob tan bhunkun (repaying for someone s benevolence or reciprocating acts of kindness). The grateful relationship orientation is one of the nine value clusters used to explain the Thai national character (Komin, 1990; 1995). Generally, expressing gratitude towards parents is perceived by Thais as a Thai socio-cultural norm, and tob tan bhunkun is an act that Thais are normally engaged in as a means of expressing gratitude towards 147

157 parents or anyone who renders bhunkun (e.g., goodness, help, favors). Even Robin Hoods who live far away from homes continue to value this type of socio-cultural norm highly. Em, the participant who now owns two famous Thai restaurants in the city, is a grateful child who has often sent money to his parents in Thailand as a gift even though his parents have tried to reject it. I think that this is a duty of a grateful son, said Em. Now, I can make a great deal of money and I think that it s necessary for me to tob tan bhunkun my parents. Nai, the participant who also owns a busy Japanese restaurant, is another grateful child who has sent money back to Thailand occasionally as a gift. Nai said that his parents had never asked for money, but Nai wanted to show them that he had never forgotten his parents benevolence. Therefore, he usually transferred a large amount of money to his parents bank accounts on special occasions like his parents birthdays. Research participants, who are employees and not restaurant owners, cannot send money back home often. But they care and are concerned about the families they left behind. If their families in Thailand need financial support, these individuals told me that they were willing to help. Ice, the participant who decided to live as a Robin Hood in the U.S. after her mother became sick and needed money to pay for her medical care, told me that although she needed to quit studying and started working to support herself, she had never had to send money back home. Even though her mother was able to continue providing her with financial support, Ice asked her mother to save all that money for her medical care. Ice also wanted to send some money she had earned here to her mother but her offer was rejected. Ice s mother just wants her only child to accomplish her dream in 148

158 education. Therefore, she asked Ice to save all the money she has made for her education. Ice continues to save money for her mother in the event she would need it. Some other participants said that they expressed gratitude towards their parents by making their parents proud of them. May told me that when her parents learned that she was able to make a great deal of money by doing a labor job like being a server, they were very proud of her: I was a spoiled kid when I was in Thailand, but while I am here, I can do a lot of things on my own My parents were impressed when they knew that I started working as a part-time server. They had never thought that I would be able to do that. They were proud of me. May also said that after she chose to be a Robin Hood despite the fact that she already received her master s degree, her parents were still proud of her. They felt that she became more mature and was able to make a tough decision on her own. May s parents realized that living as an undocumented immigrant was risky and not easy, but they were proud when their only child was able to survive and knew how to take good care of herself. They realized that a spoiled child like the old May had already gone. Laughingly, May said, Sometimes I felt that my parents did not want me to return home. They cannot be sure that my old May would be back or not if I go back to live with them in Thailand. Ice mentioned the same thing about how her mother was proud when she was able to support herself while living here, and she thought that by making her mother proud was considered a means of tob tan bhunkun. You don t have to tob tan bhunkun your 149

159 parents by giving them money. By making them happy by keeping them from worrying about you you are already a grateful child, said Ice. Nat is another participant who asserted that he had become a new person when he was here: While here, you need to have more responsibilities in your life When I was in Thailand, I always consulted my parents or my older sisters before I made decisions about something. I admit that I was kind of a baby when being surrounded by my family members. But right now, I am changed. I have more self-confidence. Nat said that when he decided to become a Robin Hood, he even had more selfconfidence. He needed to be more cautious about how to spend his life and never put himself into any risky situations so that he would not get arrested by the DHS officials. His parents were proud of him because they felt that Nat became more mature and knew how to manage his own life. Although they realized that their son was an illegal worker in this country, as long as Nat was able to take good care of himself, his parents were alright with it. An illegal worker is not like a criminal you are breaking the laws, but you do no harm to anyone. Thus, my parents have no problem with it, said Nat. Some other research participants mentioned the same thing about how they were less mature while living with their families in Thailand. These individuals often asked for their parents advice before making any decision because it was a typical way of showing gratitude towards parents. As I mentioned earlier, Thai people value gratitude highly. To have respect and gratitude towards parents is a normal practice in Thai culture. Thai 150

160 children have been taught to believe in anything they are told by their parents. To not listen to parents implies ingratitude. This kind of obligation emphasizes the concept of hierarchy in Thai society, where parents take the role of superior, while children are always subordinates. The roles of subordinates in Thai society is to respect and obey their superior (Pfahl et al., 2007), and this also happens in the Thai family structure when children need to respect and obey their parents without questioning. May suggested that since Thai children were taught to obey their parents, most of them were less selfconfident in comparison with American children: If I had still lived with my parents, there is no way that I would become mature. They had watched my every step. Yet I felt safe when I was with them. I knew they would do their best to protect me and never let anything bad happen to me. All of my research participants told me that they really missed their family in Thailand. However, almost all of them admitted to me that they did not contact their family members very often. Ice, the youngest participant in my study, was the only participant who told me that she and her mother had usually talked on the phone once or twice a week. Because Ice is only 23-years-old and she is also the only child of her family, her mother seems to worry much about her. Ice mentioned the duty of a filial daughter and said that she was trying to keep in touch with her mother to let her know that she was okay and to make sure that her mother was doing alright too. When I asked other research participants why they had rarely contacted their family in Thailand, some of them said that it was because they were very busy with their 151

161 jobs. Additionally, because their routine life here was boring, they had nothing to share with their families abroad. Nat, a sushi-chef of a famous Japanese restaurant, asserted: I work from 10:30am to 11pm, five to six days a week. I am very tired. After work, I don t want to talk to anyone just want to sleep. There s nothing I want to talk about either. Everything is just the same every day. It s so boring. Okay, when I have something new, I want to share. For instance, when I got a new job, I called my mom. But if nothing new happens, I only call my parents once a month or every two months just to let them know that I am doing okay. Auan, Em, and June had similar experiences to convey. Since Auan and Em were both men and were mature enough when they first came to the U.S, their parents seemed less worried about them. June said that her mother had never been concerned much about her after she realized that June could take good care of herself. Usually, June s mother was the one who called first to ask how she was doing. June hardly called her parents because there was nothing interesting for her to share, and she was also too tired to have chit-chat on the phone. June noted: I will call only if something big happens My mom loves me so much but she understands that I have no time to have chit-chat on the phone. I work six days a week and I m too tired. If I don t call her, it means that I m doing okay she knows that. But she calls to check on me occasionally to make sure about that. Some of my research participants were married, so in addition to taking care of their jobs, they were very busy taking care of their families. Ann told me that for her taking a role of mother, wife, and manager of a famous Chinese bun shop was very 152

162 challenging. She had no time to do other things and was too tired to think about something else beyond her routine life. Ann rarely contacted her parents in Thailand because she was too tired to talk to them, and sometimes hearing from her parents made her feel bad rather than good: My mom is a pessimistic person. She complains almost everything around her. I am very tired with my work and my duty as a housewife. Thus, I don t want to hear anything that makes me feel daunted or upset. Interestingly, May, Sun, and Jen mentioned the same thing as Ann did. Hearing news from their home country sometimes brought them grief rather than joy. Jen s parents own a shipping company and rarely spoke of anything beyond their business. Consequently, Jen rarely called them because it bored her to listen to them. Sun, whose father died ten years ago, said that his mother did not worry much about him because he was now 32-years-old, has received his master s degree, got a job, and got engaged. Sun and his mother have rarely contacted each other, but every time his mother calls, it means that something bad has happened. My mom doesn t like talking on the phone. If she calls, it means that she has some bad news to tell, said Sun. Sun also told me that he called his mother only three times during the five year period after he left Thailand. But May s parents his fiancé s parents had usually informed her about how he was doing. In May s case, like Ann s, her mother usually called her if she wanted to complain about something. Yet May was not always ready to be a trash can for her mother: 153

163 I feel like I am a trash can. When my mom and dad got a fight, my mom called me. When she had problem with the neighbors, she called me. When there was a protest in Thailand, she called me. She gave me headache every time she called. Although May did not feel happy about the way her mother gave her headaches over the phone, she had still tried to call her parents at least once a month, and whenever her mother called, she always picked up the phone. I still love my mom very much though and never want to make her worried about me, said May. As being illustrated above, some research participants felt that hearing news from Thailand made them depressed rather than happy and amused, and that was too much for them to handle. Because they had more responsibilities in their lives while they were here, they tried to avoid taking on any more burdens that would make them feel more exhausted. Additionally, since they lived far away from home, they did not think that they would be much help to someone they left behind. I can help and am willing to help if it s about money, said Ann. But in terms of mental support, I don t think I can do it. Actually, I need that kind of support more than my parents do. Although the Thai concepts of bhunkun (reciprocity of favors) and expressing gratitude towards parents are prominent in Thai culture, some of my research participants accepted that trying to satisfy their parents as a means of tob tan bhunkun sometimes made them exhausted. Especially when they were trying to survive in a foreign country and had to deal with more difficulties in their lives, they had no time and no energy to satisfy their parents. However, all of them wanted their parents to know that they still 154

164 cared about them. Therefore, at the very least, they tried to call their parents occasionally to ask if they were doing okay. When I asked the participants what dif ficulties they were facing that made them feel very exhausted while they were here, most of them mentioned long days of work and fussy American customers. Some of them mentioned their tensions in dealing with people from other cultures, especially the mainstream Americans, in general. These individuals also felt that it was not easy for them to adapt themselves into American culture, which was very different from Thai culture in many aspects (this issue will be discussed in more detail as part of theme six and seven). Some participants said that while here, they needed to make every decision on their own and had more responsibilities in their lives, and that consumed a lot of their energies. Many participants had maids in their houses when they were in Thailand, but here they did not have one and had to do every kind of housework by themselves. As such, they were tired of their daily lives, which were much less comfortable compared to their lives back home. All of my research participants told me that although their lives here were more difficult and that made them feel exhausted, in general, they were still happy. As I discussed in the previous chapter, these individuals enjoyed making money and their free lifestyles in this country. All of them seemed to think that it was worth it to be tired but to earn more money and freedom while they were here. During the course of my fieldwork, I commonly heard my research participants said something like everyone here is working hard just like me, (June); their lives are difficult as mine since we are in a foreign country (Nan); or everyone knows that it s supposed to be difficult like this 155

165 because this is not our country (Em). From the words that I heard, it seemed to me that my research participants thought that every minority in this country was facing the same difficulties as they did it was something normal here. When they could accept such reality, they were happy with that. They did not work harder than other immigrants and did not face more dilemmas than others, and they felt happy with their lives in general. Accordingly, they were still happy to be here to make more money, as well as enjoy their free lifestyles that they never had in Thailand. Although my research participants lived far away from home, they still cared about their families in Thailand. Gratitude or gratefulness is a prominent Thai sociocultural value. Even for those who have resided overseas, this value is still dominant. By analyzing discourses and fieldnotes data, I discovered that there were other Thai sociocultural values that have a large influence on each of my research participant as well. Clearly, a strong bond between research participants and Thailand, their motherland, still exists. Even for those who have resided in this country for more than ten years, Thai-ness has still played a big part in almost every aspect of their lives, and this will be the next theme that I would like to discuss. Thai-Ness: Ties that still Bind Although most research participants have been in the U.S. more than ten years, these individuals have never forgotten their motherland. Typically, while living in the U.S., Thai socio-cultural values have still played their vital roles in my research participants lives, much like the feeling of nostalgia. In the previous chapter, I described how some female participants have enjoyed their freedoms here as they were able to live 156

166 with their partners in the same houses. However, these women still recognized that this was a very nontraditional practice in Thai people s views even for those who had resided in the U.S. for a long time. Therefore, it was not a thing that they should be proud of. June said that while she lived with her ex-fiancé, she did not willingly tell other Thais about it, as June pointed out: I did not dare to ouad (show off) to others Hey! I live with my boyfriend Even living with your fiancé before getting married is still unconventional in Thais views [Thais who] were not born here have still had Thai attitudes in some degree. Comparing between two girls one who lives separately from her partner and the other who lives with her partner the former will be admired by every Thai. The latter, in contrast, is just like a slut, you know. May and Jen, who also had experiences in living with their partners before getting married, were not as concerned as June about others perceptions while residing here. However, to some degree, both of them did not feel comfortable with this particular nontraditional practice in which they were being engaged. May mentioned to me that she had never been proud of herself when she did something against any Thai ideology. May said that more or less she still wanted to be perceived as a kulasatri (ideal woman). These female participants were facing dilemmas as they were caught between freedom and culture. They earned more freedom here as they were not as constrained by strict Thai customs and norms, especially those emphasized the power structure of Thai patriarchal society, as they were when they were in Thailand. Yet these women could not completely run away from the Thai cultural confinement; many Thai socio-cultural 157

167 values still played their vital parts within the Thai community in the U.S. They could spend their lives the way they wanted, but needed to be cautious if they did not want to be perceived as bad Thais. I observed that not only my research participants, but also most Thai people I encountered in the research setting, were afraid of being the targets of gossip. This also represented how these individuals were concerned about their face and others perceptions about them. They were trying to maintain their positive images in the eyes of others; thus, they avoided doing something culturally unacceptable in Thai people s views so that nobody would gossip about them. Being a good Thai in other Thais eyes seemed to be important for these individuals, and Thai socio-cultural values had been utilized as behavioral standards that indicated what they should have done or should not have done. This also indicated that although these individuals lived in a country that provided them with more freedom than they ever had in Thailand, many of them were caught in tensions between independence and tradition as they still wanted to be perceived as good Thais. Since there were many Thais in the city where they lived, Thai socio-cultural values still played their vital parts within the Thai community there. The research participants felt warm when they were surrounded by other Thais, but for those who cared about others attitudes, they still could not enjoy their freedom in the fullest extent. Dilemmas in Maintaining Thai-Ness: A Case of Us vs. Them Since each research participant was still constrained by Thai socio-cultural values and customs despite the fact that he or she was living far away from home, it meant that 158

168 these individuals had not become Americanized. From the interviews, as well as from the observations, I learned that none of my participants was trying to live in American ways, follow American style, or value American norms. In other words, they were not trying to assimilate into American culture. Thai-ness was presented in almost every aspect of their lives. I usually saw my participants, as well as other Thais in that city, greet each other by giving a wai during social encounters. Young people always showed respect towards the Thai elderly. Being humble and conforming were cultural behaviors in which Thai people there were usually engaged. My research participants said that they were proud of being Thais. Those who got married and have families in the U.S. also mentioned to me that they had encouraged their children to study Thai language and learn about Thai culture and traditions. Ai was one of the research participants who was very proud of being Thai. He preferred to live in Thai ways, and wanted his children to recognize their own origins: I am Thai, and I love Thai-ness [Americans] don t care much about others, but I care. Thai people usually care about others I m enjoying Thai lifestyle. I eat Thai food, hangout with Thai friends, and rent Thai DVD. I ve never forgotten that I am Thai, and I teach my kids about Thai-ness too. Ai seemed to have a negative stereotype of individualism in American culture. As such, he did not try to assimilate into American culture but maintained Thai-ness as much as he could. He was comfortable when he situated himself in the Thai cultural space that he built for himself and his family. Ai got married to Nan whom he knew in Thailand but became more acquainted with when they worked together in a Thai restaurant here. Both 159

169 of them came to the U.S. with tourist visas and planned to continue staying here after their visas expired. Ai and Nan have two sons: one 8-year-old and one 7-year-old. Although their sons automatically received American citizenships since both of them were born here, Ai and Nan did not want their children to forget their roots. Their sons went to the Thai temple every weekend in order to attend the Thai language and culture class. Ann, who also gave birth to both of her daughters in the U.S., sent her daughters to attend weekend class at the Thai temple as well. These two housewives were very close friends. Their houses were located in the same neighborhood, and their children were studying at the same local school. When Ann decided to send her 9-year-old and 6-yearold daughters to attend the weekend class at the Thai temple, Nan followed her. Both of them preferred to raise their children in Thai style or Thai tradition. In addition to sending their children to learn Thai language and culture at the Thai temple, Nan and Ann have taught their children to give a wai to older people and to behave in Thai ways (i.e., respect elderly, show gratitude towards parents, be humble). Ann s daughters also learned the Thai traditional dance at the Thai temple. Ann often asked her daughters to show her guests the new lessons of Thai traditional dance they just learned from the class. Both Nan and Ann also told me that they were very proud when their children could speak and write lengthy sentences in Thai. Even so, Thai language is not considered the official language of the house. Ann asserted: My kids speak English at school and if I speak Thai with them at home, the kids could be confused, and that could negatively affect their language potential. I have decided to raise my kids in this country they are American citizen. Thus, 160

170 it s necessary for them to speak this country s language. Thai becomes their second language. I want them to know Thai because that is their ancestors language. But they don t have to speak Thai fluently. English is much more important for their future. This represented a tension that some participants were facing as they were caught between two different cultures: Thai vs. American. Since these individuals had never tried to be Americans, they had to effectively negotiate and create balance between the host culture and their home country culture in order to live comfortably here. For those who had children and wanted their children to incorporate Thai-ness into their American lifestyles, these parents seemed to face more dilemmas since they needed to know how much Thai-ness they should instill into their children s minds. Nan faced the same dilemmas as Ann did while raising her children in between two different worlds. Nan, like Ann, wanted her children to recognize their origin but not to follow the genuine Thai ways since their future would be here, not in Thailand. Nan suggested that many Thai values were better than those of Americans; for example, being humble and having respect and gratitude towards parents. Nan wanted her children to adopt such values while trying to fit in the American culture in which they grew up. In Nan s view, since her children had yellow skin, black eyes, and black hair, it would be hard for them to completely blend in with the American culture despite their American citizenships. As such, she needed to feed her children Thai-ness in the right amount not too little and not too much: 161

171 I don t want them to become confused. Thai culture and traditions are very complicated. You have to be careful about everything you say or do. I ve taught my kids only the things that are good for them things that make them good people. Nan also told me that she did not want her sons to become freaks in their friends eyes. Thus, she needed to recognize specific times and places where her sons could present their Thai-ness. For instance, she had encouraged her children to give all of her Thai friends a wai when her friends came to visit them at home. But at school in front of her son s friends the children needed to give no one a wai. Nan realized that it was difficult for her children to incorporate most Thai customs and values into their daily lives. Since Thai culture was very different from American culture and some Thai traditional practices, like wai, were strange in Americans views, Nan needed to create a balance for her children as well as for herself. In some sense, the whole family was living in tensions between the two contradictive worlds. Ann s family seemed to face the same dilemma. Ann also mentioned not too little and not too much as Nan did. In Ann s case, since she has daughters, it is more difficult for her to teach Thai ways to the girls. Ann s older daughter will become a teenager in the next few years. Ann told me that she was very concerned about how to teach the girl to dress properly: Thai women generally don t wear tank-tops outside the houses. I don t want my girl to wear a tank-top or something too sexy. But since wearing tank-tops is very 162

172 normal for Americans, I don t know how to tell my girl. I have to think carefully about how Thai I want both of my daughters to be. As I already mentioned, Thailand is a patriarchal society (Meesomsarn, 2004; Nirannoot, 2003). Thai people values the notion of kulasatri or the ideal woman. This attitude towards women reinforces the power structure of Thai patriarchal society where women have been controlled by social rules and norms through the process of socialization. Even among the Thai community overseas, the notion of kulasatri is still salient. Ann wants her daughters to be kulasatri, but she also realizes that the American culture probably has much more influence on her daughters who have been raised here. Accordingly, it will be a big challenge for Ann to teach her children how to be ideal Thai women, while the girls probably prefer to follow the mainstream, or even want to become ideal American women, but not Thai. Generally, retaining Thai-ness while living in other cultures is challenging and sometimes can create trouble. Several research participants shared with me their experiences regarding Thai-ness that made them feel awkward or even freakish in Americans eyes. For example, Ice told me that when she first arrived in this country, she often gave elders a wai even though they were Americans: I am used to give elders a wai. But when I accidentally did it to Americans, they looked at me like I was a freak or something. Even I had a chance to explain to them this was the traditional way that Thais used to show respect to elderly, I didn t think that they were impressed much by that. I feel that most people here 163

173 prefer you to act in American ways. They feel better when you act like Americans like you have already been Americanized. Ice s experience is another example of tensions that ethnic minorities are facing while living in another culture. They need to acknowledge the differences between cultures and try to follow the mainstream in order to gain acceptance from the majority. May is another participant who experienced such tensions. She told me the story regarding an event on the bus when she gave up her seat to an American senior woman. However, that woman rejected her offer, did not say thank you, and did not even smile. Thais always care about seniors, said May. But elders here probably never want to accept that they are old and need help. Thus, I need to be careful when offering any help to American seniors. June is another participant who experienced negative reactions when she behaved in Thai ways before her American customers. According to June, when she started working in a Thai restaurant, she tried to treat her customers by employing very gentle manners and showing respect as Thais have been taught to do since they were very young. Nonetheless, her customers seemed to look uncomfortable rather than impressed: I have been taught that while elders are sitting, you should not stand straight next to them. You need to make your body lower than they are by sitting on your knees or, at least, bowing your body a little while standing. When I did that in front of American customers, I didn t think that they felt comfortable The worse thing was that some customers even treated me like I was a maid or something probably because I was acting like I was their servant Then I changed my 164

174 behaviors and everything has become much better. I am acting like an American waitress now. I treat my customers like friends no more respect. Even for those who are seniors, I am very friendly to them but never treat them like they are my grandmas anymore. Thai society is hierarchical in nature (Hofstede, 1980; 1997; Maisrikrod, 1999; Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009; Pfahl et al., 2007). Age is the most basic criterion to establish hierarchy; Thais usually respect elders (Maisrikrod, 1999). Some of my research participants did not acknowledge the different concepts regarding hierarchy in the American culture when they first came here. They behaved the way they were used to, but their habits often put them in awkward positions. After learning from their own mistakes, these individuals changed their behaviors accordingly. Although they did not attempt to assimilate into the American culture, they still recognized that it was better for them to do like theamericans do when in America. Therefore, they decided to give up some old habits in order to adapt themselves to the mainstream culture and gain acceptance from the majority. As my research participants pointed out, it was not easy for them to retain Thainess while living in an alien culture like this. But trying to be Americans was not the thing they were likely to do. More importantly, these individuals planed to go back to Thailand someday. Nobody told me that they wanted to reside in the U.S. for good. Even for those who got married and have families here like Nan, Ai, Ann, and Ou, they told me that they hoped to return to their motherland someday. All of them used the words going back to die at home when talking about their plans of returning to their motherland. 165

175 Interestingly, these individuals, however, seemed to prefer their children to stay in the U.S. permanently. Since I also have an 8-year-old son who was born in the U.S., I had often hung out with Nan and Ann to talk about our children. I asked these two mothers whether or not they had ever considered about taking their children back to Thailand. Both of them said no. They gave me the reason that American citizenship provided their children with better opportunities and benefits at least, better opportunities in educations, careers, and benefits after retirement. Thais Spaces of Comfort Although my research participants mentioned their plans to return to their home country, most of them did not have concrete plans yet. Generally, these individuals still enjoyed their lives here. Although they missed home, there were many places in the city that embraced their nostalgia and helped them cope with their homesickness. These particular places were considered spaces of comfort for all of them. Thai temples For my research participants who have children, the famous Thai temple located in the suburb was the place where they sent their children to learn about their roots. Accordingly, these parents needed to go to the temple with their children every week. These parents had also joined the activities organized by the temple more often than the research participants who are single. I noticed that the ones who were single had rarely visited the temple. When I asked for the reason, they told me that they had no time. Notably, all of my research participants worked at least five days a week, nine hours a day; yet, the married ones had time to visit the temple every week, while the single ones 166

176 had no time. Interestingly, this is not different much from the thing that typically happens in Thailand. Single people rarely go to temples because they have much more interesting things to do. Unlike single people, married individuals usually look for peacefulness rather than excitement, and temples have become peaceful places and cultural, social centers for them. Even when the Thai temples in the city where I conducted the study organized fun activities to celebrate Thai festivals, I noticed that most of my single research participants were not very enthusiastic in joining the celebrations. They told me that they went there only few times just to see what it looked like and then stopped going there since there was nothing exciting anymore. Only if there was something very special happening at the temples, like the concerts of famous Thai singers, did some participants cheerfully go there. Yet most of them preferred staying home rather than going to be jostled among the crowd. Thai karaoke bars For those who are single, Thai karaoke bars, not temples, have become social centers for them. More than a half of my research participants admitted to me that they once hung out with their friends at Thai karaoke bars almost every weekend. Yet most of them quit going to those bars because they were tired with their work and did not have fun with partying after work anymore. Some of them have still visited those bars, but not regularly like they did in the past. However, Thai karaoke bars were still perceived as the nicest party place for Thais in the city. 167

177 At the time I conducted this study, there were two famous Thai karaoke bars in that city one opened seven days a week from 10pm to 5am, while another opened only on weekends from 10.30pm to 2.30am. These two karaoke bars were, in fact, also regular restaurants. They sold Thai and Asian food during lunch and dinner and opened beyond regular hours as the karaoke bars which targeted only Thai customers. Auan was a regular customer of these two karaoke bars. Yet he preferred the one that opened late seven days a week, because he loved the food there. Auan usually hung out with his Thai friends there at least three times a week. He told me that the reason he went there several times a week was because he wanted to eat. As he asserted, I cannot cook and I love Thai food more than other kinds of food. [This restaurant] opens late seven days a week. Thus, it is the best place for me to eat after work. Auan told me that in the past, he usually went to Thai karaoke bars to drink rather than eat, but he never liked singing at all. From my observations, generally Thai people did not go to karaoke bars to sing. Rather, they went there to talk, eat, and drink with friends. Auan pointed out that Thai people loved to party and there were no other places in town where Thais could gather together and party more comfortably than at Thai karaoke bars: If you go to an American bar with a big group of Thai- or Asian friends, certainly, everyone there will stare at your group. You cannot have the fullest fun. You will feel like an alien. You do not belong there. I feel just like that every time I go to any American bar. With a big group or with a few Thai friends, in either case I ve never felt comfortable at all. 168

178 Auan s remark represents an individual s tension when he recognized his identity as a minority within the host culture. He felt that it was impossible for him to blend in with the American culture because of his Asian appearance. Therefore, since he had another option, he preferred to be among his own people. A Thai karaoke bar became a preferable space of comfort for him where he could hang out with his friends without concerning himself about status differences. Although the notion of class hierarchy is less prominent in the U.S. compared to Thailand, race can originate status differences among people in American society. Some participants, like Auan, acknowledged the role racism played in this country. As such, he sought a space of comfort in which he felt he belonged, and Thai karaoke bars were one of his favorite places where he could be himself. Auan also told me that presently he could not drink as much as he ever did in the past. He was almost 50-years-old and did not have fun with parties like he once did. Nonetheless, going to a Thai karaoke bar to have Thai food and hang out with friends were the things he enjoyed very much and would never quit doing as long as he still lived here. It s better than staying in an apartment eating and drinking alone. I am happy when I see familiar faces there. I know almost every regular customer there I am happy when being among friends, said Auan. Nat, who helped his close friend run a Thai karaoke bar ten years ago, told me that Thais loved hanging out with people from their home country, and his karaoke bar was the place where Thai people, mostly students, gathered together and had fun during weekends. He told me that his karaoke bar was not popular among Thai Robin Hoods 169

179 because the atmosphere there did not look Thai, and the music played there was also new and up-to-date. Additionally, his customers preferred dancing rather than singing: Most Robin Hoods are not teenagers they are 27 or older. They are working people who come to Thai bars to relax. They don t want excitement. Thus, they prefer to go to the place where they can eat real Thai food, and listen and sing easy listening songs old Thai songs which they know very well, but not a new, modern song sung by new, teenage singers whom they are not familiar with. When I went to observe at both presently famous Thai karaoke bars in the city, I found out that the one that opened seven days a week was the more preferable place for Thai Robin Hoods to hang out after work. Orm, who liked food there and went there regularly to eat after work told me that this restaurant is older than the other and also sells authentic Thai food during regular business hours, while the other sells fusion Asian food and sushi. Even when the sushi bar converts to the Karaoke bar during weekend nights and offers authentic Thai dishes, the taste of the dishes cannot compete with those of the older bar. The decoration of the sushi place also looks modern, while the other looks more Thai. Consequently, older customers, including most Thai Robin Hoods, who left their home country for several years, prefer to go to the more Thai one where they can find authentic Thai food as well as authentic Thai atmosphere that can help them cope with homesickness. Orm remarked: This place is like a restaurant in the countryside of Thailand. It s very unfashionable. If I am in Thailand, I will never step into that kind of place. But 170

180 here, [the karaoke bar] like this makes me feel like I am still in Thailand and I feel good about that. Orm s remark illustrates that the Thai hierarchy of social status had less impact on Thais living overseas. When in Thailand, Orm was more concerned about her prestige and never wanted to visit any place that did not suit her standing or affected her hi-so image. 31 But while here, she felt comfortable when visiting any place that made her feel like she was home. Orm was not the only participant who mentioned how the atmosphere in that particular karaoke bar made her feel like she was still in her motherland. Every research participant who ever went there pointed out the same things. Nai told me that when he went to that Thai karaoke bar, he enjoyed listening to Thai songs and watching Thai music videos as much as hearing Thai language being spoken around the room. As Nai remarked, When we entered [there], we couldn t believe this is America. Everything looks very Thai and I felt great. I always feel warm when being surrounded by other Thais and Thai atmosphere. Yet after opening his own restaurant, Nai and Jen, his girlfriend and his business partner, had never gone to any Thai karaoke bar since. Both of them were very tired after work and did not feel like going out at night anymore. Nai accepted that after he quit going out at night, he had lost touch with many of his friends. Nonetheless, he knew exactly where he could find his friends, especially his Robin Hood friends, if he wanted to: 31 Hi-so is a label that Thais use to call people from upper class background. It is an abbreviation of high society people. This term is often used as a means of sarcasm. 171

181 Each of my friends works at different places. [The Thai karaoke bar] is a meeting place for us. We do not have to make an appointment with one another just go there and we can meet our friends there When I stopped going there, it was kind of like losing friends. But right now if I want to see my friends, I can still go there and I m sure that I will meet most of them there. There are no other places that they love to go to more than Thai karaoke bars. Nai also suggested that Thai karaoke bars were also the places where Thais could seek information regarding the Thai community. When Nai planned to buy a restaurant, he went to the Thai karaoke bar and asked around until he heard that the former owner of the restaurant he presently owns planned to sell his business. As Nai concluded, for him, Thai Karaoke bars were the best source for information about Thais and the best meeting places for people who were homesick. After talking to Nai and other participants who were business owners, one significant thing that I discovered was that all participants whose status changed from employees to business owners also changed his or her lifestyle, especially anything about entertainment and night life. This change did not happen only with the ones who participated in my study, but with many other Thai Robin Hoods whom I encountered around the city as well. These business owners took their work and their businesses seriously and did not care much about entertainment, while Thai Robin Hoods who were employees were still looking for relaxation and entertainment, especially during night time. Thus, Thai karaoke bars were perceived as their best place of comfort since these particular places offer both relaxation and entertainment after the long day of work. 172

182 Thai restaurants and stores In addition to Thai karaoke bars, many other places around the city also offer Thai-ness to help Thai Robin Hoods cope with their homesickness. There are a few Thai authentic restaurants in the city where most regular customers are Thais. All of my research told me that they often went there to have real Thai food. Even the ones who owned restaurants admitted to me that they or their family members went to one of those restaurants to dine in or order take-outs at least once a month. Thai grocery stores were the other places where my research participants had visited regularly to buy Thai groceries or other goods from Thailand, like magazines or DVDs. There are also a few Thai video shops in the city that offer videotapes and DVDs of Thai movies and series for rent. In addition, these shops also have Thai newspapers, magazines, books, snacks, desserts, and other goods for sale. The restaurants and stores that target Thai customers like these were not just the places where my research participants liked to visit in order to buy merchandise, but they also considered these places very good sources for information regarding the Thai community. As several of my research participants pointed out, whenever they looked for new jobs, they usually visited Thai grocery stores or Thai video shops. In these stores, one can see a lot of advertisements on bulletin boards about the places that are hiring people, businesses for sale, activities at Thai temples, etc. In addition to finding information on bulletin boards, one can also ask store owners for any information regarding the Thai community. From my own experience, these store owners are considered the best source for information. They are very talkative, friendly, and know a 173

183 lot of people within the Thai community. These individuals are also up-to-date about what is going on in Thailand as much as what is happening in the U.S. Thus, most Thai people in the city always visit these stores when they need any information, and these friendly store owners are always willing to help. Like me, all my research participants perceived Thai grocery stores and Thai video shops as the information centers for Thais. Many of my research participants were also the regular customers of these stores. They usually bought/rented movies. A few of them also bought newspapers and magazines from these stores. I was impressed about how up-to-date some of my research participants were when we talked about Thai movies, series, or something that had recently happened in Thailand. Although most research participants focused more on their lives in the U.S., they had still wanted to know what major things recently happened in their home country. For some, like Ou, learning what was happening in Thailand was a must thing to do because they still cared very much about their family back there. Ou noted: I am trying to get update about everything in Thailand by watching Thai DVDs and reading Thai books and magazines Although things that happen in Thailand now do not affect me directly, my family members are still there, and I really need to know what happens to them. Ou s statement also confirms the tie between family members as I mentioned in the previous theme. Even though they were far away from home, most research participants still wanted to know about their families well-being; thus, they tried to be up-to-date about what was going on in their home country. Some other research participants said 174

184 that learning about current situations in Thailand also made them feel like they had never been far away from home. But for June, learning about situations in her home country through various kinds of media was the only hobby she had here: I have no other hobbies. I don t like shopping or going out I like staying at home watching Thai videos and reading Thai magazines learning about what s going on in Thailand. Then, I will share that news with my friends at the restaurant. The Internet was another channel that the research participants normally used to learn about what happened in Thailand and to stay connected with their friends and families there. These individuals also shared the news they learned from media about their home country with their Thai friends here. For research participants who did not have much chance to be updated with news about Thailand through any kind of media, they still learned about what was going on in Thailand through their friend s networks here. The strong friend networks among Thai Robin Hoods which represented the interdependent orientation, a dominant socio-cultural value in the Thai culture, will be discussed as part of the next theme, Friendship really does Matter. Generally, Thai-ness has still played a vital part in my research participants lives, and all of them seem to prefer living in Thai ways. The Thai community in the city where I conducted this study is able to maintain Thai-ness because there are a lot of Thais there. Also, there are many places around the city that become spaces of comfort for Thais. Those places help the research participants, as well as other Thais in the city, cope with 175

185 their homesickness because of their Thai appearance and their roles as the social centers for Thais. Since there were many Thais in that city, my research participants need to maintain good relationships with other Thais in order to be parts of the group and avoid any problem that could cause their lives in dilemmas or get them arrested by the DHS. Generally, Thais like to maintain harmony (Hollensen, 2004; Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009). However, since these individuals were living in a foreign country, they needed to encounter people from different races, cultures, statuses, and etc., in their daily lives as well. Accordingly, it was not always easy for them to maintain good relationships with everyone. The next theme, which is also the final theme discussed in this chapter, focuses on the relationships between the research participants and others, and how they managed their relationships with those around in order to live comfortably and happily in this foreign country. Friendship really does Matter All of my research participants agreed that while living in a culture that was very different from the culture that they came from, friendship really did matter. Although these individuals had become more self-reliant after choosing to live as Robin Hoods in the U.S., they still needed friends. Some research participants even considered some friends they had known here their family members. At the basic level, friends were sources of aid, and all research participants agreed that they would never survive and live happily in this country without aid from their friends. 176

186 Friends as Sources of Aid Throughout the final part of the previous chapter, I illustrated how my research participants had been influenced by others behaviors, especially those whom they perceived as friends. These individuals also realized that having good relationships with others offered them many advantages. Therefore, they were trying to get along with others by conforming to the majority of Thais. When one did anything against the majority (like Orm s case, when she did not try to conceal her illegal status), he or she would be opposed by others, which could result in the breakdown of a good friendship. Orm admitted that she was once a self-centered person she never cared much about what others thought about her. However, after choosing to live in a foreign country as a Robin Hood, she discovered that there was no way that she could survive without help from others: I put my life at risk when I choose to stay here illegally. Yes, it s not a big deal if the DHS will send me back to Thailand, but as long as I prefer to stay here, I ve never wanted to get into trouble. Thus, I need to learn useful tips from others about how to survive, and if I get into trouble, I need someone who can help me Having good relationships with others is very important when you are in a situation like this. You are far away from home none of your family members are here to protect you. You only have friends here. Because Orm recognized the importance of friendship, she made a lot of changes about herself. She has become more concerned about others. If anything she did make her 177

187 friends disappointed, she was absolutely willing to change. I never want people to love me, but I don t want people to hate me either, said Orm. Orm s case represents the characteristic of the smooth interpersonal relationship orientation, as well as the flexible and adjustment orientation, which are two of the nine value clusters used as the instruments for explaining the national character of Thailand (Komin, 1990; 1994). Thai people love harmony and value friendship; thus, they try to be flexible and adapt to situations in order to maintain smooth social interactions. While living as an undocumented immigrant, Orm faced more difficulties and dilemmas than she did in Thailand. As such, friendship became much more important for her. In Thai society, although Thai people rely more on family members as their sources of aid, friends can become major sources of aid in certain situations (see Foster, 1976). Since most of my research participants do not have family members in this country, friends become their major sources of aid and also make them feel warm and safe. This idea was confirmed by Auan, who was considered the friendliest person by several research participants who were well acquainted with him. Auan said that he valued friendship highly, and when he became a Robin Hood, friendship actually grew to be much more important to him: When you are in any difficult situation, you need someone you can trust. Being a Robin Hood is not easy. In some sense, you become a kind of criminal in an alien country. If you want to survive, you need friends. At the very least, friends can be a good source of information for you. If you are lucky, probably you will find very good friends who will become just like your brothers or sisters. 178

188 Auan said that he had several Robin Hood friends whom he considered brothers and sisters. These particular individuals were like his family members. They always hung out together and helped each other. Auan s statement illustrated that there was a special bond among Thai undocumented immigrants. They realized that they were the same in the sense that all of them were illegal residents of this country and had similar experiences as they were struggling to survive. From my observation, the individuals whom Auan considered his brothers and sisters also came from good educational and affluent backgrounds. Accordingly, Auan could identify himself with these individuals and felt more comfortable when he was among his people. Additionally, Auan mentioned that sticking with his Robin Hood friends also made him feel safe and secure: You feel warm when you realize that there is someone who is in the same situation just like you. You also feel safe because you realize that you have someone whom you can rely on, and they never want to hurt you. If you are in trouble, they are willing to help you. We always help each other. Our relationship is a kind of mutual relationship. Mutual relationship in this sense also implies to bhunkun (reciprocity of favors). As I mentioned in the first theme of this chapter, Family Relations, the Thai concept of bhunkun or reciprocity of favors is prominent in Thailand. Thai society is claimed to survive based on a cycle of granting and repaying favors (Pfahl et al., 2007). Thais are usually conscious of any kindness done and will reciprocate acts of kindness whenever the opportunity exists. My research participants realized that Thai-ness was still 179

189 prominent within the Thai community in that city, and the concept of bhunkun was also a major part of Thai-ness. They knew that if they helped other Thais in need, the help would be returned whenever they were in trouble as a part of tob tan bhunkun (reciprocate acts of kindness). Other research participants mentioned mutual relationships between them and their Thai friends here as well. In their views, Thai people normally depended on each other. While residing abroad, even in a country where individualism is salient, Thai people are still collectivist. Ai pointed out: Yes, we become more self-reliant when we are here, but it doesn t mean that we are completely independent. Thai people always care about others, especially about those who come from their motherland. Thai-ness never dies here. Thai people here always help each other when something bad happens. We always stick together. Thai-ness consists of the characteristic of collectivism. The research participants seemed to realize that somehow Thai people residing overseas were still collectivists. Thus, they had confidence in each other. They believed that they could ask for others help if they were in trouble. That was the reason why all research participants preferred to stick with other Thais, either Robin hoods or ones with legal status. Typically Thai people view trust as a prominent aspect of friendship (see Pfahl et al., 2007). The Thai Robin Hoods in my study seemed to have trust in other Thais, and that made them feel secure when they were surrounded by their Thai friends. 180

190 American Friends are not Real Friends I noticed that Thai people in the city where I conducted this study always stayed close to each other. Even Thai students who had opportunities to make friends with Americans or students from other countries usually hung out with their Thai friends rather than international friends. May, Orm, Jen, Ou, and Nai, who experienced studying in American universities, told me that they did not actually have American friends or friends from other countries whom they considered their real friends. While studying, these individuals became acquainted with many American and international students. However, after they graduated or dropped out of college and chose to continue living illegally in the U.S., these individuals lost contact with all of those international friends. All of them seemed to be very busy with their lives since each of them worked full-time in restaurants at least five days a week. Thus, the people with whom they usually hung out were their colleagues who worked in the same restaurants as they did. Ai, who has never attended any American school or college, suggested that since Thais loved to hang out with other Thais, the Thai community there could retain Thainess it never completely became Americanized. However, this sort of collectivism became a major disadvantage as well. He remarked: Thais usually stick with Thais and we always speak Thai. I admit that I have been here for more than ten years, but my English have never improved much. I still don t understand many words and phrases that my kids speak to me. That s too bad By sticking together we also lose opportunities to learn about American culture and tradition too. Some of my Thai friends have lived here for ten years 181

191 but they still don t know about how much they should tip servers in restaurants. Some have never queued up when using restrooms I ve also known a little about American culture and traditions, especially something formal. I went to American-style parties a few times and felt awkward every time I joined the parties. I wasn t sure what I should have done or not done. The above excerpt illustrates the tensions Ai and others like him had to face when they could not blend in with the mainstream culture. As I explained in the previous theme, Ai seemed to have a negative perspective towards American culture, especially the notion of individualism, and that was probably the reason why some participants were not enthusiastic about learning American culture and traditions. However, as his statement clearly indicates, Ai also realized that maintaining Thai-ness could make one lose the sense of belonging while he or she was surrounded by the majority. Other research participants who had never attended language schools/college or attended them for only a short period of time provided similar comments regarding how their English and knowledge about American culture had not improved much. Some of these individuals have never had opportunities to make friends with Americans even though they really loved to. Thus, they always hung out with their Thai friends mostly with those who worked with them at the same restaurants. Some of these individuals had tried to make friends with their regular American customers, yet they could not consider those customers their friends. June attested: They can be only my acquaintances. We have chit-chat when they come to the restaurant or when we meet each other in the neighborhood. Some of them gave 182

192 me their phone numbers or s but I have never called or ed them. I don t have time and I don t think that we can become real friends They are very nice to me but I don t think they are willing to help me when I am in trouble. In June s view, her Thai friends, especially Robin Hood friends, were the ones whom she could rely on. As she suggested, You may have a good American friend, but she will never understand you more than your Thai friend does, especially the Thai friend who is in the same situation just like you. June recognized cultural gaps between her and the mainstream Americans, and that was the reason why she thought that Americans could only be her acquaintances, but not friends. For June and a few other participants who wanted to make friends with Americans, American friends were perceived as people whom they can share some fun with, but not suffering. Thai people make the distinction between phuan taay (friends to death) and phuan kin (eating friends) (see Foster, 1976). In the research participants views, Americans could be their eating friends but not their friends to death. Sun, who was working in an American company and had the opportunities to make friends with several Americans and colleagues from other countries, suggested that: If you are suffering, the only friends who can help you are Thai friends. People from other cultures will never understand you or have sympathy for you like the ones who come from your home country I don t like aspects of many Thai people; for instance, their lack of discipline. Many Thais are jealous of others they don t want others to be better than they are. Yet, in the end, Thai friends are 183

193 the best friends here. Most Thai people are generous. Although many don t want you to be better than they are, they will never ignore you when you are suffering. Again, the above statement illustrates how the research participants perceived the value of friendships, especially those between them and their people. They had trust in their Thai friends and recognized that only Thais could be their friends to death. Interestingly, when I hung out with my research participants, I often heard many of them gossiping about other Thais. These individuals seemed to have prejudice against other Thais to some degree and often criticized others in negative ways. For instance, I heard them gossiping about jealousy among Thais the way Sun did. When I adopted the role of participant-as- observer by helping research participants at their restaurants, I also heard my research participants, as well as other Thai servers in the restaurants, gossiping several times about how cheap Thai customers were. I also noticed that they never smiled to Thai customers, except those whom they considered their acquaintances or friends. Sometimes my research participants even gossiped about their close friends behind their backs. Yet these individuals still preferred to become associated and hang out with Thai people rather than people from other countries. To some extent, in comparison with people from other cultures, people from their home country made them feel more secure and more comfortable to be around. All of my research participants, even those who have resided in the U.S. for more than ten years, commented that they never felt like they belonged in this country. They still felt alienated from American culture. Ai and some other participants mentioned that there was a strong bond within the Thai community in the city. There were many Thais 184

194 there, and they all had built strong friend networks. Auan pointed out that because there were many Thais in the city with whom he could associate, he had never tried to make friends with Americans or to assimilate into American culture: If I live in the city where I am the only Thai there, absolutely, I need to have American friends. We cannot live alone, right? Everybody needs friends. And if I have American friends, surely I will try to act like Americans try to be an American. But here, I don t have to do that. I have a lot of Thai friends and we are immersing ourselves in the Thai way of life. Yet I have never ignored American culture and traditions. We live here, so at least we have to know about American standards so that we will not do anything that could make them laugh at us or look down upon us. Because he had options, Auan felt that there was no need for him to be concerned about making friends with the majority. Probably the fear of mainstream American life was the major reason why this particular participant did not want to be associated with Americans unless he had no choice. Auan s statement also suggests how face /dignity was important for him in cross-cultural contexts; he did not want Americans to look down upon him. Since he wanted to maintain his dignity never wanted to put himself in any situation that made him lose face Auan preferred to live among his own people and spend his life according to Thai ways to which he was accustomed. Some other research participants provided similar comments regarding their preference in associating with other Thais. Yet they claimed never to ignore American culture and traditions. Ou pointed out that at the very least he encountered American 185

195 customers every day; thus, it was necessary for him to learn about Americans and their culture in order to serve his customers well. He continued to comment, Also, I don t want them to look down upon me. People will look down upon you like you are stupid when you act like you know nothing about their customs and traditions. Ou, like Auan, was concerned about his dignity/ face in cross-cultural contexts; thus, he tried to become culturally competent in order to gain acceptance from the majority. Yet his effort in learning about Americans was not the way he attempted to assimilate into American culture. Ou told me that he did not think that he would be able to blend into American culture. His Asian appearance and his limit in English were still major obstructions. All in all, he still preferred to live according to Thai ways rather than American ways. Many cases in this study suggest that the hierarchy of social status or prestige did not play a big part within the group of my research participants. They were not concerned much about their dignity while they were here. They also did not recognize the status differences among Thais here as much as they did in Thailand. Some participants were sarcastic about Thai doctors and nurses in that city; they called people in those particular professions hi-so 32 people. However, they told me that they did not feel inferior to those Thai doctors/nurses. They recognized that all Thais, no matter what the profession or immigration status they had, were faced with dilemmas in their daily lives since all of them were minorities in this country. Jen told me that she knew some Thai doctors and nurses who were acquainted with her relatives. Jen often heard those individuals 32 Hi-so is a label that Thais use to call people from upper class background. It is an abbreviation of high society people. This term is often used as a means of sarcasm. 186

196 complain about their jobs as they needed to deal with many American patients who hated Asian people. Other research participants who knew Thai immigrants with other kinds of prestigious jobs like university professors or those who worked for the U.S. government told me similar stories. They seemed to have sympathy for any Thais who confronted racism or were insulted by Americans. Because my research participants realized that most Thais in the U.S. faced the same difficulties due to their minority status, dignity/ face seemed not to be a major concern for them when they encountered other Thais here. In contrast, when they encountered Americans, the majority, they seemed to recognize their own lower status and became concerned about their dignity/ face. Accordingly, they tried their best in maintaining their dignity by avoiding putting themselves in any situation within cross-cultural contexts that could threaten their dignity/ face. Etiquette in being Friends with Robin Hoods The information from the previous chapter suggests that every research participant of this study had already become acquainted with a few Robin Hoods before he or she decided to follow those predecessors paths. After adopting the Robin Hood identity, each research participant also had a chance to become acquainted with several new Robin Hood friends. I also observed that each of my research participants had at least one close friend who was a Robin Hood. Yet none of them mentioned that they intentionally chose to make friends with particular persons who were Robin Hoods just like them. 187

197 Auan said that he really loved to make friends and never asked people about their backgrounds before their friendships were established. However, he usually found out after getting to know several new friends that those individuals were Robin Hoods just like him: I first met many of my Robin Hood friends in the Thai Karaoke bar. At first, I didn t know whether or not they were Robin Hoods. Most people don t actually tell you during the first time they meet you that they are Robin Hoods, right? But when I talked to them, there was something something that made me feel comfortable when taking to those people. It s just click. And when I felt click with someone, I mostly found out later that those persons are Robin Hoods Probably because we have similar experiences, so our lifestyle and attitudes seem to be the same. When we talk, we feel like we have known each other for a long time. Other research participants provided similar comments. They had never asked others about their immigration status before becoming friends with those individuals. It is considered a kind of etiquette when Thai people do not ask others about their immigration status. All participants said that if someone asked them directly or indirectly about their immigration status they would not like it. It s none of their business, said Jen. I don t know why somebody wants to know whether or not I am a visa overstayer. It s impolite when you ask people about their immigration status. Nai, Jen s boyfriend, said that he once encountered a Thai graduate student in the Thai Karaoke bar. That man was curious about his immigration status after learning that 188

198 Nai and Jen, his girlfriend, had just bought a restaurant. That man asked Nai straightforwardly but Nai did not tell him the truth. Nai recalled: [He] worked in a Japanese restaurant. One of my friends is his colleague and my friend was the one who brought him to the Karaoke bar that night. My friend and I were talking about my new restaurant. That guy probably could have guessed by listening to our conversation that I don t have a green card, so he asked me Are you a visa overstayer? Why could you buy a restaurant if you don t have a green card? I lied to him that I just received a green card but I also explained to him that in fact immigrants without green cards can own restaurants too. Nai said that he had to lie because that man was considered a stranger. Although he looked very friendly, Nai decided to play it safe. You should not trust anyone so easily. I realized that he was just curious, but I could not be so sure that he would not tell anyone else if he knows the truth. I don t want to get into trouble so I need to play safe. Making people understand that they had green cards became a self-guarding strategy for some research participants who wanted to make sure that they would not be in trouble when someone was curious about their immigration status. Orm, who had never been concerned about whether or not people knew about her immigration status, said that if someone asked her, she would tell him or her the truth. Yet she would not like it either if those people approached her with a straightforward question: Someone might be curious about your status but they should not ask you about that it s etiquette Nobody has asked me straightforwardly about that before 189

199 but if somebody asked, I would tell them the truth but I would also ask them the reason why they would like to know. In Orm s view, some people might have wanted to know about others immigration status probably because they were undocumented immigrants who were looking for allies: I was once attempting to know if there were other Robin Hoods around me. When I moved to [another city], I wanted an ally who could tell me any information regarding immigration laws there I think that there are some Robin Hoods here who are looking for allies they probably need your help regarding information or something. If those people ask me because they want to make friends with me or need my help, I m ok with that. Yet they should try to find a better way to ask not just ask straightforwardly because it could make people scared. Thai final part of the above excerpt represents a major characteristic of people from a high context culture like Thailand. People in a high context culture are often engaged in a more indirect communication strategy. Maintaining harmony and saving face are considered the overriding goal of communication (Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009). Thai people in general do not approach others with direct questions on any sensitive issues. Most research participants told me that they had never encountered people who attempted to know about their immigration status as well. But if that happened, they thought that they would be better off telling a lie in order to avoid any trouble that might occur. You cannot be sure if someone really hates you and wants to destroy you, said Jen. Thus, you need to play safe by keeping your mouth shut. Telling others about your illegal status doesn t provide you any advantage. 190

200 Again, finding a strategy to guard themselves when being approached by someone who was curious about their immigration status seemed to be necessary for those who wanted to play safe. While few research participants agreed with Jen that telling others about their immigration status did not offer them any advantage, most of them thought that disclosing their immigration status to significant persons, especially to the ones who were similar to them, was very necessary. Like Ou pointed out, I made friends with several Robin Hoods and told them that I was a Robin Hood as they were I want someone whom I can trust and depend on. Other participants had never intended to disclose their immigration status to their Robin Hood friends as Ou did, but after associating with those particular friends for a while, their friends simply learned about who they were through the conversations they had daily. Wat asserted: You don t need to say Yes, I am a Robin Hood just like you. But when we become friends, we don t have to be careful about the words we say. They can learn during the flow of our conversations that I am just like them. And there is no need for them to say Oh! You are also a Robin Hood. That s amazing! We just recognize that we are the same and our relationships become reciprocal We have shared necessary information and helped each other if any problem occurs. The above statement indicates the circle of trust among those who shared common experiences as illegal residents of this country. My participants felt that all Thai Robin Hoods were the same they did not feel that they were different despite the fact that each of them was from different backgrounds. Some of them came from richer families, worked in higher level professions while they were in Thailand, or had more prestige in 191

201 Thailand as their parents were in the high government posts. However, when they all became Robin Hoods their backgrounds were not important anymore. Their focus is on the present they only think about who they are at the present moment. The research participants also mentioned that in addition to avoiding asking people about their immigration status, one should not call anyone Robin Hood, illegal immigrant, or visa overstayer during their face-to-face conversations. Nai pointed out: Even my close friends who are also the visa overstayers will never call me using those labels. In fact, I don t care if they do, but it s like people here seem to avoid talking about immigration stuff. We feel more comfortable when we don t talk about it. From my observations, the thing that Nai mentioned is really true. When I hung out with a group of the research participants, I noticed that they would have never talked about anything related to immigration if I did not ask direct questions. I had also never heard those three labels popped out during our conversations if I did not raise any question regarding the Robin Hoods experiences. For these individuals, those labels seemed to imply discrimination and insult. Some said that if such labels had been used during the conversations that they had with their close friends, they did not have a problem about it. Yet anything about immigration was a subject they would talk about only if it was necessary. Generally, I have learned that immigration status is not a topic my research participants liked to talk about it is a kind of taboo. It seemed to me that these individuals were trying to live like normal people. Thus, they did not want to talk about 192

202 anything that made them feel different from the majority or feel like they were inferior. Notably, as I explained earlier, my research participants mentioned to me that they did not feel inferior to Thai doctors /nurses those with more prestigious jobs or other Thais who possessed legal residential status. Yet I observed that these individuals felt more comfortable if nobody tried to make comparison between them and the majority Thais here. Somehow, they realized that they were breaking the laws, and, definitely, that was not a good thing one should have done. They were not sure that whether or not there would be some Thais who had prejudice against them. Thus, they avoided exposing their status and were unlikely to hear anyone, even those who were Robin Hoods just like them, emphasizing their illegal status that made them feel like they were different or even inferior to the majority Thais in this country. It also became a kind of an obligation among Thai Robin Hoods as each of them avoided talking about his or her illegal status while attempting to blend in with the majority of Thais here. Robin Hood Friends are Preferred but not Necessary All of my research participants accepted that they felt more comfortable when they were with their Robin Hood friends. However, as I illustrated earlier, these individuals did not intend to make friends only with people who were visa overstayers just like them. Their friend networks also included those who were not undocumented immigrants. Since these individuals were full-time employees or restaurant owners, people with whom they usually hung out included current colleagues, former colleagues from previous jobs, or, in case of the restaurant owners, business partners or employees in their own restaurants. For those who once attended language schools or universities in 193

203 the U.S., after their immigration status changed to illegal, most of them lost touch with the friends they knew during their studies. May said that she had several Thai friends while she was studying for her master s degree. Nonetheless, after she graduated and chose to continue living in the U.S. as a Robin Hood, she did not have a chance to hang out with the friends she knew from college anymore: Some of them haven t graduated yet, but I don t have time to hang out with them. I don t even contact them. My lifestyle has been changed. I work five to six day a week. If I meet them, I don t know what to talk to them about. I don t think that they are interested in my waitress job and I am not interested in college life either People whom I usually hang out with are the colleagues who presently work with me or the former colleagues from another restaurant where I once worked. Other research participants provided similar comments regarding how the change in their careers and lifestyles affected the relationships they had with others. They preferred to talk with people who were speaking the same language as they were. Thus, most participants usually hung out with people they knew from work rather than the ones who were not inside their career networks. Only four research participants mentioned their opportunities in becoming associated with Thai people outside their career networks and how they enjoyed staying close to those people. These research participants were Ai, Nan, Ann, and Sun. Since Ai and Nan rented rooms in their house to Thai students, this couple had opportunities to get to know several Thai students, including their own tenants as well as their tenants friends. Ann, a close friend of Nan who lived in the same neighborhood, had also become 194

204 associated with several Thai students. In addition to being associated with Nan and Ai s tenants, Ann also made friends with other Thai students through her husband s network. 33 Sun is another participant who had still kept in touch with several Thai friends whom he knew from graduate school. May, Sun s fiancée, pointed out to me during our informal conversation that since Sun was working for an American company, he had many interesting things regarding his job to talk about. Therefore, his Thai friends who had not graduated yet enjoyed talking to him very much because those people wanted to know about Sun s experience in an American company and often asked for Sun s advice about applying for jobs in the U.S. Individuals who had already graduated and found jobs in American organizations, still enjoyed sharing their experiences in the companies with Sun. May remarked: Working in an American company is interesting. People want to know what it s like. Working in the restaurant is different nothing exciting about it. I can talk about my work with people who are presently working in the restaurant business as I am. They understand what I am talking about I ve never talked to Sun s friends about my work. They ve also never asked me probably because they see nothing interesting about it. Generally, I learned that all of my research participants perceived friendship as an important factor that helped them survive and live happily in this foreign country. Some research participants said that when they chose to live illegally in this country, they had more concerns about their own well-being rather than that of others. Yet they still needed 33 See Ann s profile in APPENDIX B. 195

205 to have friends. At the most basic level, friends are considered very good sources of information. While they were struggling to survive as the undocumented immigrants in this alien culture, the research participants needed someone who could provide them with necessary information regarding jobs, healthcare service for people without insurance, opportunities to own assets, immigration laws, etc. The people they often turned to when they needed such information were their predecessors. From my observations, although the research participants said that they were willing to make friends with any people who were friendly to them, there was still a kind of discrimination going on within their process of making friends. I noticed that some Robin Hoods in my study who did not have master s degrees were not enthusiastic in becoming associated with Thai graduate students. These individuals usually hung out with students who were attending language school but not the ones who were working towards their graduate degrees or already received them (unless they were Robin Hoods just like them). Although they worked in the same restaurants, I could see that my participants had never considered those students their real friends just their colleagues. Notably, comparing between Thais who had green cards and Thais who had higher degrees, I noticed that many research participants seemed to be more comfortable when being associated and hanging out with the former rather than the latter. As I mentioned earlier, although the research participants were unlikely to recognize status differences among Thai people here, some of them still preferred to befriend people who did not possess higher prestige than they did. Probably because these individuals had to cope with sia-dai feeling as they were unable to accomplish their original goal 196

206 (education) which brought them to the U.S., they did not want to hang out with people who reminded them about their failures. Generally, the data from interviews and observations indicate that the research participants in my study seemed to trust their Robin Hood friends more than people who were not undocumented immigrants. Their relationships with their Robin Hood friends are considered reciprocal, and several participants mentioned that they valued such relationships highly. They also recognized that there was no way that they could survive in this country without help from their friends, and it was necessary to help those friends in return whenever they asked for assistance. Thais usually help each other, Nan concluded with a smile. Especially Robin Hoods, we know how difficult it is to live in a foreign country like this. No one cares about us. We can only depend on our people, so we really need to help each other get through difficult times. Chapter Summary In this chapter, I discussed three emergent themes that illustrate how a Robin Hood and Thai identity had been bridged. These three themes are (1) Family Relations; (2) Thai-Ness: Ties that still Bind; and (3) Friendship really does Matter. My findings suggest that there was still a strong bond between the participants and their mother land. All of them expressed their concern regarding their families they left behind. Generally, Thai socio-cultural values still had a large influence on each research participant. Although they lived far away from home, Thai-ness still presented itself in almost every aspect of the research participants lives. These individuals had 197

207 never forgotten their roots. They also preferred to live according to Thai ways rather than American ways. Through the thematic analysis, I also discovered that each research participant viewed friendship as something really important for him or her. These individuals valued friendship since they recognized that it would be very difficult for them to prosper without their friends help. Generally, the research participants seemed to prefer Robin Hood friends because they had much in common with those particular friends. Their relationships with Robin Hood friends could be considered mutual relationships or reciprocity. Generally, all three themes that I discussed in this chapter represent how Thai socio-cultural values influenced the ways research participants adopted and performed their Robin Hood identity. Since I view communication as performance, in the next chapter I will examine all seven themes discussed in this chapter and the previous chapter in the light of literature on identity performance. The concept of liminality will also be brought in as a frame to enhance an understanding of Thai Robin Hoods experiences. The chapter will end with a discussion of the implications and limitations of this study as well as the opportunities it offers for the future research. 198

208 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION In this chapter, I discuss the results of my study in the light of theoretical concepts on liminality and identity performance. The chapter begins with the overview of my research participants identity-shifts and how these individuals perceived their new identities as undocumented immigrants. Next, I discuss the liminal experiences of the research participants followed by a discussion of how these individual performed their Robin Hood identities before different types of audience. The chapter concludes with the implications and limitations of this study as well as the opportunities it offers for future research. Identity Shift: From Legal to Illegal I would like to begin my discussion in this chapter by providing an overview of my research participants identity-shifts and how these individuals perceived their new identities as undocumented immigrants. Through the interviews I learned that by holding student visas or tourist visas when they first entered the country, all of my research participants experienced feelings of privilege. Both student visa holders and tourist visa holders from Thailand are Visitors who are usually welcomed as Guests when they first enter the country. It is important to note here that for Thai citizens, earning American visas is a very challenging process. Generally, they need to bring reference letters from companies they work for as well as any type of document that proves their affluent backgrounds (e.g, a bank statement, a title deed to a piece of land, a share certificate) to the American Embassy as a means of securing their visa approval. These documents help to prove their bonds with Thailand and make the consular believe that 199

209 they do intend to return to their home country, and not stay on to work illegally in the U.S. The challenging process of earning American visas also means that most Thais who have been granted American visas are financially as well as professionally secure. When they arrive here, these individuals bring with them pockets full of money that can enhance the U.S. economy. As such, they expect to be treated like Guests or Customers who have money to pay for any service they have received here. My participants who came here as Self-Funding International Students also enjoyed their privileges in American Universities since they paid more money for their tuition fees compared to Americans. The participants who attended American universities said that the college staff and professors tended to treat them better than international students who received funding from the universities. They were treated like preferred Customers because of the large sum of money they paid in tuition. Due to the challenging process of getting American visas, these individuals felt that they were somehow special and expected that Americans would treat them nicely. When these individuals arrived in the U.S., most of them experienced friendly welcomes from their American hosts. They felt that they even had more privileges over the majority of Americans in many situations. However, when their immigration status changed, this situation shifted. Their new identities no longer brought them privilege and also put them in a liminal state where the sense of belonging had disappeared. During interview sessions, when I asked the research participants if they knew why Thais usually referred to Thai visa overstayers as Robin Hood, all of them said that they were not sure. They knew that Robin Hood was an outlaw character from 200

210 English folklore but did not know exactly how this character could be related to Thai visa overstayers. One thing that the research participants knew for sure was that they were similar to Robin Hood in the sense that both they and Robin Hood broke the laws. Then, each of my research participants provided me different assumptions regarding the reason why Thai visa overstayers were usually referred to as Robin Hood. Some participants thought that they were called Robin Hood because they acted like thieves when they stole/robbed jobs or money from Americans. Some participants watched the movies about the adventure of Robin Hood and learned from the movie that Robin Hood, in fact, was a nobleman. Thus, they believed that Thai visa overstayers were referred to as Robin Hoods based on the fact that most of them came from affluent backgrounds but needed to lower their status to become outlaws. Perhaps it might be correct to say that the Thai Robin Hood identity is constituted of three major characteristics: nobility, robbery, and adventure. Interestingly, many participants seemed to focus on the adventuresome attributes of Robin Hood. They felt that they were having an adventure in the woods like Robin Hood did with the U.S. as the woods. They faced difficulties in the woods like Robin Hood did after he left his nobility to become a thief. It is important to note here that although social justice is another major characteristic of Robin Hood in English folklore, it is not a characteristic of Thai Robin Hoods. Robin Hood is only a label that Thai people used to call undocumented Thai immigrants, and it is not actually related to the myth. This particular label has still retained its social power despite the fact that it is not popularly used like it was in the past. Presently the new generations of Thais usually call undocumented Thai 201

211 immigrants visa overstayers or illegal residents. Yet they have still understood what the label Robin Hood means and recognized the negative connotation that attached to such label. In my analysis, I have learned that the Robin Hood identity is certainly not an ideal identity that my research participants wanted to adopt. Compared to the identity of privilege with which all of them entered the U.S., the Robin Hood identity was inferior in every aspect. Even so, these individuals defined their new selves in a positive light. All of them knew who Robin Hood was, and they were likely to pick only positive attributes of Robin Hood to define their new identities. Each of them also never viewed him- or herself as inferior. Somehow they were still proud of themselves and had a sense of nobility just like Robin Hood a character of English folklore who was a nobleman before becoming a thief and having an adventure in the woods. Although these Thai Robin Hoods realized that they were breaking the laws acting like a thief as Robin Hood did they had an excuse for such actions. These individuals did not think that they were some sort of criminals since they never harmed anyone. Some participants said that, in fact, they did not rob anybody at all. Ou remarked: Americans cannot blame us by saying that we are stealing jobs or money from them. Most of us work for Thai restaurants and Thai restaurants do not hire Americans. Many of us pay taxes to the U.S. government too. We also spend the money we have earned here to rent apartments and buy goods here. Most of us don t send money back home. 202

212 Many other participants provided similar comments. As long as they spent most of their earnings here, it was not like they were robbing anyone. Also, their jobs were not the kinds of jobs reserved for Americans. Thus, nobody could accuse that they were stealing jobs from citizens of this country. And because most of them had health insurance, they did not steal any benefits from American citizens, either. Most of my research participants pointed out that they did not go to hospitals for free services like most undocumented immigrants from Mexico did. All of these rationalizations can be considered the ways my research participants attempted to negotiate their new identities. These individuals had to tell themselves a story in order to reconcile with the new identities. Their senses of privilege disappeared after their identities were shifted from legal to illegal, yet my research participants seemed to be able to accept their situations. They effectively adapted into their new selves and tended to view themselves and their new lives in positive ways. Mead (1934) explores that self is: [S]omething which has a development; it is not initially there, at birth, but arises in the process of social experience and activity, that is, develops in the given individuals as a result of his relations to that process as a whole and to other individuals within that process. This excerpt effectively describes the evolving of self in the case of Thai Robin Hoods. The Thai Robin Hoods in my study gave up their old selves when they adopted new identities in this foreign country. All the new experiences that each of them had gained here caused a process of evolving in to a new self. As most of them said, they became 203

213 more mature while they were here. Each individual was engaged in everyday interactions with others and those interactions affected the way he or she viewed his or her self as well as those of others. Although my research participants seemed to effectively adapt into their new identities after they chose to reside illegally in this country, they still face some dilemmas caused by their illegal status. Literally, their social standing here was lower. Although their former identities (persons from a higher standing position) were suppressed by their new identities (illegal residents/workers), these individuals were struggling to maintain their dignity and self-esteem. The polarity of two identities (legal vs. illegal) also highly impacted their senses of belonging. Their selves were caught in the liminal state betwixt and between two positions as they were parts of both Thai society and American society. Thai Robin Hoods were also parts of the larger Thai society (Thailand), where they possessed higher social standing, as well as the Thai community here, where they did not possess prestige and privilege. A liminal state usually causes dilemmas according to individuals ill-defined and unpredictable positions. The next part of the discussion will focus on the liminal experiences of the Thai Robin Hoods in my study. Turner s (1967) concept of liminality was utilized as a frame to gain a better understanding of how the Thai Robin Hoods were considered liminars (liminal individuals) and how their liminal experiences affected their senses of self and their interactions with others. 204

214 Thai Robin Hoods in the State of Liminality The concept of liminality can be used to clearly describe the experiences of the Thai Robin Hoods in my study. I would like to start my discussion in this part by drawing on Van Gennep s original formulations of liminality upon which Turner expanded 58 years later. The liminal period, according to Van Gennep (1909) and Turner (1967), is the middle stage of rites of passage in societies. It is a period of transition that an individual, an initiate, who, stripped of the social status which he or she once possessed, must go through before being given his or her new status and reassimilated into the society. Coming-of-age rituals are examples of rites of passage in which the liminal period is salient. After an initiate goes through a separation from his family, he needs to pass a test during a liminal period to prove that he is ready for adulthood. If he succeeds, he will be welcomed back into society as an adult (Szakolczai, 2009). The transitional state or liminal period greatly represented my research participants experiences. These individuals were stripped of their legal, higher social status and had been through a liminal period in which they adopted the Robin Hood identity. It is important to note, however, that the Thai Robin Hoods were not similar to the initiates who were undergoing the ritual in the sense that these Thai Robin Hoods were not forced into a liminal state. These individuals made decisions on their own while the initiates who undergoing the ritual were forced by the cultural norms of their tribe to be isolated in a liminal state. The initiates had a sense of powerlessness because their liminal identities and their roles in society were not clearly defined. In contrast to the initiates, the Thai 205

215 Robin Hoods still had a sense of power because they voluntarily chose to be in this liminal state, which many of them perceived as the state of adventure. I consider the Thai Robin Hoods in my study to be still in a liminal state. I am calling this the state of adventure. Some participants mentioned many new and valuable experiences they had gained after they became undocumented immigrants. Some said that they became more mature or even new persons. This reinforces the notion of identity as a dynamic process. These Thai Robin Hoods, similar to the initiates, were waiting for the day that they would receive their new status and reassimilate into society. However, these Thai Robin Hoods could make decisions on their own about the time when they would be ready to reassimilate into society. For my research participants, that day would come when they felt that they already dig enough gold, were bored with their lives in the Land of the Free, or craved to return to their motherland to rest/die in peace there. When these individuals felt that they were done with their lives here, they would step out of the liminal state and return to their home country. In Thailand, these individuals could gain their prestige back, but they would also receive new status as business owners, people with overseas experiences, etc. Most participants told me that they planned to make some investments in Thailand. Thus, these particular individuals could receive their new status (and new identity) as new entrepreneurs. Sun and May, who already received their master s degrees here, would become new employees in Thai organizations and earn more wages based on their American degrees as well as their experiences overseas. No matter what each of them planned to do after they stepped out of the liminal state, they would become someone new in their home country. Their 206

216 journeys and all their adventures abroad would provide them with a new status/identity that certainly differed from the ones they possessed before taking the journey far away from home, thereby making the sojourn worthwhile. Liminality is a conceptual idea that is central to all identity negotiation. Thomassen (2009) pointed out that illegal immigrants can be considered liminal since these individuals are betwixt and between home and host, part of society, but sometimes never fully integrated (p 19). It is clear that this understanding dovetails well to the Thai Robin Hoods in my study. These individuals were a part of the Thai community in a U.S. metropolis where many Thais are located. Thai-ness was still dominant in the Thai community there. My research participants preferred to stay close to other Thais and lived their lives according to Thai ways rather than embrace American ways. Yet it was inevitable that they were still surrounded by mainstream Americans. They could not completely shut themselves off from mainstream American culture and traditions. All of them worked in the service business which required them to encounter American customers every day. They were caught betwixt and between their home country culture and the host culture. They were part of American society but never fully integrated into it based on their ethnicity as well as their illegal status that put them in between in the cracks of American social structure, but not outside or on the edges of it. In addition, the research participants efforts in retaining Thai-ness as well as their preferences in staying close to people from their home country prevented these individuals from assimilating into American culture. All of them were trying to learn about American culture and traditions just to make sure that they would not do anything 207

217 stupid that would make Americans laugh at or look down upon them. Ironically, however, they were unenthusiastic about becoming Americans. Even those who had raised their children here did not want their children, who were American citizens, to be absolute Americans either. These parents were trying to instill Thai-ness into their children s minds. They taught their children about Thai culture and traditions, and even sent their children to learn Thai language and culture at the Thai temple. According to Chan (2005), immigrants positions in a liminal state, where they are neither in their homeland nor completely assimilated into the host culture, allow them to refuse or critique the hegemonic discourses of their homeland and the host society (also see Naficy, 1993). The Thai Robin Hoods in my study, however, never questioned or try to resist either the host culture or their home country culture. Although they embraced Thai culture and values, they also tried to adapt themselves into American culture to the extent that they could live happily and comfortably in this foreign country. Turner (1969) differentiates between liminality (in between), marginality (on the edge), and inferiority (beneath). He also coined the term outsi derhood (the state of being outside of the social structure) in separation from those three. Based on the basic premise of these four terms, I argue that by using an undocumented identity as a criterion for gaining an insight into Thai Robin Hoods experiences, my participants were likely to be in the state of liminality in between the American social structure not on the edge, beneath, or outside. Thai Robin Hoods were not marginal individuals who had been pushed to the edges of society and out of a position of power or influence, since they were engaged in the socio-economic process of city life. Marginal individuals, 208

218 according to Turner (1974), have no choices in the matter. Their situations promise no resolutions. Turner (1974) defines marginality as the state of simultaneously belonging to two or more social or cultural groups with no assurance about the time of ending. We cannot deny that Thai Robin Hoods were marginal in the sense that they were ethnic minorities in this country and caught in tensions between two different cultures Thai vs. American. These individuals were powerless because their race positioned them to be minorities and subordinate to Americans. But their illegal status did not put them in a marginal state they had choices, and there were still some resolutions available for them. For instance, they could get married to Americans in order to change their illegal status back to legal, apply for the green card lottery, or even go back home to gain their prestigious status back. For Turner, inferiority is similar to marginality in the sense that both of them refer to a position of powerlessness. Yet the inferior individuals are beneath the social structure because they are economically inferior, while the marginal individuals are pushed to the edges of the social structure for social reasons (e.g., race, religion). For my research participants, although these individuals were illegal workers, their earnings were more than those of many international students who applied for jobs here after graduating. Additionally, none of them had to send money back home. Most of them were single; thus, they worked only to support themselves. Most of these individuals still had families in Thailand who were willing to provide them with financial support if they needed it. In this regard, these Thai Robin Hoods could not be considered inferior since they did not have financial difficulties at all. 209

219 Thai Robin Hoods also were not outsi ders. Unlike inferiority and marginality, as Turner (1974) states, outsiders (i.e., hippies, hobos ) have choices since they can choose their positions. Outsiders might opt out of the system as a means of protesting because they do not believe in it. Yet they can choose to rejoin the system at any time. Thai Robin Hoods too have choices like those outsiders do. However, they did not opt out of the system to protest against it. As a matter of fact, protesting was not a legal thing Thai Robin Hoods could do as it would reveal their undocumented status. These individuals had still been in the system but in the between state in the cracks of the system/social structure. Interestingly, my participants seemed to prefer living in a liminal state while in the U.S. Most of them told me that they had never attempted to change their immigration status back to legal. Because they resided in the cracks, they had become invisible. Yet somehow, they enjoyed this invi sibility and did not want to expose themselves. Turner (1969) states that individuals in a liminal period are structurally invisible. They are neither here nor there; they are in betwixt and between the positions assigned and arrayed by law, custom, convention, and ceremony (Turner, 1969, p. 95). Since my research participants were not members of the majority group of illegal workers, like Mexicans, they did not attract the DHS 34 officials attention. Generally, these individuals could spend their lives here without being worried about the DHS. They seemed to be invisible in those officials eyes. 34 The United States Department of Homeland Security 210

220 My participants also believed that it was safer for them to remain invisible. Thus, they tried to remain secretive about their immigration status. These individuals also did not care much about the host culture. As I mentioned earlier, they never attempted to assimilate into American culture. Although they were in American culture, they remained invisible in the cracks of the society. These individuals did not have to do any American civic duties. They did not have to participate in any national ceremony or tradition. They had their own private spheres in the society and preferred not to attract attention from the mainstream. This type of structural invisibility also provided them with freedom of movement or mobility. Turner s ritual initiates have little freedom of movement due to the strict nature of the ritual process. However, when applying the idea of liminality to people outside of the ritual realm, such as Thai Robin Hoods, the liminal state provided these individuals with great mobility. Because they did not tie themselves to the system, these individuals could move to anywhere they wanted at any time. Most of my research participants, except those who were restaurant owners or those who worked for American companies, received cash for their wages and did not earn any benefits from their employers (e.g., bonus, retirement benefit). As such, they were free to move to another restaurant, another city, another state, or even go back to Thailand whenever they wanted. Yet the most stable aspect of their selves is still the Thai community. Notably, most of my research participants had never tried to associate with Americans. They stuck with their own people, especially those who were Robin Hoods just like them. As Turner (1967) points out, the group of liminal individuals is a 211

221 communal group in which all are equal, not a group with a typical social hierarchy. [They have] no status, insignia, secular clothing, rank, kinship position, nothing to demarcate them structurally from their fellows (p. 98). My analysis suggests that my participants were equal. They did not establish a typical social hierarchy within the group. Although some of them came from more affluent backgrounds or had higher degrees, my experience with them indicates that each participant still felt equal to their fellows. All of them recognized their identities and those of their fellows as undocumented immigrants/workers. However, it is important to note that these individuals still used age as a criterion to establish a hierarchy within the group. Thai people always respect elders; therefore, there was still a status difference based on age within a communal group of liminal Thai individuals. But mostly, these individuals felt that all of them were the same based on their undocumented identities and the common experiences they shared as undocumented immigrants in this country. I also observed that all of my research participants were greatly concerned about being a part of the group. Accordingly, they used the imitation strategy as a means to help them fit in the group. These individuals usually observed their fellows behaviors and then imitated them in order to get along with others and gain acceptance from their peers. The strategy of imitation employed by my participants can be related to the notion of mimesis. Szakolczai (2009) expanded upon Turner s idea of liminality by connecting it to the notion of mimesis or the imitative aspect of human behaviors. According to Szakolczai, in aliminal situation where certainties are lost, imitative behavior escalates (p. 155). When an individual is in a liminal situation, he or she 212

222 typically cannot act rationally because the structure on which objective rationality was based has disappeared; and because the stressful, emotive character of a liminal crisis prevents clear thinking (p. 154). Accordingly, liminal individuals will adopt a mimetic behavior they will look at concrete individuals for guidance. My participants used imitation strategies to survive and live happily in this country. They observed and imitated others, and some of them even considered those others their role models. Mimetic behavior is a communicative act that seemed to be crucial to my participants survival in the U.S. In some ways, becoming adapted in mimesis was crucial to the Thai Robin Hood identity. Their mimetic behaviors also related to identity performance. I will discuss this issue later in this chapter by bringing in Goffman s concept of dramaturgy and facework to account for the identity performance of Thai Robin Hoods. Although Szakolczai (2009) argues that liminal individuals cannot act rationally due to the stressful, emotive character of liminal situations that prevents clear thinking, I want to suggest that my research participants were still able to act rationally. These individuals looked for guidance to reduce their own risk to decrease the degree of uncertainty. I think that Szakolczai s argument is based on his assumption that liminal individuals have no choices. They are forced into a liminal state/situation. As such, the liminal state/situation for those who are forced into it will be like a crisis full of stressfulness and emotiveness. But for my research participants, all of them had choices even before they located themselves in a liminal state before they became undocumented immigrants. They could go back to their home country before their visa expired, or they could purchase the I-20 from language schools to maintain their legal 213

223 status. However, these individuals did not select those options. They were willing to put their lives in a liminal state a state of adventure. These individuals did not perceive the choice they made as a kind of crisis situation. Accordingly, they still had clear thoughts about their experiences. When they sought concrete individuals to imitate or to ask for guidance, they also knew to whom they should have turned. They chose particular individuals who were the experts on the subjects about which they were seeking guidance. They made sure that the persons who they chose to be their role models were good enough for those roles. My participants also imitated carefully and strategically. As some participants pointed out, they imitated only good things and ignored bad things. Some said that they had to imitate some bad behaviors (i.e., gambling, materialism) of their peers in order to fit in the groups. Nonetheless, they were able to separate between good and bad behaviors. The concept of liminality can also be applied to my participants experiences on a smaller scale. These individuals were betwixt and between the Thai society in Thailand and the Thai community in a U.S. metropolis. These individuals possessed higher social status when they were in Thailand. While they were here, however, their illegal identities made their social status inferior. Accordingly, it was difficult for them to feel fully integrated into the Thai community where the majority of its members consisted of those who were legal residents and those who held temporary visas. When applying the concept of liminality to the experiences of the Thai Robin Hoods on a smaller scale, I discerned that these individuals seemed to have more tensions when they were caught in this subliminal state compared to their positions in the cracks of the American society. They 214

224 could not remain invisible in the cracks of the Thai community. Therefore, they had to be cautious and never did anything that made others perceive them as bad Thais. In some sense, their freedom was decreased when they were surrounded by other Thais. Additionally, these individuals involuntarily became inferior to many Thais here, who, while in Thailand, possessed lower social standing than they did. As such, they needed to find a way to negotiate their identities, maintain their dignity, and use communication strategies to make Thais with legal status realize that they were not inferior. These individuals also had to maintain good relationships with Thais with legal status here because they did not want to create enemies who could inform the DHS about their illegal status. Generally, their lives within the Thai community seemed to create more tensions for them than their lives in the larger scale society. Because these individuals were more concerned about people from their home country, they needed to negotiate their identities to satisfy both themselves and their own people, and that could cause major dilemmas in their lives. Turner s (1969) views liminality as a transitional state that has a temporal concern; it is a temporary state with promising solutions. However, most of my research participants did not have concrete plans about stepping out of the liminal state to gain their legal status back yet. All of them said that they would go back to Thailand for sure but could not tell when exactly. All of them were still addicted to gold and the free lifestyles they had earned here. As such, they were willing to continue staying in this liminal state. It is essential to point out, however, that, since liminal individuals like my research participants were betwixt and between positions, they did not belong anywhere. 215

225 They lost a sense of belonging as they could not completely fit in the majority group of Thais here (since most Thais possessed legal status) and were unable to integrate into American society either. Therefore, these liminal individuals preferred to stick together and formed a communal group that made them feel safe and warm. My participants mentioned to me that they preferred to befriend other Thai Robin Hoods. Luckily, the city where I conducted this study had a large population of undocumented Thai immigrants. As such these individuals had their own people on whom they could rely. In sum, through thematic analysis and observations, I learned that it is not always true that someone with inferior status must also possess an inferior identity. Selfconception that one attributes to him- or herself is very important to his or her identity constitution and development. The concept of liminality offers a different view in defining people with inferior status like my research participants. It also helps enhance an understanding of these individuals experiences as they were struggling betwixt and between two positions and how they communicatively negotiated their positions. My research participants were not inferior. They were not marginalized individuals either. These individuals were liminars the liminal individuals who preferred to remain invisible and enjoyed their free lifestyles in the cracks of the American social structure. Although they had to lower their status due to the blue collar service industry jobs here, they were still proud of themselves. More importantly, these liminal individuals still had senses of power. They chose to be in this liminal state and could step out of it anytime they wanted to. Although Turner uses the terms liminality to explain a transitional period in cultural rites/rituals of 216

226 passage that has a natural end to it when people pass through such period, I suggest that we can (and do) separate liminality from ties and rituals of passage. When applying the idea of liminality to people outside of the ritual realm like the Thai Robin Hoods in my study, it is clear that this liminal state is no more temporally bond. These individuals chose to dwell in liminality. All of them realized that besides returning to Thailand, there were other options available for those who wanted to change their status back to legal while still residing in the U.S. (e.g., getting married to Americans, applying for the green card lottery). However, most of them told me that they were not enthusiastic in taking their chances by choosing any of those options. They were happy and felt comfortable with their lives in a liminal state. Typically, the term liminality had a negative connotation attached to it. It is a transitional state which is ill-defined and unpredictable. People who are caught in a liminal state were likely to face a major dilemma; thus, they hope to step out of this transitional state as soon as possible. However, the results of my study suggest otherwise. My research participants voluntarily remained in liminality. This study can be used as a case study to illustrate how people with non-privilege identities enjoyed their lives in this unpredictable, transitional state where they received little attention from the majority and could enjoy their lives the way they wanted. When I applied the concept of liminality to gain a better understanding of Thai Robin Hoods experiences, one important thing that I discovered was that since illegal status was not a major concern of my participants, these individuals did not really struggle in-between a legal and illegal position. As my analysis suggests, most participants spent their lives as legal residents did and did not try to change their 217

227 immigration status back to legal. Therefore, they were likely to be caught in a liminal state where cultural differences were their major concern rather than illegal status. Turner (1967) suggests that in a liminal state in the interstices of social structure an individual is most aware of him- or herself. My participants seemed to be aware of their selves in this adventure state. They had opportunities to learn about their potentials, what they were doing, and what they wanted for their lives. Yet they needed to present to others who they were to make others understand that they, in fact, were not inferior individuals, even though their illegal status made them look that way. The next section is my discussion regarding how my research participants performed their Thai Robin Hood identities as they attempted to improve their tarnished images and gain acceptance from others. Through thematic analysis and observations, I discovered that my participants cared about their own standing in the eyes of others and they typically used mimesis or mimetic behaviors as a communicative act to help them get along with their peers and the majority of Thais here. Goffman s concept of dramaturgy and facework are used as conceptual frameworks to enhance an understanding of how my participants performed their Robin Hood identities in front of different types of audience and how mimesis became a vital part of their performances when they attempted to save their faces as well as those of others who were engaged in the performances. Performing the Thai Robin Hood Identity In this part, I discuss the results of my study in the light of the dramaturgical concept and the notion of face. One significant aspect that I discovered during my observations was that the notion of face was salient among the group of these Thai 218

228 Robin Hoods. Each of them was highly concerned about his or her face and image. In Thai culture, the notion of face is dominant, and to make someone lose face is a social taboo that needs to be avoided at all cost (Ukosakul, 2009). Even for those who had resided in the U.S. for more than ten years, interestingly, the notion of face still had a large influence on each of them. Accordingly, these individuals were mostly engaged in performance in order to either preserve or promote their faces. I found that Goffman s idea regarding self-presentation and facework pertained to and helped explain my participants behaviors and their concerns regarding face. Goffman (1959) views interaction as a performance shaped by environment and audience, constructed to provide others with impressions being consonant with the desired goals of actors. Performance happens in any social encounter. Goffman (1955) argues that the goal of the social encounters is to maintain face, which he defines as the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact (p. 213). Through the analysis of the discourses and fieldnotes data, I want to propose that my participants attempted to create impressions using various types of communication strategies. In fact, they put on performance for my (researcher s) benefits as well. Their major goal in performing was to maintain f ace. Yet I observed that they employed different strategies to achieve that goal in front of different types of audience. In Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, I pointed out that the situational approach to self and society should be effectively explain my research participants identity enactment since I tried to make sense of how these individuals adapt to different situations after their 219

229 identities changed from legal to illegal. The situational approach views society as always in the process of being constructed through the interpretations and definitions of individuals in situations (Blumer, 1969). In order to accomplish their goals, individuals will identify the things that need to be taken into account for themselves, act on the basis of those identifications, an attempt to fit their lines of actions with others in the situations (Stets & Burke, 2005, p. 128). In my analysis of the narratives, I observed that when each research participant performed their Thai Robin Hood identities, they identified their goals, audience, as well as the contexts in which those performances would occur. Self-conceptions also played a vital role when these individuals put on their performances before different types of audiences. Stryker (2000) claims that selfconceptions or meanings individuals attribute to themselves are critical to actions and interactions. As I described earlier in this chapter, my participants did not view themselves as inferiors. Their self-conceptions were based on the positive attributes of Robin Hoods, the character from English folklore. As such, they tried to present those positive attributes in front of their audience to make them realize that they were not inferiors in any respect. Although the research participants goal in performing their Robin Hood identities was to create impressions, they used various strategies in their performances based on who the audience was. My analysis indicates that my research participants preferred to stay close to other Thais. However, since they worked in the service business, they had to encounter people from other cultures, especially Americans, every day. Most Americans did not suspect that they were illegal immigrants. But if they encountered Americans who 220

230 knew about their illegal status, they wanted this particular audience to realize that they were better than the majority of undocumented immigrants in this country (Mexicans or those from other Latin American countries). My research participants felt that Americans should not have stereotyped them as being poor and less educated like most undocumented immigrants in this country. As such, they tried to defend their faces or images of selves when encountering Americans by using different types of selfpromotion strategies. For example, some used stylish clothes and jewelry to show off their affluent backgrounds, while some used their fluent English to communicate their better education backgrounds. Goffman (1967) suggests that individuals only make face claims in relation to positively-valued social attributes. In his view, face is not associated with negative attributes, except in so far as individuals claim not to possess them. In this respect, face and identity are not the same. The attributes associated with face are only positive ones, but the attributes associated with identity consist of both negatively, neutrally evaluated characteristics as well as positive characteristics (Spencer-Oatey, 2007). While the Robin Hood identity s attributes include both negative (i.e., illegal, liminal) and positive (i.e., independent, mature) characteristics, the face of undocumented Thai immigrants as my research participants attempted to claim is only associated with positive attributes like rich, well-educated, independent, etc. The Thai Robin Hoods in my study did not want American audiences to mistake their faces. They could not reject the negative characteristics of their Robin Hood identities, but they were up against all negative attributes that threatened their faces. 221

231 Goffman (1959) points out that when performing, an individual develops an identity or a persona as a function of interaction with others through an exchange of information that allows for more specific definitions of identity and behavior. Goffman further argues that an individual also uses a front to define the situation for audiences in performance. The front includes the use of a physical setting, props, and the individual s appearance and manners. The individual has to carefully select from a set of finite and predefined fronts. To present a compelling front, the individual needs to fill the duties of the social role and communicate the activities and characteristics of the role to audience in a consistent manner. My analysis suggests that when my participants tried to achieve their roles as an undocumented immigrants who are better than the majority undocumented immigrants, the fronts they used in their performance usually included their fluent English, their stylish clothes and jewelry, as well as their social manners such as friendliness and diligence. Some participants realized that since they and their audience came from different cultural backgrounds, their audience might have interpreted their acts in the wrong ways. Goffman (1959) suggests that when information is conveyed explicitly, it is given (actor s intentional expression). Yet the messages are also impacted by the subtle and perhaps unconscious message being given off (actor s unintentional expression) by actors as well as the intention that audiences might infer. When my participants attempted to convey information about their positive attributes to impress their American audience, they needed to be cautious about the unconscious messages that were given off. Cultural differences could cause a major failure in a performance when given off signs 222

232 were interpreted in a wrong way. For example, I knew that Wat wanted to adopt the role of a hard-working person to impress his restaurant manager, who was an American. When I adopted the role of participant-as-observer at his restaurant, however, I noticed that Wat was a kind of hyperactive person. He often walked around the dining area and paid attention to everything that he saw. When I noticed such behaviors, I started to wonder how the manager would perceive Wat s actions. She might have perceived him as a fussy person rather than a hard-working person. As such, it was possible that his efforts in creating positive impressions might have failed. When my participants encountered other Thais who possessed legal status, their performances of the Thai Robin Hoods identity were different from their performances in front of American audience. Although they also wanted to impress this particular audience by showing off their competencies, they employed different types of communication strategies. Generally, my participants tried to maintain secrecy about their illegal status. Yet after they dropped out of schools or still remained in this country after graduating for a year, other Thais could have guessed that their immigration status had already changed to illegal. My participants said that, however, other Thais who associated with them seemed not to pay attention to the termination of their studies. Em remarked: I think that they did not want me to feel embarrassed. My colleagues just asked Do you still go to school? When I said no I quit. They did not ask more questions. Some said that they felt sia-dai for me and that s it. They did not talk or ask about my study again. 223

233 Most participants told similar stories. Other Thais around them learned about their status through their own observations. However, those individuals avoided asking or talking about it. It was like they were trying to help these Thai Robin Hoods save face. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, immigration status was a kind of taboo topic for Thai people here. Thai people in general realized that when one needed to lower his or her status to work illegally in this country, he or she might have felt ashamed about it. Accordingly, they avoid talking about that person s immigration status because they did not want to embarrass him or her. As I already pointed out, the notion of face is salient in Thai culture, and to make someone lose face is a social taboo that needs to be avoided at all cost (Ukosakul, 2009). As such, most Thais whom my participants had encountered were engaged in facework as they tried to save face of these Thai Robin Hoods. Goffman (1963) states that face saving is not just a process of the social actor, but of the audience as well. There are social protocols for helping someone maintain and save face: avoidance mechanisms, overcompensation, and apology. Typically, Thais who encountered Thai Robin Hoods utilized avoidance mechanisms to help these individuals maintain or save their faces. The Thai Robin Hoods in my study seemed to like this particular protocol. These individuals also tried to blend in with the majority of Thais here. Therefore, they did not like others to mention their inferior status or to make them feel like they were different from the mainstream. From my observations, my participants did not pay much attention to status differences, but they were still concerned with the impressions and evaluations of other Thais with legal status. Leary and Kowalski (1995) point out that even though people do 224

234 not always care about others evaluations of them, sometimes they seem to starve for affection and acceptance. Recent failure experiences usually heighten an individual s attempts to gain approval from others. Leary and Kowalski (1995) further argue that failure heightens the desire of approval for two reasons. First, if one s shortcomings are public knowledge, he or she will want to enhance his or her image in the eyes of others to repair the damage caused by such failure. Because people realize that evaluations of others could have vital consequences for them, they are usually motivated to forestall negative social repercussions of failure. Second, others appraisals are a major determinant of how one perceives and evaluates him- or herself (Leary & Kowalski, 1995). Cooley (1922) and Mead (1934) point out that individuals feelings of self-worth partly depend on evaluations of them by others. Individuals can raise their feelings of self-esteem by obtaining positive evaluations from others. Failure normally causes them to doubt their self- perceptions of competence and worth. The individuals can enhance their positive perceptions towards themselves by engaging in communication strategies that help them promote themselves and obtain favorable reactions from others. Most of my research participants came to the U.S. to study in order to make themselves cool. However, only five of them succeeded in achieving their original goals. The rest had to turn their attention to something else (i.e., making money, opening his/her own restaurant) to cope with their sia-dai feelings. Although the interview data indicated that these individuals seemed not to care about their failures in education, I observed that most of them still shunned themselves from other Thais who were working 225

235 towards their higher degrees. They did so probably because they did not want to be reminded of their failures. It seemed to me that to some extent such failures still had a large influence on many of my research participants. Because of that, they had tried to gain approval from other Thais, especially those with legal status; they did not want to be perceived as losers. Goffman (1967) states that f ace is emotive representation of self and others. Face is closely associated with the concept of shame (Ukosakul, 2009). In Thai culture, one s face is very fragile and sensitive, and face, once broken, is very difficult to restore (Ukosakul, 1994; 2009). After having failed in education, many participants preferred to be undocumented immigrants in the U.S. rather than go back home with the feelings of shame. Their face /dignity had been damaged because of such failures. While residing here as undocumented immigrants, somehow these individuals still struggled with negative feelings associated with their loss of face. Yet they thought that it was better than going back home since all of them were still able to make a great deal of money and have successful lives here. The Thai Robin Hoods who failed in achieving their goals in education realized that other Thais in the Thai community here knew that they first came here to study but did not have enough potential or enough money to help them achieve their original goals. These individuals self-perceptions of competence and worth were called into question because of their failures. Therefore, they were motivated to create impressions that would elicit acceptance and approval of the majority of Thais here. Each of my research participants who failed to accomplish their goals in education tried to improve their 226

236 tarnished images by employing various kinds of performance strategies. After my research participants images of successful individuals were damaged as they were unable to achieve their goals in education, they attempted to restore such tarnished images by showing that they could become successful in something else. Most of these individuals turned their attention to making money in order to become restaurant owners. Yet those who already had their own businesses and earned their new identities as Thai Robin Hoods with success still did not want to expose their illegal identities to others. They usually let people believe that they were legal residents here (e.g., green card holders, American citizens). Since these individuals owned restaurants, houses, nice cars, these assets became the main props in their performances. Most of their audience (Thai with legal status) did not realize that undocumented immigrants could own restaurants and houses. Accordingly, these Thai Robin Hoods with success seemed to be very successful in their performances as they tried to impress their audience with the particular personas they chose to adopt. Goffman (1955) suggests that an individual must work towards a particular image for him- or herself and work to maintain it once achieved. He further argues that when an individual s place in society is solidified, whether voluntarily or not, he or she will act accordingly to avoid people and places that will elicit conflict or put f ace in danger. Goffman s ideas illustrate well the experiences of my participants who were restaurant owners. These individuals tried to maintain the images they created. Since they have been successful in their performances, they avoid anything that could threaten their faces /images. These restaurant owners usually socialized with their employees and 227

237 stopped going to chaotic places like Thai karaoke bars where they could encounter many strangers. Although they indicated that they were tired with running their business and did not crave entertainment anymore, I thought that they probably also wanted to avoid people who knew about their illegal status or those who were curious about their immigration status. These individuals places in society were solidified, and they were very happy with that. Therefore, they avoided placing themselves in situations that would put their faces in danger. By keeping to their audience and avoiding others who might have learned the truth about their illegal status, the face /image that they tried to maintain were still safe in its place. Other participants who did not have American degrees and were still the restaurant employees tried to project their desired images to raise their feelings of selfesteem as well. Since their new goal after quitting their studies was to make money, they showed off their accomplishments through their earnings or through assets or expensive commodities they used that money to buy. Many of them maintained their lavish lifestyles that included playing golf, gambling, dining out several times a week, and shopping activities that are often considered performances of middle class success. For those who had American degrees, in addition to using expensive materials and/or lavish lifestyles as props, their performances of the Robin Hood identity before the Thai audience with legal status included the fronts that displayed their success in education as well. For instance, May said that when she encountered other Thais with legal status who did not know that she already had her master s degree, she often strategically performed her well-educated Robin Hood identity in front of that particular audience. 228

238 Before beginning her performance, May defined her audience and situations and then carefully selected the best f ront that would help her accomplish her performance s goal. Goffman (1956) claims that in all social interactions, actors are constantly altering their presentations based on their assumptions about what is acceptable in the situation and the reactions that they receive from others. May used Thai socio-cultural values as standards to define what would be acceptable in the setting before she selected a front for her performance. She realized that Thais preferred a humble person; therefore, she had to find an indirect strategy that would help her promote herself while still able to maintain her face during her performance. For example, she often talked about her life in graduate school or her plan to apply for a job after returning to Thailand. According to May, somehow using circumlocutions or beating about the bush seemed to be an effective communication strategy when dealing with Thai people. Sun and Ann, who also received their master s degrees from American universities, conveyed similar ideas. Both of them thought that their master s degrees were their signs of success. However, if they wanted to show off their success to their audience, they needed to do it strategically by employing indirect communication strategies. Nimanandh and Andrews (2009) point out that Thailand is a high-context culture where people are often engaged in a more indirect communication strategy. Highcontext cultures are homogenous and collectivist. People from high-context cultures normally used indirect communication strategy, and maintaining harmony as well as saving face are overriding goals of communication (Nimanandh & Andrews, 2009). 229

239 Both Sun and Ann also told me that since they worked for American organizations, 35 their jobs were signs of their success as well. Since most Thai Robin Hoods worked in Thai restaurants, these two individuals seemed to be proud that they had better opportunities in their careers than their peers. When they encountered Thais with legal status, and if they had an opportunity to tell them about their jobs, they would do so proudly. In my view, when my research participants encountered those who were Robin Hoods just like them, they did not try to show off their success like the ways they did in front of Americans or Thais with legal status. Those who owned restaurants or had master s degrees were proud of their success. Sometimes they wanted to show off their success in order to feel good about themselves, but not because they intended to compete with their Robin Hood peers. These individuals realized that Thai people in general did not like people who tried to show off their success/competence they usually preferred humble people. As such, my research participants usually avoided showing off their competence when encountering their Robin Hood fellows in order to maintain their relationship. If one wanted to show off his competence, at the very least, he or she needed to use an indirect communication strategy like Sun did. Sun told me that if he wanted to show off his success to his Robin Hood friends, talking about his job in an American company was considered a better strategy than talking about his Master s degree: I can tell them that I am working for a software company, but my salary is really lousy (laugh). They will not be jealous or feel bad if they hear that. Many of them 35 Ann worked for the bun shop that was managed in an American style. 230

240 earned more money than I do from the server job. Yet working in an American company is still jeng (cool) anyway. I can ouad (show off) to them about that but let them know that I am not better than they are. At the very least, they are richer than me (laugh). Sun s statement illustrates the strategy he used in his performance of his Robin Hood identity. Although he wanted to show off his coolness, he still tried to save the faces of his Robin Hood friends. By doing this, he always stayed inside the group. Goffman (1955) contends that social relationship etiquette includes not destroying the presented face of anyone in the group. Sun, along with many other participants, was engaged in social relationship etiquette when he tried to save the faces of other Robin Hoods by not referring to them by using inferior labels (i.e., Robin Hood, visa overstayer) during their face-to-face communications. My participants also avoided showing off their success since it could make their Robin Hood friends feel that they were looking down upon them. In some sense, it became etiquette among Thai Robin Hoods when each of them tried not to make his or her fellows lose face or feel bad about their situations. In my analysis, I also noted that my participants tried to fit in the group. Therefore, the use of mimesis or imitation strategy became a major tool that assisted them in getting along with their peers. These individuals observed their Robin Hood friends to see what f ronts were acceptable for the roles they wanted to play to impress their Thai Robin Hood audience. Goffman (1959) argues that to make a performance succeed, a front must be in line with the audience s expectations. My participants tried to select f ronts that were in line with their Robin Hood friends (audience) 231

241 expectations. For instance, when someone observed that their Robin Hood friends did not like talking about immigration, he or she did not talk about it either. When someone did something against the mainstream Thai Robin Hoods for example, when Orm did not try to conceal her illegal status her performance of the Thai Robin Hood identity upset her audience. Orm was complained about by her colleagues (audience) when she acted like she never cared about keeping her illegal status as a secret. She talked about her immigration status with anyone at any time she wanted to. Her performance, which was not in line with the audience s expectations, almost caused some breaking in friendship. Goffman (1956) suggests that actors avoid actions that are inconsistent with ideal standards of a performance. Inconsistency in appearances and manners may confuse and upset audience. In Orm s case, her actions were inconsistent with ideal standards of a Thai Robin Hood identity performance. The majority of Thai Robin Hoods thought that a Robin Hood should not be a big mouth. He or she was expected to remain secretive about his or her status, be humble/effaceable, and provide help for his or her Robin Hood fellows. From my observation, Orm was humble and also very generous to her Robin Hood friends. However, her big mouth manner was inconsistent with other manners ( fronts ) and ideal standards of performance. Consequently, her performance confused her audience and troubled them. As my research participants tried to fit in their groups, they needed to perform their identities by selecting proper fronts to gain acceptance from their peers. Goffman (1956) claimed that [w]hen an actor takes on an established social role, usually he finds that a particular front has already been established for it Fronts tend to be selected, not 232

242 created (p. 28). He also argues that [a] self, then, virtually awaits the individual entering a position; he needs only conform to the pressure on him and he will find a me ready-made for him (Goffman, 1961, pp ). In order to become parts of the group, the Thai Robin Hoods in my study had to select f ronts that were already available. Generally, they needed to play the role of a humble, generous person who remained secretive about their illegal status. But because fronts were already made, and waited for an individual to enter a position to select them, this meant that somehow an individual could not be creative. The individual also needed to deal with the pressure of being forced to select the fronts that he or she did not really like. Yet because those fronts were best suited to his or her role and would make his or her performance succeed, he or she had no choice. During the course of my fieldwork, I also consistently noticed that my research participants attempted to create performances to impress me. Since I hold legal immigration status, it should not be surprising that most of my research participants utilized the self-promotion strategy to impress me just like the way they did when they encountered other Thais with legal status. They wanted me to perceive them as successful individuals or a Thai Robin Hood with a good life by playing the role of good host. I was often invited to their houses/apartments to have lunch or dinner. Those who owned restaurants usually gave me discounts and sometimes the meals were on the house. When I went to Thai karaoke bars with my research participants, I never had to pay. I had conducted the study there for three months, but most of my research participants, especially my old friends, still treated me as if I was their guest. 233

243 During the course of interviews and when I had informal conversations with my participants, I also noticed that they strategically used their narratives to impress me. I viewed the ways these individuals used their narratives to create impressions as a kind of performance. As Langellier and Peterson (2004) suggest, the telling of the story is considered a performance, and this kind of performance can happen anywhere. Langellier (2003) also argues that stories about personal experiences are made, not found. To approach personal narrative as performance, one needs to focus on strategy, situation, and the social conventions that constitute and constrain narratives. I realized that my participants made their personal experience stories for me they made those stories to be an experience for me. As Peterson and Langellier (2006) point out, narrative can be understood either as a making (of experience for listeners) or as a doing (talking, telling, and listening). When I watched the performances that my participants put on in front of me, I explored their performances by focusing on both a making and a doing. I experienced what they tried to communicate (stories) through the fronts (performative aspects) they used in their performances. Peterson and Langellier (1997) argue that personal narrative changes in different contexts. The performative aspects ( fronts ) that an actor selects to use when telling his or her story can change depending on contexts and who the audience is. Personal narrative, therefore, is not given as a text; rather, [it] is a strategic practice of texualizing and contexualizing performance (Peterson & Langellier, 1997, p. 141). Since a narrative is astrategic practice in its occurrence (Peterson & Langellier, 1997, p. 141), it means that individuals usually present their narratives for some 234

244 purposes. To achieve their goals, the individuals will employ some strategies in telling stories. I realized that all of my research participants want to create impressions. They wanted me to perceive them as individuals who were successful and happy with their lives. Although the narratives that most participants presented to me included the stories about their failures (i.e., failure in obtaining degrees or running business, getting fired from a former job), they strategically mentioned about those in the ways that did not make themselves look like losers. For example, some of them made a joke about their failures as if there were something funny and nothing important about those failures. Some told the stories about their failures and then remarked that they did not care about those anymore. Some said that at the present they were happy with their lives, and they thought that their failures in the past were like lessons that made them smarter and stronger. Mostly, my participants avoided talking about their failures if I did not raise questions related to them. The stories I heard from them were often related to their success in making money, running businesses, or making their parents proud. Langellier and Peterson (2004) point out that by performing narrative, people can make sense of their experiences and claim identities. I observed that when my participants told me their stories, they tried to claim their identities as successful individuals the same way they did in front of other Thais with legal status. I realized that my identity as a doctoral student somehow reminded some participants about their shortcomings in obtaining American degrees. Therefore, these individuals wanted to show me that even though they did not succeed in education like I did, they were successful in something else and very 235

245 happy about that. These individuals tried to maintain their self-esteem and used successful life stories as a means to negotiate their identities when encountering me. Interestingly, although my participants tried to show off their success through the stories they told me (i.e., in making money, in running a business), they still tried to stay humble they never wanted to make me feel that they were trying to boast about themselves or to beat me. Many of them made an excuse after telling me their stories regarding their success by saying something like [my success] is something very normal or I was [successful] like many others here. When I praised them for their success, they always praised me back. Somehow it was like we both were engaged in facework to help each other maintain face. Langellier (2003) points out that personal narrative performance constitutes identities and experiences (p. 446). By being engaged in my participants narrative performances, I had an opportunity to learn about my participants experiences as well as the identities they attempted to claim. Their identities Robin Hoods with successful lives were projected through the personal experience stories they told me. Their narratives also became a part of my own experience after I listened, and eventually affected my identity as they became self-reflexivity. No matter what strategies they used in presenting their stories, I realized that my participants tried to negotiate their identities through their narrative performance. As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, my participants tended to view themselves in positive ways. They tried to maintain their selfesteem when negotiating their identities. These individuals sought rationalizations to help them reconcile with their new selves. Then, they perform their personal narratives in 236

246 front of me to claim their Robin Hood with a successful life identities. Generally, I have to admit that the performances that my participants put on in front of me were very successful. I was very impressed by all the fronts they selected, including the narratives they presented. It was hard for me to believe that many of my Robin Hood friends had very successful lives here. All of them seemed to be happy with the decisions they made. Sometimes these individuals made me jealous. Although I have a prestigious status in Thailand as a university lecturer, soon to be Ph.D., I am not rich and have been constrained by many rules and norms that are attached to this prestigious status. I started to imagine, if I had not moved back to Thailand nine years ago and decided to continue staying here as a Robin Hood, what would my life be like? I would probably have owned a restaurant, and if I was still waitressing, I would have had a lot of money in my savings. Either way, I would never be bored with my life since I would have had more freedom than I do now. I could enjoy my life the way I wanted I could enjoy my own self the way I wanted. The results of this study bring to light the experiences of undocumented immigrants who chose to lower their socio-economic status and take labor jobs in a foreign country, yet still had pride in themselves and wanted to communicate to others about their pride and dignity. While I felt that my participants were happy with their lives, living illegally in this country was still difficult compared to their lives back in Thailand. These individuals had to be strong and were willing to take risks when they chose to become Robin Hoods. They had to be self-reliant and also know how to present their selves before others in order to maintain their dignity and self-esteem. Generally, 237

247 these Thai Robin Hoods employed different kinds of communication strategies in performing their identities before different types of audiences. When they encountered Americans, they normally used the self-promotion strategy to make their American audiences feel that they were better than immigrants from other countries. The front they selected (e.g., appearance, manners, props) conveyed information regarding their competent characteristics such as diligent, hard-working, well-educated, and so on. When they encountered Thais who possessed legal immigration status, the participants usually tried to project the image of a successful individual. They used assets, money, expensive commodities, or their American degrees to create impressions. When their Robin Hood peers were the audience, my research participants usually did not want their Robin Hood friends to feel that they were trying to compete with them. They realized that somehow illegal status made people with the Robin Hood identity become more vulnerable, and they did not want to make their Robin Hood friends lose face. Accordingly, both actors and audience were engaged in facework as they were attempting to help each other maintain or save face. My research ties well to the study of Gomberg-Munoz (2010) which focuses on the self-presentation strategies undocumented Mexican immigrants used to defend their dignity and self-esteem. Yet Gomberg-Munoz s main concern was his participants immigration status. In his study, he did not include research participants old selves and their experiences beyond the workplace as factors that could influence individuals sense of self. My findings shed light on how cultural and social backgrounds can impact those with inferior status as they make sense of their new identities and attempt to 238

248 communicate to others about their new selves. Each of my research participants tended to view their Robin Hood identities in a positive light and wanted to present positive attributes of Robin Hood to their audience. However, in their performances of the Thai Robin Hood identity, they needed to negotiate their roles and then select f ronts communicative elements and strategies that suited these new roles as well as their audience. Since there was a strong bond between these individuals and their motherland, my research participants utilized Thai socio cultural values as standards to define which front was proper for each performance. But no matter what kind of front they used, I observed that their goals were to create impressions and to maintain or save face for themselves as well as those of others who were involved in their performances. Implications In my interpretation, the experiences of undocumented immigrants from Thailand were different from those of undocumented immigrants from other countries in many respects. Scholars argue that undocumented status can affect immigrants health risks, their vulnerability in the streets, their ability to combat domestic violence, their chances in labor markets, their wages, and their identities (see Menjiva, 2006). While my study is not representative of all undocumented Thai immigrants in the U.S., at least my participants did not seem to share the experiences of undocumented immigrants from Central and South America. My participants, on the other hand, seemed to live similar lives to those of legal residents. Although their illegal status limits their chance in the labor markets, their earnings are still higher than many of international students who got jobs here after they graduated. Some of them even own assets like houses and restaurants. 239

249 At least, those whom I interviewed seemed not to have dealt with domestic violence, vulnerability in the streets, or health risks, because their living standards are relatively high. These individuals live in nice neighborhoods. All of them have cars, and most of them have health insurance. Although their identities were affected by their illegal status just like other undocumented immigrants, the results don t seem quite the same. It is important to note, however, that these Thai Robin Hoods had personal lives that they might not have shared with me in full. As such, I can only speak to my personal experience with these individuals. This study provides a different view of undocumented immigrants identities and the ways these individuals present themselves and interact with others in social as well as cultural contexts. The findings suggest that undocumented immigrants should not be viewed as a unitary whole, and even Thai Robin Hoods cannot be treated as a unitary whole. Illegal status should not be viewed as the most important factor that affects every immigrant s sense of self after they immigrate to other countries. In fact, their cultural backgrounds in general and social backgrounds in particular, as is the case here, make undocumented immigrants from each country unique in terms of how they view themselves, as well as how they interact with others. The concept of liminality that has been used as an analytical frame in this study generates new knowledge about the self-identity of undocumented immigrants. Some other scholars have also used the liminality as a conceptual framework to study immigrants. However, the illegal identity has still been neglected in those existing studies. This current study offers another view regarding the self-identity of those who 240

250 were betwixt and between their home country s culture and their host s culture. Their illegal status made it difficult for these individuals to fully integrate into the host s culture. However, I am arguing that the participants of my study did not attempt to assimilate into American culture. They preferred to stay in a liminal state where they did not attract attention from the mainstream and could still retain their identity as Thais. These individuals learned just enough about American culture in order to make them in trend. This offers a different view of assimilation. There were some individuals who did not care to integrate themselves into the mainstream. They preferred to maintain their own cultural norms, yet they did not resist the mainstream culture either. They learned about the dominant culture in order to survive and become smart but still chose not to blend in with the mainstream. This study also suggests how the terms inferior and marginality need to be carefully defined in self-identity and communication research. Turner s (1967) idea regarding communitas that consists of three different cultural manifestations (marginality, liminality, and inferiority) casts new light on this issue. Researchers who identified their research participants as marginal or inferior individuals probably need to rethink the terms that better describe their participants identities. They may also need to reconsider the inclusion of the term liminality in their research on identity to describe participants caught between two positions neither here nor there like those who participated in my research. My research also illustrates how self-ascription might be far more important than definitions imposed from the outside. My participants realized that they were illegal 241

251 residents of this country, and their illegal identity largely affected their social status. However, these individuals tended to view themselves in a positive light and focused on positive attributes attached to the label Robi n Hoods (i.e., adventuresome, noble, generous). Also, although they broke the laws, they did not harm anyone. Accordingly, they still had the feelings of self-worth and dignity. Finally, this study expands the idea of face and performance in everyday life as they have been applied to gain a better understanding of the communication strategy employed by Thai undocumented immigrants in various social contexts. Although these individuals voluntarily lowered their status to live illegally in this country, they still wanted to maintain their dignity and face. As such, they attempted to put on performances in order to create impressions and to maintain or save their faces. The Thai Robin Hoods experiences can be utilized as a case study to illustrate how individuals with inferior status adopted particular personas when communicating with different groups of audience in order to improve their tarnished images and maintain selfesteem. Limitations This study was conducted with a group of undocumented Thai immigrants who lived in a metropolis of the U.S.; of course, there are other groups of Thai Robin Hoods who live in other cities around the country. The characteristics of each Thai community might not be the same, and that can have different impacts on the community members experiences. In this study, my analysis indicates that the Thai Robin Hoods in my study preferred Thai-ness, possessed a strong bond with their motherland, attempted to 242

252 maintain harmony with other Thais, and, to some extent, still maintained their dignity. All of these attributes related to their senses of self as well as the ways they interacted with others. Thai Robin Hoods in other Thai communities are probably not similar to the ones who participated in my study. Each city in the U.S. is different in terms of a number of populations, ethnicities, laws, labor markets, etc. Accordingly, the findings of this study should not be generalized across others groups of undocumented Thai immigrants, even the groups that locate in the same country. Another limitation of this study concerns the participants length of stay in the U.S., a factor that largely influences the participants experiences and the ways in which they narrated their life stories. Most participants have resided as illegal residents here for more than ten years. Their lives are kind of secure, and they have been very well adapted into their lives in this foreign country. In some sense they feel as if they were U.S. legal residents. Because of their successful lives, there are no apparent signs that indicate their struggling and dilemmas even though their identities were still those of undocumented immigrants. Only three participants had turned into Robin Hoods recently (5-12 months), and these individuals seemed not to embody their undocumented identities yet. Apparently, there is a big gap between two groups of the research participants of this study. The majority spoke as if they were legal residents (because they have resided here for so long and had secure lives), while the other three still recognized themselves as students or graduates. To find participants who can fill the gap between these two groups will help enhance better understanding of the process in which the Thai Robin Hood identity has been constructed and developed through time. 243

253 Finally, there is a limitation based on the nature of the ethnographic methods that required timing in conducting observations. This ethnographic study had been conducted during the period of three months. I needed to interview 15 participants who lived and worked in the same city but within different locations. Since my research participants did not work at the same sites, I was unable to observe each of them equally. I adopted the role of participant-as-observer at two restaurants by working with some research participants for several days. Thus, I seemed to understand the experiences of some participants more intensively than the others whom I did not have a chance to work with. When I observed the participants outside their work places, I also had the opportunities to spend time with some particular individuals more often than others. Each individual had different lifestyle, and I had to choose which person I would like to follow and observe. Some participants stayed at home all day if they did not have to work, while some preferred going out and hanging out with their friends. I chose to go out with those who loved activities outside their homes because I could observe many interesting aspects of their experiences and their interactions with others. As such, my fieldnotes did not equally cover the experiences of each participant. I had to focus on some particular individuals more than the others because time and other schedule opportunities did not allow me to equally observe all of them. Future Research Directions The general findings of this current study suggest that there are many factors that influence people s sense of self and how they interacted with others in each social context. This research can be utilized as a case study to enhance an understanding of self- 244

254 identity and communication strategies employed by an ethnic minority group with socalled inferior status. A potential research project stemming from this current study might be to explore the experiences of undocumented immigrants from Thailand who live in other metropolises to see if there is any pattern between different groups and what other possible factors affect the constitution of the Thai Robin Hood identity. Additionally, since this ethnographic study was conducted only with a group of Thais with illegal immigration status, to understand these individuals experiences more intensively, the future study might include other participants who are not Robin Hoods but getting involved in social interactions with these Thai Robin Hoods as well. For instance, interviews and observations might be conducted with their colleagues who held legal status and/or restaurant owners who hired these Robin Hoods. Different points of view from people who are involved in the everyday experiences of Thai Robin Hoods can generate intensive knowledge on the issue and can be used as further probes for the issue under investigation. Finally, this study might be turned into a longitudinal study that follows these research participants over a period of years to give us a better record of how their lives eventually pan out. Additionally, it might be interesting to study those who return to Thailand after many years of residing in the U.S. to see what their lives are like back in their home country. 245

255 REFERENCES Agar, M. H. (1996). The professional stranger: An informal introduction to ethnography. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Aguilar Jr., F. (1999). Ritual passage and the reconstruction of selfhood in international labour migration. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 14(1), Akhtar, S. (1999). Immigration and identity: Turmoil, treatment, and transformation. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson. Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G., & Tiffin, H. (2007). Post-colonial studies: The key concept (2 nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Becker, C. S. (2008). Immigration and illegal aliens: Burden or blessing? Detroit, MI: The Gale Group. Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and methods. Englewoodcliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Booth, E. T. (2009). Queering queer eye: The stability of gay identity confronts the liminality of trans embodiment. Western Journal of Communication, 75(2), Brettell, C. B. (2006). Immigration status, citizenship, and identity among four immigrant populations in a Southwestern city. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(1), Brissett, D., & Edgley, C. (1990). Life as theatre: A dramaturgical sourcebook (2 nd ed.). Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter. Cai, B. (2008). A Trickster-like woman: Subversive imagining and narrating of social change. Communication Studies, 59(4)

256 Chan, B. (2005). Imagining the homeland: The Internet and diasporic discourse of nationalism. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 29(4) Chi-Ying Chung, R., & Bemak, F. (2007). Asian immigrants and refugees. In F. T. L. Leong (Ed), Handbook of Asian American psychology (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Chavez, K. R. (2009). Embodied translation: Dominant discourse and communication with migrant bodies-as-text. Howard Journal of Communications, 20(1), Cisneros, D. J. (2008) Contaminated communities: The metaphor of immigrant as pollutant in media representations of immigration. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 11(4), Conquergood, D. (1998). Beyond the text: Toward a performative cultural politics. In S. J. Dailey (Ed.), The future of performance studies: Visions and revisions (pp ). Annadale, VA: National Communication Association. Conquergood, D. (2002). Performance studies: Interventions and radical research. TDR: The Drama Review, 46(2), Cooley, C. H. (1922) Human nature and the social order. New York: Scribner. Cresswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mix methods approaches (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Davies, C. A. (2008). Reflexive ethnography: A guide to researching selves and others (2 nd ed.). New York: Routledge. Delgado, F. (2009). Reflections on being/performing Latino identity in the academy. Text & Performance Quarterly, 29(2),

257 Denzin, N. K. (2003). Performance ethnography: Critical pedagogy and the politics of culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton. Ezzy, D. (2002). Qualitative analysis. London: Routledge. Foote, N. N. (1951). Identification as the basis for a theory of motivation. American Sociological Review, 16, Foster, B. L. (1967). Friendship in rural Thailand. Ethnology, 15(3), Gleason, P. (1983). Identifying identity: A semantic history. Journal of American History, 69, Glesne, C. (2006). Becoming qualitative researcher (3 rd ed.). New York: Pearson. Goffman, E. (1955). On face-work: An analysis of ritual elements of social interaction. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes, 18(3), Goffman, E. (1956). Embarrassment and social organization. American Journal of Sociology, 62, Goffman, E. (1959). Presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Double Day. Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums. Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Garden City, NY: Anchor Book. Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the management of spoiled identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction ritual: Essays in face-to-face behavior. New York: Random House. Gold, R. (1997). The ethnographic methods in sociology. Qualitative Inquiry, 3,

258 Gomberg-Munoz, R. (2010). Willing to work: Agency and vulnerability in an undocumented immigrant network. American Anthropologist, 112(2), Gudykunst, W. B., & Lee, C. M. (2002). Cross-cultural communication theories. In W.B. Gudykunst & B. Mody (Eds.), Handbook of international and intercultural communication (2 nd ed.) (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday & Company Inc. Hamera, J. (2006). Introduction: Opening opening acts. In J. Hamera (Ed.), Opening acts: Performance in/as communication and cultural studies (pp. 1-10). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hegde, R. S. (1998). Swinging the trapeze: The negotiation of identity among Asian Indian immigrant women in the United States. In D. V. Tanno & A. Gonzalez (Eds.), Communication and identity across cultures (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture consequences: International references in work-related values. London: Sage. Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. (1984). Hofstede s culture dimensions. Journal of Cross- Cultural Psychology, 15, Hollensen, S. (2004). Global marketing: A decision-oriented approach (3 rd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. 249

259 Holmes, H., & Tangtongtavy, S. (1997). Working with the Thais: A guide to managing in Thailand (2 nd ed.). Bangkok: White Lotus Company Limited. Hu, C., Pazaki, H., Al-Oubbai, K., & Cutler, M. (2009). Gender identity and religious practices of first-generation Muslim women immigrants in the U.S. Making Connections: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Cultural Diversity, 11(1), Johnson, B., & Clark, J. M. (2003). Collecting sensitive data: The impact on researchers. Qualitative Health Research, 13(3), Jones, J. L. (2006). Performance and ethnography, performing ethnography, performance ethnography. In D. S Madison & J. Hamera (Eds.), The Sage handbook of performance studies (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Jung, E., & Hecht, M. L. (2004). Elaborating the communication theory of identity: Identity gaps and communication outcomes. Communication Quarterly, 52(3), Kamiol, S. M. (2007). Illegal immigration. Detroit, MI: Thomson Gale. Kang, H. (2010). Cultural citizenship and immigrant community identity: Constructing a multi-ethnic Asian American community. El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. Kim, S. (2003). On the journey of becoming mothers of adolescent children: Mothering experience among working Korean immigrant women in Philadelphia. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Delaware. Komin, S. (1990). Psychology of Thai people: Values and behavioral patterns. Bangkok: Magenta Co. 250

260 Komin, S. (1995). Culture and work-related values in Thai organizations. In H. S. R. Kao, D. Sinha & N. Sek-Hong (Eds.), Effective organizations and social values (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Krittayapong, J. (2009, February). How do ethnic minorities from a collectivistic culture living in the U.S. use impression management to gain power in their workplace: A case study of Thai servers. Paper presented at the conference of the International Journal of Arts & Sciences, Orlando, FL. Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Langellier, K. M. (2003). Personal narrative, performance, performativity: two or three things I know for sure. In Y. S. Lincoln & N. K. Denzin (Eds.), Turning points in qualitative research: Tying knots in a handkerchief (pp ). Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press. Langellier, K. M., & Peterson, E. E. (2004). Storytelling in daily life: Performing narrative. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Le, C. N. (2007). Asian American assimilation: Ethnicity, immigration, and socioeconomic attainment. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing. Leary, M. R., & Kowalski, R. M. (1995). Social anxiety. New York: The Guilford Press. Leary, M. R., & Tangney, J. P. (2005), Handbook of self and identity. New York: The Guilford Press. Leisy, A. (2009, May). Undocumented identities: Immigrant integration of youth and adults. Paper presented at the Law & Society annual meeting, Amherst, MA. 251

261 Liamputtong, P., & Ezzy, D. (2005). Qualitative research methods (2 nd ed.). Oxford, UK: University Press. Lindlof, T. R., & Taylor, B. C. (2002). Qualitative Research Method (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Louie, A. (2004). Chinese across borders: Renegotiating Chinese identities in China and the United States. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Madison, D. S. (2005). Critical ethnography: Method, ethics, and performance. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Maisrikod, S. (1999). Joining the values debate: The peculiar case of Thailand. Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, 14(2), Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1998). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. McCall, G. J., & Simmon, J. L. (1966). Identities and interactions. New York: Free Press. Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self & society from the standpoint of a social behaviorist. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Meesomsarn, P. (2004). Images of single women: The implications of politics. Master Thesis. Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Menjívar, C. (2006). Liminal legality: Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants' lives in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 111(4), Miller, D.A. (2007). Illegal immigration. Detroit, MI: The Gale Group. Mruk, C. J. (2006). Self-esteem research, theory, and practice. New York: Springer. 252

262 Mulder, N. (2000). Inside Thai society: Religion, everyday life, change. Chiang Mai, THAI: Silkworm. Naficy, H. (1993). The making of exile cultures: Iranian television in Los Angeles. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Nagel, C.R. (2002). Geopolitics by another name: Immigration and the politics of assimilation. Political Geography, 21(8), Nikoi, E. N. (2010). Liminal selves: The negotiation of organizational identification by grant-funded employees in nonprofit organizations. Ph.D. Dissertation. Ohio University. Ninmanandh, K., & Andrews, T. G. (2009). Socio-cultural context. In T. G. Andrews & S. Siengthai (Eds.), The changing face of management in Thailand (pp ). New York: Routledge. Nirunnoot, K (2003). Perpetuation of patriarchy through women s magazine. Master Thesis. Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Park, K. (2007). Constructing transnational identities without leaving home: Korean immigrant women s cognitive border-crossing. Sociological Forum, 22(2), Park, K. (2009). Korean immigrant women and the renegotiation of identity: Class, gender, and the politics of identity. El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3 rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 253

263 Peterson, E. E., & Langellier, K. M. (1997). The politics of personal narrative methodology. Text and Performance Quarterly, 17, Peterson, E. E., & Langellier, K. M. (2006). The performance turn in narrative studies. Narrative Inquiry, 16(1), Pfahl, M., Chomngam, P., & Hale, C. L. (2007). Understanding friendship from a Thai point of view: Negotiating the expectations involved in work and non-work relationships. China Media Research, 3(4), Qin, D. B. (2009). Being "Good" or being "Popular": Gender and ethnic identity negotiations of Chinese immigrant adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24(1), Quest, T., & Macro, C. A. (2003). Ethics seminars: Vulnerable populations in emergency medicine research. Academic Emergency Medicine, 10(11), Ratner, M. (n.d.). Thai Americans. Retrieved February 25, 2010, from culture.com/multi/sr-z/thai-americans.html. Riessman, C. H. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. Schmittroth, L. (2004). Immigration and illegal aliens: Burden or blessing? Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. Shaub, M. H. (2009). Transitions: Adjustment strategies of American immigrants. New York: University Press of America Inc. Spencer-Oatey, H. (2007). Theories of identity and the analysis of face. Journal of Pragmatics, 39,

264 Sluzki, C. (1979). Migration and family conflict. Family Process, 18(4), Spradley, J. P. (1979). The ethnographic interview. New York: Holt, Richard & Winston. Stage, C. W., & Matterson, M. (2003). Ethnographic interviewing as contextualized conversation. In R. P. Clair (Ed.), Expressions of ethnography: Novel approaches to qualitative methods (pp ). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Starling, R. (2000). International migration, undocumented immigrants and immigrant entrepreneurship. In J. Rath (Ed.), Immigrant business: The economic, political and social environment. New York: St. Martin s Press. Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (2005). A sociological approach to self and identity. In M.R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (pp ). New York: The Guildford Press. Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research. London: Sage. Strine, M. S. (1998). Articulating performance/ethnography: Disciplinary tasks and the contingencies of practice. In J. S. Trent (Ed.), Communication: views from the helm for the 21 st century (pp ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Stryker, S. (1980). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. Menlo Park, CA: Benjamin/Cummings. Stryker, S. (1987). Identity theory: Developments and extensions. In K. Yardley & T. Honess (Eds.), Self and identity: Psychosocial perspectives (pp ). New York: Wiley. 255

265 Stryker, S. (2000). Identity competition: Key to differential social movement involvement. In S. Stryker, T. Owens & R. White (Eds.), Identity, self, and social movement (pp ). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Supatra, S. (1998). Sangkom lae wattanatham thai: Kaniyom kroub krua sasana prapenee (Thai society and culture: Values, family, religion, and customs) (9 th ed.). Bangkok: Thai Wattana Panich Press. Szakolczai, A. (2009). Liminality and experience: Structuring transitory situations and transformative events. International Political Anthropology, 2(1) Tang, E. (2010). Collateral damage: Southeast Asian poverty in the United States. In J. Wu & T. C. Chen (Eds.), Asian American studies now: A critical reader (pp ). Piscataway, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Tedlock, B. (2000). Ethnography and ethnographic presentation. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Thomassen, B. (2009). The uses and meanings of liminality. International Political Anthropology, 2(1), Trieu, M. M. (2009). Identity construction among Chinese-Vietnamese Americans: Being, becoming and belonging. El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing. Turner, V. W. (1967). The forest of symbols: Aspects of Ndembu ritual. Ithaka, NY: Cornell University Press. Turner, V. W. (1969). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Chicago, IL: Aldine Publishing Company. 256

266 Turner, V. W. (1982). From ritual to theatre: The human seriousness of play. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications. Turner, J. H., & Stets, J. E. (2005). The sociology of emotions. New York: Cambridge University Press. United States Census Bureau. (n.d.) American Community Survey. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from Ukosakul, M. (1994). A study of the patterns of detachment in interpersonal relationships in a local Thai church. Ph.D. Dissertation. Trinity International University. Ukosakul, M. (2009). The significance of face and politeness in social interaction as revealed through Thai face idioms. In F. Bargiela-Chiappini & M. Haugh (Eds.), Face, communication and social interaction (pp ). Oakville, CT: Equinox. Urban, E. L., & Orbe, M. P. (2010). Identity gaps of contemporary U.S. immigrants: Acknowledging divergent communicative experiences. Communication Studies, 61(3), Valenta, M. (2009). Who wants to be a travelling teacher? Bilingual teachers and weak forms of bilingual education: The Norwegian experience. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), Van Gennep, A. (1990). The rites of passage. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Vance, D. (1995). Barriers and aids in conducting research with older homeless individuals. Psychology Reports, 76,

267 Vyran, K. D., Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (2003). Identity. In L. T. Reynolds & N. J. Herman Kinney (Eds.), Handbook of symbolic interactionism (pp ). New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, Inc. Wadsworth, B.C., Hecht, M. L., & Jung, E. (2008). The role of identity gaps, discrimination, and acculturation in international students educational satisfaction in American classrooms. Communication Education, 5(1), Warren, C. A. B. (2002). Qualitative interviewing. In J. Gubrium & J. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research: Context and meaning (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Wason-Ellam, L. (2001). Living against the wind: Pathways chosen by Chinese immigrants. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 33(1), Weigert, A. J., & Gecas, V. (2003). Self. In L. T. Reynolds & N. J. Herman Kinney (Eds.), Handbook of symbolic interactionism (pp ). New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, Inc. Wengraf, T (2001). Qualitative research interviewing: Biographic narratives and semistructured methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Wood, J. T. (2004). Communication theories in action (3 rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Young, S. L., (2009). Half and half: An (auto)ethnography of hybrid identities in a Korean American mother-daughter relationship. Journal of International & Intercultural Communication, 2(2),

268 Zinn, M. B. (2001). Insider field research in minority communities. In R. M. Emerson (Ed.), Contemporary field research: Perspectives and formulations (2 nd Ed.). Los Angeles: University of California Press. Zhou, M. (1999). Segmented assimilation: Issues, controversies, and recent research on the new second generation. In C. Hirschman, P. Kasinith & J. DeWind (Eds.), The handbook of international migration: The American experience (pp ). New York: Russell Sage Foundation. Zlolniski, C. (2009). Making a living and a life: Stories of undocumented immigrants. Insights on Law & Society, 9(3),

269 APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL Demographic data Pseudonym: Age: Sex: Family: Education level: Year of arrival to the U.S.: Year as Robin Hood: Pseudonym: I. Early years in the U.S. + decision to overstay 1. Tell me why you decided to come to the U.S. 2. When you first came to the U.S., what did you feel about this country? Probe 1: Did you prefer to stay in the U.S. rather than flying back to Thailand? Why? 3. What do you think or feel about the label Robi n Hood? 4. Do you know why Thais usually refer to visa overstayers as Robin Hoods? Please explain. 5. What made you decide to live as a Robin Hood in the United States? 6. What do you feel after your status change from legal to illegal? Probe: give me examples and instances 260

270 7. Tell me how your family in Thailand responded to your decision? Probe 1: Were they happy? Why? Probe 2: Were they unhappy? Why? 8. What do you do for a living after you become a visa overstayer? 9. Tell me some stories about difficulties you encounter after your status change? Give me specific examples. 10. How did that happen? 11. Tell me the way in which you manage or cope with this situation. II. Perceptions regarding Robin Hood and relationships with others 12. What are advantages of being a visa overstayer in the United States? Are there any? Tell me why you perceive those as advantages. 13. Do you disclose your residential status to others? If yes, to whom? What is their response to it? 14. What are the reasons you disclose or not disclose your status to others? 15. What did you think about visa overstayers before you decided to become one? 16. What do you feel when people refer to you as Robin Hoods and how do you react? 17. Do you think that your behaviors change after you become a visa overstayer in the United States? If yes, in what way? 18. Have your relationships with other people changed after you become a visa overstayer in the United States? If yes, in what way? 261

271 Future plan 19. Do you attempt to change your status back to legal? Why or why not? If you do, what are you going to do in order to change your status? 20. What is your plan for the future? Additional questions 21. Is there anything about your experiences that you would like to tell me which I have not asked? 22. Would you like to ask me any question? 262

272 APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANTS PROFILE May, a 27-year-old research participant, is the only child of her family. Both her parents worked for private companies. May had worked in a private company for almost two years before she decided to come to the U.S. in 2006 to obtain her master s degree. May received her master s degree from an accredited private university in 2008 but decided not to go back to Thailand after she graduated. May came to the U.S. with her fiancé, who also intended to pursue his master s degree. However, Sun, her fiancé, who is also a participant in this study, graduated after her. Accordingly, May decided to continue staying in the U.S. as a visa overstayer to accompany her fiancé. May s parents provided her with full financial support during her studies. Yet while she was in graduate school, May also worked as a part-time waitress to earn extra money for shopping and more comfortable living. After her immigration status was changed to undocumented immigrant in 2009, May still works as a waitress to make money that she can spend on her luxurious living in the U.S. but also saves some for her future. Presently, Sun has already graduated and has a job in an American company. He plans to work here for a few years to gain experience and make some money before returning to Thailand. Currently, May is waiting for her fiancé. When he is ready to fly back home, she will follow him. Sun, May s fiancé, came with May to the U.S. in Sun had spent almost two years studying in an intensive English program until he got accepted into graduate school. Sun came from a bureaucrat family. His father was a retired government official who died several years ago. Sun has two brothers and a sister who are helping take care of his 263

273 mother right now. Sun was 30-year-old when he first came to the U.S. He had worked for several years in a private company after he received his bachelor s degree in Computer Science. Sun left his job because he felt bored being a computer programmer. Then, he decided to come to the U.S. to pursue a master s degree in another area. Sun came to the U.S. by using his own savings and the money he got from loans to pay for his tuition fees and living expenses. When he arrived in the U.S, Sun had to look for a part-time job to make sure that he would have enough money to support himself until he graduated. Sun got a part-time job as a waiter in a Thai restaurant, but he did not like the server job much. He quit working at the restaurant after getting a new part-time job as a cashier in a gas station owned by a Thai couple. He worked there until he graduated and got a job in an American company. Sun has worked as a software designer in a small software company for a year by holding the OPT. 36 Before his OPT expired, Sun had attempted to apply for the H-1 visa. 37 However, he made some mistakes when filling out the application form. Before he realized that his application for the H-1 visa was rejected, his immigration status had already changed to illegal. In other words, Sun became a visa overstayer without his intention. After his OPT expired in December 2010, Sun still attempted to hire a lawyer to re-apply for the H-1 visa, but the process took too long. Sun could not afford to pay for 36 Optional Practical Training is a period during which international students with F-1 status (full time foreign students) who have completed their degrees are permitted by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to work in the area related to their studies for at most one year. Even though students cannot find jobs related to their areas of studies, they are still able to continue staying in the U.S. during that one year period. 37 Type of visa issued to temporary foreign workers. 264

274 the lawyer. Accordingly, he gave up and decided to continue staying in the U.S. without telling his company that in fact his status did not allow him to work with them anymore. Sun said that if his company realizes his illegal status and stops hiring him, he will try to find another job in the U.S and make money here for few years before going back to Thailand. He said that he prefers a free life in the U.S. but do not like working as a waiter. Yet he has no choice since he needs money to pay for his loans back home. Sun also plans to become an entrepreneur in Thailand; therefore, he needs a large amount of money to make his dream come true. Auan is a manager of a Japanese restaurant owned by a Thai woman and her two Chinese business partners. He is now 48-year-old and has resided in the U.S. since Auan came to the U.S. with his own savings to study in an intensive English program after he was laid off from a bank in Thailand. Auan said that his original plan was to improve his English, gain life experiences, wait until the Thai economy got better, and then fly back to Thailand to apply for a new job. As a matter of fact, Auan comes from an upper-middle class family. However, since he was 36-year-old when he left his home country, Auan did not ask his parents for any financial support. He was mature enough to support himself, thus he came to the U.S. with his own savings to explore something new. Auan asserted, It s like taking a kind of vacation take some adventures and then go back home. At first, Auan did not intend to dig gold, but needed to work while studying in an intensive English program to make sure that he would have enough money to support himself until he was ready to go home. However, after working as a part-time cook-helper in a Thai restaurant for several 265

275 months, Auan decided to get a full-time job. He felt bored with studying English and realized that making money was much more fun. Therefore, he quit studying language and applied for a full-time job as a waiter at another Thai restaurant. His immigration status has changed to illegal since. Auan s life plan also changed. He never returned home after taking a vacation for a few years as he once planned. Money here is good and he has grown used to his freedom and the luxurious life he leads in the U.S. Thus, he is still here and has never returned to a concrete plan about going back home. Auan has spent most of the money he has made on his luxurious living. He loves dining at authentic Thai restaurants, parties, hanging out with friends, and playing golf. He also loves buying high-tech and highended products. He does not worry much about his parents since his father died before he travelled to the U.S., and Auan s mother has been taken care of by his older sister. After working as a server and delivery man in a busy Thai restaurant for several years, Auan was promoted to be a manager of that restaurant. But after working there for almost seven years, Auan moved tothe Japanese restaurant where he is presently working. Although Auan does not have a concrete plan about his life yet, he said that he would not stay in the U.S. for his whole life. He will probably continue staying here for a few years and then go back to Thailand to run a small business of his own. Orm received her bachelor s degree from an American college. She studied in a Canadian high school before she moved to the U.S. in Presently she is 32-year-old. Orm is a younger-looking woman whose appearance resembles that of a teenage boy. She came out to everybody that she is a lesbian, and her present girlfriend is a Thai woman 266

276 who is studying in an intensive English program. Orm has never talked about her mother; thus, I believe that her mother died or divorced her father a long time ago. Orm s father is a business owner. Orm has an older sister who is presently working with her father. Orm has never had financial problems. She received full financial support from her father when she was in college. Yet she worked as a part-time waitress to earn extra money. After graduating, Orm still worked in the restaurant. She never considered applying for a job in an American company because she realized that it was not easy to get a job, especially in the field that she graduated from (Arts). According to Orm, she does not like her own family business (textile business); thus, she has never wanted to go back to Thailand to help her father with his enterprise. She told me that as a matter of fact until now she still has no idea what she would like to do. However, she enjoys working in the restaurant because she is used to it. I don t think that I love being a waitress, but I m used to it. I don t like trying something new Actually, [waitress] is not a boring job; thus, I think that I m okay with it, said Orm. In 2002, after her OPT expired, Orm decided to stay in the U.S. as a Robin Hood because she had no idea what she wanted to do in Thailand. She has lived far away from home for a long time and is used to life here. She can make a lot of money from the server job, and because she is not an extravagant person, Orm has a lot of money in her bank account. About four years ago, she and two former colleagues moved to another state to open a Thai restaurant together. Despite a promising start, two years later, after having a strong argument with her business partners, Orm left her business and moved back to the old place. She went back to work at the restaurant where she was a manager 267

277 before moving to another state. Her current plan is only to di g gold, but she has never considered opening a restaurant again. Orm pointed out: It s not easy to run your own restaurant here. You cannot do it alone. But if your partners are not your family members, you will certainly have problems with them. It has happened with many Thais I know here. Everybody focuses on his or her own benefits. Friendship can be broken down because of that. Orm is still not sure about her future plans, yet she knows she would like to go back to Thailand probably in the next few years. Orm said that she would like to wait until her girlfriend receives her master s degree as she has planned. Then, they will start discussing what they want to do together for their futures. Nat is presently a sushi-chef in a busy, famous Japanese restaurant. He is now 38- year-old. Nat came to the U.S. with a student visa in 1998 after getting laid off from his company as a result of the Tom Yum Koong crisis. Since he realized that it was not easy to find a new job during such an economic crisis, he decided to come to the U.S. to pursue a master s degree. Nat applied to an intensive English program and hoped to get accepted by graduate school after he got a competent TOEFL score. Although he studied in a language school for almost two years, his English never improved much. Accordingly in 2001 he decided to drop out of school and has been a Robin Hood ever since. Nat said that during his studies in the language school, he saw his Thai classmates working as part-time servers. Therefore, he decided to apply for the server job even though he had received full financial support from his parents during his studies. He 268

278 enjoyed working for extra money, and when he realized that he could not pursue his dream in obtaining a Master s degree, he decided to work full-time in the restaurant to make money. His parents stopped sending him money after he dropped out of the school, but they have never had problems about what their middle son decided to do with his own life. Nat planned to make money in the U.S. for a few years until the economic situation in Thailand got better, and then he would fly back home. Yet he has become addicted to money and also enjoyed freedom in the U.S. Thus, he changed his plan and has continued staying here for more than ten years now. Nat had worked as a waiter in the Thai restaurants for several years and once helped his close friend run a Thai Karaoke bar. He started his new career as a sushi-chef about four years ago and can earn more than $3,000 a month by making sushi. Although he has a good life here, he still wants to go back to his home country someday probably to open a Japanese restaurant there. Nat noted: I ve never felt that this country is my home. Although I have money have everything here I ve still wanted to go back to Thailand to live with my parents. They are old now and I don t want to be far away from them during the last period of their lives, you know. Ou came to the U.S. in 1995 when he was 23-year-old to obtain his second bachelor s degree after receiving his first bachelor degree only a year before. Ou did not like the field that he graduated from (finance) and did not want to apply for a job in that area. Therefore, he wanted to study something else. His parents wanted him to obtain a 269

279 master s degree, but Ou felt that studying for a master s degree was too difficult for him. Ou had received full financial support from his parents, who own a bookstore in Nakhonpathom province. He had lived with his uncle, who is a green card holder for several years. In 1999, when he got married to a Thai woman, his colleague from the Thai restaurant, Ou moved out of his uncle s house and rented his own apartment. His immigration status also changed to illegal during that year. During his studies, Ou worked as a part-time server in a Thai restaurant to earn some extra money following his uncle s advice. Ou has not succeeded in obtaining his second bachelor s degree since he became bored with studying. Thus, he dropped out of school after studying for almost three years and changed his focus to making money. Ou was another participant who told me that he has become accustomed to life in the U.S. where he can do anything he wants. He believes that the money he can make in the U.S. is much more than what he could make in Thailand. Ou noted: I like reading but I don t want to go back to run a bookstore. I don t want to work in a company either. I don t know why. I think that I m not good at dealing with people, so working in a company surrounded by many people is going to kill me. Ou s parents have four children, so they have not been worried much about their second son as long as Ou can take care of himself. Ou had worked as a waiter, delivery man, and cashier at a gas station owned by Thais 38 for several years until he became acquainted with Mr. Chai, one of his regular customers at the gas station. Mr. Chai is a 38 This is the same gas station where Sun worked before he got a job in an American company. Sun and Ou are close friends. They once worked in the same Thai restaurant, and Ou was the one who suggested Sun apply for cashier job at the gas station. 270

280 Thai-American who was a general manager of one of the McDonald s restaurants in the suburbs. He asked Ou if he wanted to work with him. Ou decided to quit his jobs at the restaurants and gas station and started working with Mr. Chai at the McDonald s restaurant. Although he is an undocumented immigrant, with Mr. Chai s help Ou was able to apply for the job reserved only for legal residents. Ou said that Mr. Chai filled out the application form for him and he had no idea what Mr. Chai wrote in that form. Ou worked at the McDonald s restaurant for four years until he decided to open his own restaurant in another city. After opening his own restaurant for two years, his business did not go well. Therefore, two years ago, Ou decided to sell his restaurant and took his wife and their little son back to the city where they once resided. After returning to the place that they had been used to, Ou and his wife went back to work at the Thai restaurant where both of them once worked together. Ou said that he is still considering opening a restaurant again but not in the near future. Em presently owns two Thai restaurants in the city. He is 41-year-old and has become successful in ways that he had never dreamt about. His original plan when he first came to the U.S. in 2000 was to obtain his master s degree. However, after spending a year in a language school, he believed that he would never be successful in pursuing his dream. Therefore, in 2001, he decided to drop out of school, which made his immigration status change from legal to illegal. Like many Thai students in the city, Em worked as a part-time waiter while he was attending the language school. His parents did not provide him with full financial support because he was ol d enough when he first came to the U.S. Em had worked in a private company for several years; thus, he had a large amount 271

281 of money saved that he could use to support himself. Nonetheless, he needed to get a part-time job when arriving in the U.S. to make sure that he would be able to support himself until he graduated. After becoming a Robin Hood, Em had worked as a full-time server in a busy Thai restaurant for a few years. Then he and his close friend decided to open their own restaurant using the money they had earned from the server job and the money they borrowed from their parents. Em made a great profit from his first restaurant. Thus, he and his business partner decided to open another branch of the restaurant a few years ago. Em said that although he had a successful life here, he would like to go back to Thailand someday. Wat came to the U.S. in 2001 with a student visa. He was 32-year-old at that time and felt bored with his job in an Advertising agency in Thailand. Thus, he decided to come to the U.S. to gain some new experiences. Wat applied to a language school and used his own savings and some money he received from his parents to pay for his tuition fees and living expenses. Wat s original goal in attending an intensive English program was to improve his language competency and make friends with people from different countries. However, after learning from his Thai friend about job opportunities in Thai restaurants, he decided to apply for the server job to gain new experiences. Wat found out that the server job was not too bad and he was able to make a great deal of money from it. Although he had still retained his legal status for almost four years by holding a student a visa and attending classes three days a week, Wat did not pay much attention to his 272

282 studies. He enjoyed working in the restaurant and saved the money he had earned for his future. Wat went back to Thailand in 2004 and came back to the U.S. again almost a year later with a tourist visa. Wat told me that after returning home, he could not find a job he liked; thus, he decided to return to the U.S. Wat went back to work in the restaurant where he worked before going back to Thailand. His tourist visa allowed him to stay in the U.S. for six months. He went back to Thailand again after six months and came back to the U.S. few months later. Again, his visa allowed him to stay in the U.S. for six months, but this time he decided to continue living here illegally never returning home since. Wat has earned a great deal of money since he started working as a part-time waiter. Because he is not an extravagant person, Wat has a lot of money in his savings account and can build very good credit. He bought a brand new car and a house after he decided to reside here as an undocumented immigrant. Wat is looking to buy a restaurant, but he cannot find the one he likes yet. He said that he still wants to go back to Thailand, but it has to be after he succeeds in becoming a restaurant owner. Ann came to the U.S. in 1995 when she was 27-year-old to obtain her master s degree with her parents support. While studying for her degree, Ann worked as a parttime waitress in Thai restaurants to earn extra money. After graduating, Ann went back to Thailand to work for the government. Two years later, Ann got married to a Thai doctoral student who received a sponsorship from the Thai army. Ann had known her husband since they were studying for their master s degrees at the same university. After 273

283 getting married, Ann came back to the U.S. with the J-2 39 visa. She applied for a server job in a famous Asian restaurant and later was promoted to be a manager. A few years later, she applied for a managerial position at a famous Chinese bun shop where she currently works. After Ann gave birth to her second daughter in 2005, Ann s husband decided to drop out of college. According to Ann, her husband was very exhausted with his studies, and he did not want to go back to work for the army. In addition, he realized that he was able to make a great deal of money here by working full-time in restaurants. Accordingly, he decided to flee away from the Thai army and started focusing on making money to support his family here. After Ann s husband dropped out of college, Ann and her husband became Robin Hoods automatically. Nonetheless, Ann has still worked at the Chinese bun shop 40 without telling the owner that she is now an illegal resident. Right now Ann just focuses on her daughter s future. She said that she and her husband worked for their children s futures. They have never considered having their own business because their present jobs offer good money and are secure enough (Ann s husband works as a delivery man for several restaurants). Ann hopes to return to Thailand someday, but she is still not sure what she would like to do when she is there. June was 26-year-old when she came to the U.S. with her ex-fiancé in June lived in another state for several years until she broke up with her ex-fiancée and moved 39 a nonimmigrant visa granted for the dependants, including spouses and unmarried children under 21 of J- 1 visa holders, exchanged scholars 40 This bun shop, in fact, has two branches, but only one manager took care of both of them. These shops are managed in the form of a small organization where each employee receives paychecks and benefits like employees in a company do. Ann said that these shops only hire people with work permits. But Ann started working with them when she was a legal resident, and the shop owner has never suspected that in fact she is now an illegal worker. 274

284 to the city where I conducted this study. June s original plan was to improve her language competency and perhaps obtain a certificate or diploma before going back to Thailand. June received full financial support from her parents, but she also had some savings which she brought with her. June s ex-fiancée also came to the U.S. to attend an English program. He and June stayed with his parents who had lived as Robin Hoods in the U.S. for almost ten years. June worked as a part-time waitress, while her ex-fiancé worked at a watch shop, during their studies in the language school. June said that she decided to work because she was not sure how long she needed to be in the U.S. until she could earn a certificate or diploma. June did not want her parents to lose all their savings on her long education. Thus, it was better for her to earn some money that she could use to support herself if her education plan took longer than she had expected. After spending almost two years in the language school and taking some classes in college for her diploma, June found out that it was too difficult for her to accomplish her goal in education. As such, June decided to drop out of school and planned to work in the U.S. for a few years before returning to Thailand. Her immigration status changed to illegal automatically after she dropped out of school in June said that because she saw that her ex-fiancé s parents seemed to have good lives despite the fact that they both were Robin Hoods, she decided to follow their path. June s ex-fiancé felt the same way, and he decided to drop out of school even before June did. He intended to reside in the U.S. permanently, and this was one major reason why June broke up with him. June never wants to live in the U.S. for good. She wants to go back to Thailand because she is worried about her parents. June said that she has a younger sister, but her sister has never 275

285 cared much about their parents. Thus, June cannot leave her parents for so long. At the very least, she wants to go back to take care of them when they both become old. After breaking up with her ex-fiancé, June s friend convinced her to move to the current city where she is living now. June has a full-time job in a famous Thai restaurant. She enjoys living in that city and still lives there now. June said that although she has resided in the U.S. longer than she once planned, within the next few years, she will go back to Thailand for sure. She has a large amount of money in her savings now, which she will use to do some investments in Thailand. Ice is the youngest participant of this study. She is now 24-year-old and her immigration status just changed to illegal only five months ago. Ice is the only child of her family. Two years ago, after receiving her bachelor s degree, Ice came to the U.S. to study in an intensive English program. She hoped to get accepted by graduate school. However, after taking the TOEFLE test three times, she still could not get a competitive score. Ice felt exhausted and daunted. Her mother was also sick. Ice wanted her mother to keep money for her medical care. Therefore, she decided to drop out of the language school and has been a Robin Hood ever since. Ice started working as a part-time waitress when she was attending an intensive English program. She was a classmate of Orm s girlfriend at the language school. Orm s girlfriend was the one who convinced Ice to apply for a job at the Japanese restaurant where they are now working together. Although Ice received full financial support from her mother at that time (her father died several years ago), she worked to earn extra money as her friend did. After Ice realized that she needed to remain in the language 276

286 school longer than she had expected, but her mother also needed money for her medical care, Ice decided to quit studying and focus on making money. Nonetheless, Ice has never given up her dream. Her current plan is to make money here for a few years. Then she will apply to graduate school in another country using the money she has earned here to support herself. Nai worked in a Thai private company for a few years before he came to the U.S. in 1996 to obtain his master s degree. However, his non-fluent English made it difficult for him to obtain a competitive TOEFL score. Thus, Nai decided to study for his second bachelor s degree instead. Presently Nai is 39-year-old. He is the oldest child of his family. Before the Tom Yum Koon crisis, Nai received full financial support from his parents. Yet he worked as a part-time waiter to earn extra money. When his parents were not able to support him anymore due to the Tom Yum Koong crisis, Nai had to make more money by working almost every day outside his class schedule to pay for his tuition fees and living expenses. In 1999 Nai decided to quit studying after struggling to remain in college for a year and looked for a full-time job. His immigration status then changed to illegal. After becoming a Robin Hood, Nai worked in many positions at several Thai and Japanese restaurants around the city for almost seven years. He worked as a waiter, delivery man, sushi-chef, and restaurant manager. After working in the restaurant business for many years, Nai became interested in making bakery and pastry. He decided to apply to study in a well-known bakery school. After receiving a certificate, Nai applied to be a trainee at 277

287 a famous bakery shop in the city. 41 He became a full-time employee after working there only a few weeks. Nai worked at that bakery shop for almost six months until he decided to open his own restaurant. Nai and Jen, his girlfriend, who is also a participant of this study, opened a Japanese restaurant together. They have another business partner, a Chinese man, who once worked with Nai at the Japanese restaurant. Their restaurant business is quite successful, and Nai is thinking about opening another one. Nai and Jen just bought a house a year ago. Nai said that he would go back to Thailand for sure but still had no idea when exactly. Jen came to the U.S. in 1994 to study in a high school. She is the youngest child of her family and has relatives who are green card holders. Jen stayed with her relatives until she was a junior in college and decided to move out to rent her own apartment. Jen started working at her relatives restaurant when she was in high school and continued working there until she moved out of their house. Jen found a new job at the same Thai restaurant where Nai worked 42 before he quit and became a sushi-chef at a Japanese restaurant. Jen had worked there for five years. Then, she went to work with Nai at the Japanese restaurant where Nai became a restaurant manager after being a sushi-chef for two years. 41 I was curious why Nai was able to apply for a job at this particular famous bakery shop because they were supposed to hire only people with work permits. When I asked Nai about it, he told me that he was not sure why they never asked him about his immigration status. He just took his risk when he applied for a job there by bringing with him only a certificate he received from the bakery school. He believed that probably because the school where he received the certificate from was very famous, the bakery shop decided to hire him to be a trainee without asking for working permit or any proof of his residency. 42 This restaurant is the place where June, May, and Orm are presently working. Jen, Auan and Em once worked at this particular restaurant as well. 278

288 In 2001, Jen decided to be a Robin Hood after graduating from college because she had no idea what she would like to do if she chose to go back to Thailand. Jen realized that it was not easy for a foreigner like her to find a job in an American company. Jen also did not like working with people from other cultures. As she noted: Working with people from different cultural backgrounds always gives me headaches. When I was in high school and college, I was dealing with people from various cultural backgrounds Americans, Latinos, Asian people and I never had fun with that. I tried to adapt myself tried to get along with them, but it was not easy. Our ideas were really different. There is racism going on in this country too I feel more comfortable when I am with Thai friends. I prefer to work with Thais too. Since Jen has been accustomed with her life in the U.S., she decided to live here as an undocumented immigrant. Jen also accepted that her romantic relationship with Nai was another reason that made her decide to be a Robin Hood. Because the man she loved wanted to be here, she decided to accompany him. Jen s parents, who own a shipping company in Thailand, did not have a problem with their youngest daughter s decision after learning that she decided to stay in the U.S. as a visa overstayer. Jen said that she had lived far away from home for so many years, and because she had relatives here, her parents did not worry much about her. Right now, Jen is helping Nai run a Japanese restaurant. Jen said that she did not have her own future plan. Everything depended on Nai. Laughingly, she said, I am too lazy to think about 279

289 anything let Nai do it. But when he comes up with any plans, he needs to ask for my approvals first before doing anything. Ai came to the U.S. with a tourist visa in 1998 after being laid off from his company during the Tom Yum Koong crisis. Presently, he is 46-year-old. He is the oldest child of his family. He has two brothers and a sister. His family owns a small business related to agricultural products. Ai never helped his parents run their family business. He preferred to work in a financial area. After receiving his bachelor s degree in finance, Ai applied for a job in a financial institution. When he was laid off from his company and decided to take an adventure overseas, his parents did not have a problem with his decision. Ai said that his parents always let him make his own decisions about his life. Ai has a cousin who is married to an American man and presently owns three restaurants in the city. Ai decided to come to the U.S. in order to dig gold by working at his cousin s restaurants. After arriving in the U.S., Ai stayed at his cousin s house and started working at her restaurants as a cook-helper. He changed his job to a delivery man after buying a car and moved out from his cousin s house after he had enough money to pay for his own rent. In 2003, Ai married Nan, another participant of this study, whom he had known since he was in Thailand but became more acquainted with after he arrived in the U.S. At the present, Ai delivers foods for several restaurants not only for his cousin s restaurant. He and Nan make a great deal of money. They bought a house four years ago and have rented rooms in their house to Thai students. Ai and Nan are planning to buy a restaurant, but both of them still want to return to their home country someday. 280

290 Nan came to the U.S. with a tourist visa in 2001 after getting laid off from a private financial company in Thailand. Nan decided to come to the U.S. to work with her sister s close friend (Ai s cousin) after looking for a new job in Thailand for several months but not finding one. As a matter of fact, Nan s family did not have any financial problems at all. But since Nan was 31-year-old old enough when she was laid off, Nan did not want to gain support from her family. Instead, she decided to come to the U.S. to dig gold. Nan s parents did not have problems about her decision. Nan said that because she was mature and her parents knew her sister s friend very well, they believed that Nan would survive in this foreign country and have a good life as she wished for. After arriving in the U.S., Nan stayed with her sister s friend and worked as a waitress at her restaurant. Nan is now 43-year-old. She married Ai, the restaurant owner s cousin, and has two sons. At the present, Nan still works at the restaurant of her sister s friend. 43 She and Ai plan to buy a restaurant, and, like her husband, Nan wants to return to her home country someday. 43 Wat is also working at this restaurant. 281

291 APPENDIX C: IRB PROJECT OUTLINE FORM OHIO UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) PROJECT OUTLINE FORM IRB Number Proposal Title Committee: B I am (not) Robin Hood : An Ethnographic Study of Undocumented Immigrants from Thailand in the United States S 1. Investigator(s) Information Primary Investigator Name First Jirah Middle Last Krittayapong Department Communication Studies Address Lasher Hall (If off-campus, include city, state and zip code) Jk208106@ohio.edu Phone Training Module Completed? Yes XX No Co-investigators Name Department Address Phone Training Module Completed? Yes No Name Department Address Phone Training Module Completed? Yes No Name Department Address Phone Training Module Completed? Yes No 282

292 Advisor Information (if applicable) Name Dr. Devika Chawla Department Commun ication Studies Address Lasher Hall Phone Training Module Completed? Yes XX No Research Assistants Name Department Training Module Completed? Yes No Name Department Training Module Completed? Yes No Name Department Training Module Completed? Yes No Name Department Training Module Completed? Yes No 2. Study Timeline a. Anticipated Starting Date (Study, including recruitment, cannot begin prior to IRB approval. This date should never precede the submission date) 01/01/10 b. Duration of Study Years - Mont hs 9 3. Funding Status a. Is the researcher receiving support or applying for funding? If YES List Source Describe any consulting or other relationships with this sponsor. Yes No XX Funding will be used for: 283

293 Paying Participants (Provide further details in compensation section) Researcher Expenses (Postage, Equipment, Travel, etc.) Other 4. Review Level Based on the definition in the guidelines, do you believe your research qualifies for? Exempt Review See description of categories at: XX Expedited Review - See description of categories at: Full Board Review Category Category 7 5. Recruitment/Selection of Subjects a. Maximum Number of Participants to be Enrolled If screening occurs, include number that will need to be screened in order to get the N necessary for statistical significance. 20 b. Characteristics of subjects (check as many boxes as appropriate). Minors Disabled (Physically or Mentally) Elementary School Students XX Adults Legally Incompetent Middle School Students Prisoners Cognitively Impaired High School Students Pregnant Non-English Speaking University Students c. Briefly describe the criteria for selection of subjects (inclusion/exclusion). Include such information as age range, health status, etc. Attach additional pages if necessary. In this ethnographic study, all the subjects who will be observed and interviewed are adults (over 18-year-old) from Thailand living in [a U.S. metropolis] area who entered the country with temporary visas and then stayed beyond the time allowed (visa overstayers/abusers). All participants will be recruited through the snowball sampling method. d. Please describe how you will identify and recruit prospective participants. Participants will be solicited by snowball sampling. 284

294 e. Records Are you accessing private, i.e. medical, educational, or Yes No XX employment records? If YES, Describe process for obtaining approval for the use of the records or for securing consent from the subjects. Attach a letter of support from the holder or custodian of the records i.e. primary physician, therapist, public school official.) f. Please describe your relationship to the potential participants, i.e. instructor of class, co-worker, etc. If no relationship, state no relationship. I have no direct relationship with any of the participants. Attach copies of all recruitment tools (advertisements, posters, etc.), label as APPENDIX B g. Performance Sites/Location of Research Ohio University Facility XX Public Location Other Describe below and provide letters of cooperation and/or support 6. Project Description a. Please provide a brief summary of this project, using non-technical terms that would be understood by a non-scientific reader. Please limit this description to no more than one page, and provide details in the methodology section. The purpose of this dissertation is to provide a deeper understanding of the experiences of undocumented immigrants from well-educated and affluent backgrounds in terms of their identity shift, the interplay between pre- and post-migration identities, and the ways these individuals negotiate and perform their identities in social relations. Undocumented immigrants (visa overstayers) from Thailand in the United States will be selected to participate in this study. This group of individuals is a good example of persons who have had a loss of status in the new country, since they cannot acquire status here comparable to the one they held back home. Thai people in Thailand and the Unites States usually refer to these visa overstayers as Robin Hoods. For many, the label Robin Hood can be used to stigmatize a person because of the negative connotation that attaches to it (in terms of marginal, lower social status, illegal residential 285

295 status, etc.). Utilizing ethnography, including observation and in-depth interviewing as research methods, I hope to enhance narrative, communicative, and performative understanding of identity enactment engaged by these Thai Robin Hoods in social relation contexts within a new culture. b. Please describe the specific scientific objectives (aims) of this research and any previous relevant research. This ethnographic study is designed to gain a better understanding of the experiences of Thai Robin Hoods undocumented immigrates from well-educated and affluent backgrounds, after they decide to change their residential status from legal to illegal. By using ethnography and in-depth interviews as research methodologies, I will intensively examine these individuals experiences in terms of their identity shift, the interplay between pre- and post-migration identities that affects their lives and their worldviews, and how these individuals perceive, negotiate, and perform identities within new cultural environment. Most existing studies in the area of immigrants identity have been limited to a group of immigrants with official residence permits, and not on those who reside in the country illegally. In the United States, where the issue of undocumented immigrants is prominent, research about undocumented immigrants has been limited to high population groups, such as Latin Americans and Chinese, while undocumented immigrants from other countries have often been overlooked. It is important, however, to recognize that each ethnic minority group is unique; thus, we should not make generalizations across groups as a whole. This study can help open realms of new knowledge regarding another group of marginalized, ethnic minorities, who now form a large part of the labor force in many American cities. The following are some examples of research that have been conducted with a group of undocumented immigrants concerning their experiences as illegal residents that significantly affect their self-identity. By using ethnography as a means of collecting data, Zlolniski (2005) explores the lives of undocumented Mexican immigrants in northern California's Silicon Valley. His effort is to gain an understanding of (1) how these individuals generate conflicting views about images of Mexican immigrants without legal status; (2) how they manage to make a living in the United States despite their vulnerable status; and (3) how they adapt to life in this country or live in their own world without integrating into mainstream society. After spending nearly two years in the field, Zlolniski comes up with a report that illustrates the difficult lives of his research participants and the ways they participate in local civic activities as a means of fighting for their rights. Leisy (2009) conducted ethnographic observations and in-depth interviews with Latino undocumented immigrants in the United States to examine how the role of school and work contexts conforms their identities and legal consciousness. Her 286

296 findings indicate that immigrants who entered the country as adults and who labored in menial jobs feel most marked by their status and express little sense of belonging. On the other hand, youth, who entered the country during early childhood and later attended college, are arguably the most positively incorporated. They tend to minimize the effects of their status whenever possible and express a strong sense of belonging. For youth, incorporation through the educational system effectively transforms their self-image and enhances their aspirations. Menjivar (2006) utilizes Victor Turner's concept of liminality and Susan Coutin's legal nonexistence to examine the effects of an uncertain legal status on the lives of Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants in the United States, situating their experiences within frameworks of citizenship/belonging and segmented assimilation. This study also examines how this in-between status (liminal legality) affects the individual's social networks and family, the place of the church in immigrants' lives, as well as the broader domain of artistic expression. After reviewing some existing studies regarding the self and identity of undocumented immigrants, I discovered that Gomberg-Munoz s (2010) study is one that most specifically ties into my study of Thai Robin Hoods. In his study, Gomberg-Munoz uses an ethnographic approach to gain an understanding of how his research participants ten undocumented immigrants from Mexico who work as busboys use their agency to create a culture of hard work that is responsive to their particular structural vulnerabilities. Gomberg-Munoz s (2010) study results indicate that these undocumented immigrants are not immune from the stigma of being illegal status, nor doing dirty works (low-wage labor positions). However, they do not necessarily internalize those stigmatizations. Instead, they develop multiple strategies for protecting themselves psychologically and defending their dignity and self-esteem. These individuals usually take an active role in cultivating well-being by negotiating norms of efficiency, self-motivation, and willingness at their workplaces in the United States. Gomberg-Munoz s work closely relates to my research to the extent that he took self-esteem into consideration when studying this marginalized group. He also utilized Goffman s concept of impression management to explain how his research participants perform before audiences to create desired images. This particular 287

297 study also explains how social identity can be cultivated through some sort of performance (performing willingness to work or acting as a hard worker). However, Gomberg-Munoz is not particularly concerned about his participants background but rather their illegal status and stereotypes that are associated with Mexicans. He also solely focuses his study on participants experiences at work. In my study, however, my interest also includes participants personal lives and experiences in other contexts beyond their workplaces. In addition to residential status, socioeconomic status and educational backgrounds are also addressed in my study as important factors that probably have significant impacts on individuals sense of self and their worldviews. Generally, most existing studies on immigrants identity have largely focused on post-migration identities and the process of identification in a new society, while the interplay between pre- and post-migration identity that affects individuals identity enactment has been largely unexplored. In this dissertation, however, my primary interest is to explore both pre-migration and post-migration identity of research participants, and the interplay between the two. I seek to understand how my research participants perceive this interplay, as well as how they negotiate and perform identity within new cultural environments. The concept of self-esteem will also be brought into my proposed study as an important factor that affects individuals identity enactment. According to many studies regarding Thai socio-cultural values, Thais are usually concerned about having high esteem in the eyes of others. Some scholars used the terms face when referring to this esteem. In Thai culture, the concept of face plays a vital part in people s lives and face saving is considered one of Thai values and socio-cultural characteristics. Since previous studies on immigrants have not focused on self-esteem or face and the interplay between pre-migration and postmigration identity, this proposed study may help suggest conceptual modifications that would enhance the generality of theories regarding self-identity in relation to interpersonal and intercultural communication. c. Methodology: please describe the procedures (sequentially) that will be performed/followed with human participants. 288

298 All procedures will be approved by the university s Institutional Review Board prior to the data collection. Participant observations and In-depth interviewing will be utilized as methods for collecting data. The research participants include 20 undocumented immigrants (visa overstayers/abusers) from Thailand with affluent backgrounds who live in [the U.S. metropolis] area. These individuals have to possess at least Bachelor s degrees since education is one of the important factors that can be used to measure their social status back in Thailand as well as selfesteem levels. Each participant will be informed of the purpose of the study, assured confidentiality and his or her rights, and then will be asked to give oral consent if they are willing to take part in the research. Observations will take place at participants workplaces, as well as beyond their working hours (etc., homes, Thai temples, Thai Karaoke bars). For interview sessions, the location of the interview will be selected by the individual participant with his or her convenience. Before the interview, permission to audiotape the interview will be asked, and all the interviews will be audiotaped with permission and later transcribed by the researcher. Interviews will be in-depth, semi-structured, and open-ended. Field notes will also be taken by the researcher during the observations and interviews. Pseudonyms will be assigned to interview participants during the transcription process. Research participants can choose their preferred language, either Thai or English for the interviews. Interview data will be transcribed verbatim and all transcripts in Thai will be carefully translated into English. Data from observations and interviews will be analyzed trough the method of thematic analysis. d. Describe any potential risks or discomforts of participation and the steps that will be taken to minimize them. Since this study will be conducted with a group of individuals who live in this country illegally, I will ensure my research participants that their anonymity will be protected. All tape-records and field notes will be destroyed after the process of data analysis. In the report, I will use pseudonyms when referring to each of the research participants in order to protect their anonymity. I will also refer to [the city where I conduct the study as a U.S. metropolis ] and will not mention the names of research participants workplaces in my report. Interview questions will focus on personal experiences of research participants as their identities shift after migration and how they present themselves in social relation contexts within a new cultural environment, but not deal with sensitive, legal issues, as well as overly personal information. 289

299 e. Describe the anticipated benefits to the individual participants. If none, state that. (Note that compensation is not a benefit, but should be listed in the compensation section on the next page.) The participants will receive no direct benefit from their participations. f. Describe the anticipated benefits to society and/or the scientific community in lay language. There must be some benefit to justify the use of human subjects. The results of this research can be used as a case study to gain a better understanding of how Thai undocumented immigrants from well-educated and affluent backgrounds make sense of their new lives, and how they negotiate and perform identities while attempting to survive in a foreign country. Most existing studies in the area of immigrants identity have been limited to a group of legal immigrants, especially those from high population groups. This study can help open realms of new knowledge regarding another group of marginalized, ethnic minorities, who now form a large part of the labor force in many American cities. Many existing studies on immigrants identity have not focused on selfesteem and the interplay between pre-migration and post-migration identity. In this dissertation, however, my primary interest is to explore both pre-migration and post-migration identity of research participants, and the interplay between the two. The concept of self-esteem or face as called by some Thai scholars will also be brought into my proposed study as an important factor that affects individuals identity enactment. This proposed study may help suggest conceptual modifications that would enhance the generality of theories regarding self-identity in relation to interpersonal and intercultural communication. 290

300 7. Confidentiality a. Check all that apply Data is collected anonymously XX Data will be recorded without possibility of identification Data will be recorded with a code replacing identifiers and a master list connecting the code and the identifier exists for some period of time Data will be recorded with identifying information, e.g. name, SSN, oak id, etc. Nature of data makes it potentially identifiable (e.g. material with DNA, photographs) b. If master code list is used (3 rd option); please provide detail, such as how/where code list is securely stored, when it will be destroyed, etc.). Only the investigator of this research project will have access to all research data. The names of the interviewees will be replaced with pseudonyms to protect their identities during the transcription process. I will also refer to [the city where I conduct the study as a U.S. metropolis ] and will not mention the names of research participants workplaces in my report. All tape-records, transcripts, and field notes will be destroyed after the process of data analysis. c. If data is stored with identifiers, please provide details of how data will be stored securely (i.e. locked cabinet, password protected, etc.) as well as timeframe of when data will be de-identified. d. Data Sharing Will identifiable data be shared with anyone outside the immediate research team? If YES, please describe Yes No XX e. Recording Will participants be Audio recorded? Yes XX No Video recorded? Yes No XX If YES, please describe how/where recordings will be stored, who will have access to them, and an estimate of the date (month/year) that they will be destroyed. The interview audiotapes and transcripts will be stored in a locked 291

301 file cabinet in the investigator s home, which is private and locked when not occupied, and only the investigator can have access to the data. The audiotapes will be destroyed after transcribing and analyzing. All identifying information will be erased from the transcripts. f. Additional Details (if needed) 8. Compensation a. Will participants receive a gift or token of appreciation? Yes No XX If YES, list the item and its approximate value. b. Will participants receive services, treatment or supplies that have a monetary value? If YES, please describe and provide the approximate value. Yes No XX. c. Will participants receive course credit? Yes No XX If YES, please describe non-research alternatives to earn the credit, the number of points awarded and what percentage of total points for the course it represents. If you are using the Psychology Pool, which has already established guidelines that provide these details to the IRB, simply write Psych Pool. d. Will participants receive monetary compensation Yes No XX (including gift cards)? If YES, please detail the amount per session and total compensation possible. Additionally, describe what compensation amount is paid to participants who discontinue participation prior to completion.* * If University funds are used to compensate participants, minimally, the name and address of participants will need to be provided to the Finance Office at OU. If 292

302 participants will be paid $100 or more in a calendar year, participant social security numbers must be provided to Finance. The consent form must reflect this. 9. Instruments a. List all questionnaires, instruments, standardized tests below, with a brief description, and provide copies of each, labeled as APPENDIX C. All instruments are included in Appendix C. 10. Data Analysis How will the data be analyzed? What statistical procedures will be used to test hypotheses; if qualitative, how will data be coded, etc. Research main question: What are experiences of undocumented Thai immigrants in the United States? Embedded within this question, there are three other questions: RQ 1.1 What causes Thais to decide to become illegal residents Robin Hoods in the United States? RQ 1.2 To what extent does the interplay between pre- and postmigration identities affect Thai Robin Hoods sense of selves and the ways they interact with others? RQ 1.3 How do Thai Robin Hoods negotiate a Robin Hood identity in social interactions within a new cultural environment? Data from interviews and observations will be thematized and analyzed through the method of thematic analysis proposed by Ezzy (2002). According to Ezzy, thematic analysis is an inductive tool used for identifying themes embedded within the data. In conducting thematic analysis, the categories into which themes will be sorted are not decided prior to coding the data. These categories are induced from the data. While the general issues that are of interest are determined prior to the analysis, the specific nature of the categories and themes to be explored are not predetermined. In conducting thematic analysis, I will begin the process of narrative analysis by reading through interview transcripts to get a sense of overall themes. Then, I will do an open coding as I carefully examine each sentence in the transcript. When doing the open coding, I will take notes about emergent themes and give a code name for each theme. At this step, I will also do constant comparison by comparing and contrasting events, actions, and feelings appeared in transcripts. Then, I will break each code into subcategories and integrate them into more inclusive codes. At the 293

303 next stage, I will do axial coding by exploring codes and relationships among them. Then, I will begin to review data to confirm associations and new codes that emerged before comparing all codes with the pre-existing theories (theories of self-identity). The final stage of coding in thematic analysis is called selective coding which involves the identification of the core category or story around which the analysis focuses. At this stage, I will identify the central story (core code) in the analysis and then examine relationships between core codes and other codes. Finally, I will compare the coding scheme with preexisting theories regarding self-identity. Participants non-verbal language and informal conversations that happen between participants and me during the course of observations will also be thematized and used in coding stages as a supplement. 11. Informed Consent Process a. Select One of the Following Options I am obtaining signed consent for this study (Attach copies of all consent documents as Appendix A, using the template provided at the end of this document. XX I am requesting a waiver or alteration of Informed Consent (provide details below and attach information that will be provided to participants regarding the study ( , cover letter) as Appendix A. Waiver of signature Exempt study Waiver needed to protect the privacy of participants Waiver needed due to cultural norms (e.g. wary of forms needing signatures) Impracticable (online or phone study) _XX_ Other To protect anonymity of research participants Deception (incomplete disclosure) Necessary to avoid participants altering behavior (e.g. not informing of 2 way mirror; providing cover story ) Complete waiver of consent Provide additional information regarding the waiver, if needed. 294

304 I need to protect anonymity of my research participants who reside in this country without official residence permits. The consent document is the only apparent record linking the participants with this research. Therefore, I would like to request for oral consent instead of written consent. Attach copies of all consent documents or text and label as APPENDIX A. Please use the template provided at the end of this document. b. How and where will the consent process occur? Will participants have an opportunity to ask questions and have them answered? What steps will be taken to avoid coercion or undue influence? The investigator will contact the potential research participants in person to inform them about the research and invite them to participate. The investigator will be prepared to answer related questions about the research and inform research participant about the consent that potential research participant can provide in the oral form. Potential research participants will also be told that they can opt to not participate without consequence at any time during the study. c. Will the investigator(s) be obtaining all of the informed consents? Yes XX No If NO, identify by name and training who will be describing the research to subjects/representatives and inviting their participation? d. Will all adult participants have the capacity to give informed consent? If NO, explain procedures to be followed. Yes XX No e. Will any participants be minors? Yes No XX If YES, include procedures/form for parental consent and for the assent from the minor. 295

305 f. Will participants be deceived or incompletely informed regarding any aspect of the study? Yes No XX If YES, provide rationale for use of deception. If YES, attach copies of post-study debriefing information and label as APPENDIX D. Additionally, complete the questions related to a consent form waiver or alteration on page

306 Investigator Assurance I certify that the information provided in this outline form is complete and correct. I understand that as Principal Investigator, I have ultimate responsibility for the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects, conduct of the study and the ethical performance of the project. I agree to comply with Ohio University policies on research and investigation involving human subjects (O.U. Policy # ), as well as with all applicable federal, state and local laws regarding the protection of human subjects in research, including, but not limited to the following: The project will be performed by qualified personnel, according to the OU approved protocol. No changes will be made in the protocol or consent form until approved by the OU IRB. Legally effective informed consent will be obtained from human subjects if applicable, and documentation of informed consent will be retained, in a secure environment, for three years after termination of the project. Adverse/Unexpected events will be reported to the OU IRB promptly. All protocols are approved for a maximum period of one year. Research must stop at the end of that approval period unless the protocol is reapproved for another term. I further certify that the proposed research is not currently underway and will not begin until approval has been obtained. A signed approval form, on Office of Research Compliance letterhead, communicates IRB approval. Primary Investigator Signature Date 11/22/10 (Please print name) Jirah Krittayapong Co-Investigator Signature Date (Please print name) 297

307 Faculty Advisor/Sponsor Assurance By my signature as sponsor on this research application, I certify that the student(s) or guest investigator is knowledgeable about the regulations and policies governing research with human subjects and has sufficient training and experience to conduct this particular study in accord with the approved protocol. In addition: I agree to meet with the investigator(s) on a regular basis to monitor study progress. Should problems arise during the course of the study, I agree to be available, personally, to supervise the investigator in solving them. I assure that the investigator will report adverse/unexpected events to the IRB in writing promptly. If I will be unavailable, as when on sabbatical or vacation, I will arrange for an alternate faculty sponsor to assume responsibility during my absence. I further certify that the proposed research is not currently underway and will not begin until approval has been obtained. A signed approval form, on Office of Research Compliance letterhead, communicates IRB approval. Advisor/Faculty Sponsor Signature Date (Please print name) *The faculty advisor/sponsor must be a member of the OU faculty. The faculty member is considered the responsible party for legal and ethical performance of the project. 298

308 299

309 APPENDIX D: RECRUITMENT /LETTER Recruitment /Letter to Potential Research Participants Dear potential research participant: I would like to ask you to participate in a study exploring experiences of visa overstayers (people who enter the country with student/temporary visitor visas but stay beyond the time allowed) from Thailand in terms of identity shift and how these individuals present themselves and interact with others in social relation contexts. The research can help open realms of new knowledge regarding another group of ethnic minorities who now form a large part of the labor force in many American cities. Additionally, this study may help suggest conceptual modifications that would enhance the generality of theories regarding self-identity in relation to interpersonal and intercultural communication. By participating in this study, you will be observed unobtrusively during various social relation contexts, such as during your works or when you attend social events. You will also be invited to participate in an individual, in-depth interview lasting approximately 1-2 hours. The interview will be audiotape recorded, but it will allow your identity to remain confidential since I will use pseudonyms in place of names during the transcription process. Also, other important identifiers like place of work, name of co-workers, family, and so on will not be revealed. Although each participant in this study resides in the United States without official residence permits, I would like to ensure you that interview questions will not deal with sensitive, legal issues, as well as overly personal information, but particularly pertain to your experiences within a new culture. All materials collected for this study will be kept in a locked cabinet and will not be seen by anyone who is not directly working on the project. No summaries or other reports of the study s findings will contain information about particular individuals. During the transcription process, pseudonyms will be assigned to participants and their workplaces to protect anonymity. Most information will only be reported in a summary format. After transcribing, all tape-records will be destroyed. All field notes and transcripts will also be destroyed after the process of data analysis. If you are willing to participate in the study, please respond to this message by ing to jk208106@ohio.edu or calling me at Thank you! 300

310 Jirah Krittayapong Doctoral Student School of Communication Studies Ohio University (740) If you have any questions regarding this study, please contact Jirah Krittayapong at (740) or You may contact Dr. Devika Chawla, faculty advisor at (740) or If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research participant, please contact Jo Ellen Sherow, Director of Research Compliance, Ohio University, (740) By participating in this study, you are agreeing that: you have been given the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered you have been informed of potential risks and they have been explained to your satisfaction. you understand Ohio University has no funds set aside for any injuries you might receive as a result of participating in this study you are 18 years of age or older your participation in this research is completely voluntary you may leave the study at any time. If you decide to stop participating in the study, there will be no penalty to you and you will not lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. 301

311 Recruitment /Letter to Potential Research Participants (in Thai) เร ยน กล มเป าหมายเพ อเข าร วมเป นส วนหน งในงานว จ ย ด ฉ นใคร ขอเร ยนเช ญท านเข าร วมเป นกล มต วอย างในงานว จ ยท ม ว ตถ ประสงค ในการศ กษาประสบการณ ของ คนไทยในสหร ฐอเมร กาซ งม สถานภาพเป นผ ท อย อาศ ยในประเทศเก นกว าระยะเวลาท ระบ ในว ซ า โดย งานว จ ยน ม งท าความเข าใจในเร องการเปล ยนแปลงของเอกล กษณ (identity) และการท บ คคลเหล าน แสดง ตนและส อสารก บบ คคลอ นๆในสถานการณ ทางส งคม งานว จ ยน จะก อก าเน ดความร ใหม ๆท เก ยวข องก บชน กล มน อยซ งเป นส วนหน งของแรงงานสาค ญในเม องใหญ ๆท วประเทศสหร ฐอเมร กา อ กท งย งจะก อให เก ดการ พ ฒนาปร บปร งทฤษฎ ท ว าด วยเร องเอกล กษณ บ คคลในส วนท เก ยวข องก บการส อสารระหว างบ คคลและการ ส อสารระหว างว ฒนธรรมอ กด วย ในการเข าร วมเป นกล มต วอย างของงานว จ ยน ท านจะถ กส งเกตการณ โดยน กว จ ยในสถานการณ ท แสดงถ ง ปฏ ส มพ นธ ทางส งคม เช น ระหว างการท างานหร อในการท าก จกรรมทางส งคมต างๆ และท านจะถ กเช ญให เขาร บการส มภาษณ เช งล กแบบต วต อต วซ งใช ระยะเวลาประมาณหน งถ งสองช วโมง การส มภาษณ จะถ ก บ นท กเทป แต ช อจร งของท านจะถ กแทนท ด วยนามแฝงในระหว างข นตอนของการถอดข อความจากเทป บ นท กเส ยง รวมท งช อของสถานท ท างาน ช อของผ ร วมงาน ครอบคร ว ฯลฯ ก จะไม ม การเป ดเผยช อจร งด วย เช นก น ถ งแม ว าผ เข าร วมเป นกล มต วอย างในงานว จ ยน จะเป นผ ท อาศ ยอย ในประเทษสหร ฐอเมร กาโดยไม ม เอกสาร อน ญาตอย างเป นทางการ ด ฉ นขอร บรองว า คาถามในการส มภาษณ จะไม เก ยวข องก บข อม ลท อาจเป นภ ยต อ ท าน เก ยวข องก บทางกฏหมาย หร อละลาบละล วงในเร องส วนต วจนเก นสมควร แต จะเป นคาถามท เน นใน เร องประสบการณ ของท านในส งคมท ม ว ฒนธรรมแตกต างจากท ท านเคยอย ข อม ลท งหมดของงานว จ ยจะถ ก เก บร กษาไว ในต ท ม ล อคโดยผ ท ไม เก ยวข องก บงานว จ ยโดยตรงจะไม สามารถเข าถ งข อม ลเหล าน ได รายงาน การว จ ยจะไม ม ข อม ลท บ งช ถ งบ คลใดโดยเฉพาะเจาะจง ระหว างการถอดความจากเทปบ นท กเส ยง นามแฝง จะถ กใช แทนท ช อจร งของบ คคลและสถานท ท างานเพ อปกป องต วตนท แท จร งของท าน ข อม ลส วนใหญ จะถ ก รายงานในล กษณะของการสร ปเน อหา หล งจากการถอดความจากเทปบ นท กเส ยง เทปท งหมดจะถ กท าลาย สม ดบ นท กการส งเกตการณ และต นฉบ บซ งถอดความมาจากเทปบ นท กเส ยงจะถ กท าลายหล งจากข นตอน ของการว เคราะห ข อม ล 302

312 หากท านย นด ท จะเข าร วมเป นส วนหน งในงานว จ ยน กร ณาต ดต อด ฉ นได ท เบอร อ เมล หร อท เบอร โทรศ พท ขอแสดงความน บถ อ จ รา กฤตยพงษ น กศ กษาปร ญญาเอก School of Communication Studies Ohio University หากท านม คาถามท เก ยวข องก บงานว จ ย กร ณาต ดต อจ รา กฤตยพงษ ท เบอร โทรศ พท หร อ อ เมล มาท และท านสามารถต ดต อ Dr. Devika Chawla อาจารย ท ปร กษาของด ฉ นได ท เบอร โทรศ พท หร อท เบอร อ เมล หากท านม คาถามเก ยวก บส ทธ ของท านในฐานะกล มต วอย างงานว จ ย กร ณาต ดต อ Jo Ellen Sherow, Director of Research Compliance, Ohio University ท เบอร โทรศ พท โดยการเข าร วมเป นส วนหน งในงานว จ ยน ท านยอมร บว า: - ท านได ม โอกาสถามคาถามและได ร บคาตอบเป นท เร ยบร อยแล ว - ท านได ร บทราบถ งความเส ยงท อาจเก ดข นและได ร บคาอธ บายเป นท พอใจแล ว - ท านเข าใจว า Ohio University ไม ม งบประมาณรองร บสาหร บการบาดเจ บใดๆท ท านอาจได ร บอ น เน องมาจากการเข าร วมในงานว จ ยน - ท านอาย 18 ป หร อมากกว า 303

313 - การเข าร วมในงานว จ ยน เป นไปด วยความสม ครใจ ท านสามารถถอนต วจากงานว จ ยได ท กเวลา ถ าท านต ดส นใจถอนต วจากงานว จ ย จะไม ม บทลงโทษใดๆและ ท านจะไม ส ญเส ยผลประโยชน ใดๆท ท านสมควรจะได ร บ 304

314 Recruitment Card Dear Potential Research Participant: I am interested in exploring the experiences of Thai who are visa overstayers (people who enter the country with student/temporary visitor visas but stay beyond the time allowed)? I would appreciate your help if you are one of these individuals. Our conversations will be left strictly confidential and your identity will not be recorded at any time. If you are willing to participate in the study, please telephone me at Thank you! Jirah Krittayapong Doctoral Student School of Communication Studies Ohio University เร ยน กล มเป าหมายเพ อเข าร วมเป นส วนหน งในงานว จ ย: ท านสนใจจะเข าร วมเป นกล มต วอย างในงานว จ ยเพ อศ กษาประสบการณ ของผ ท อย อาศ ยในประเทศเก นกว าระยะเวลาท ระบ ไว ในว ซ าหร อไม? ด ฉ นจ กขอบพระค ณเป น อย างย งหากท านย นด ตอบร บท จะเข าร วมเป นส วนหน งของงานว จ ยช นน ด ฉ นขอร บรองว าข อม ลส วนต วของท านจะถ กปกป ดเป นความล บและจะไม ม การ บ นท กไว หากท านสนใจท จะร วมเป นกล มต วอย างในงานว จ ยน กร ณาโทรฯต ดต อด ฉ นได ท ขอขอบพระค ณเป นอย างส ง Jirah Krittayapong Doctoral Student School of Communication Studies Ohio University 305

315 APPENDIX E: CONSENT FORM Title of Research: An Ethnographic Study of Undocumented Immigrants from Thailand in the United States Researcher: Jirah Krittayapong You are being asked to participate in research. For you to be able to decide whether you want to participate in this project, you should understand what the project is about, as well as the possible risks and benefits in order to make an informed decision. This process is known as informed consent. This form describes the purpose, procedures, possible benefits, and risks. It also explains how your personal information will be used and protected. Once you have read this form and your questions about the study are answered, you will be asked to participate in this study. You should receive a copy of this document to take with you. Explanation of Study This study is being done to gain a better understanding of experiences of visa overstayers (people who enter the country with student/temporary visitor visas but stay beyond the time allowed) from Thailand in terms of identity shift and how these individuals present themselves and interact with others in social relation contexts. If you agree to participate, you will be asked to participate in unobtrusive observations that will take place within various social relation contexts, such as during your work hours or when you attend social events. You will also be invited to participate in an individual, in-depth interview lasting approximately 1-2 hours. The interviews will be audio recorded. All interview questions for this study will not deal with sensitive, legal issues, as well as overly personal information, but particularly pertain to your experiences within a new culture. You should not participate in this study if you are not 18-year-old or older. Risks and Discomforts Risks or discomforts that you might experience include the potential for legal repercussions if your status is revealed. In order to avoid such risk, please do not mention any names, employers, or other identifying information during the interviews. 306

316 Benefits This study is important to science/society as it can help open realms of new knowledge regarding another group of ethnic minorities who now form a large part of the labor force in many American cities. Additionally, this study may help suggest conceptual modifications that would enhance the generality of theories regarding self-identity in relation to interpersonal and intercultural communication. Confidentiality and Records All materials collected for this study will be kept in a locked cabinet and will not be seen by anyone who is not directly working on the project. No summaries or other reports of the study s findings will contain information about particular individuals. During the transcription process, pseudonyms will be assigned to participants and their workplaces to protect anonymity. Most information will only be reported in a summary format. After transcribing, all tape-records will be destroyed. All field notes and transcripts will also be destroyed after the process of data analysis. Additionally, while every effort will be made to keep your study-related information confidential, there may be circumstances where this information must be shared with: * Federal agencies, for example the Office of Human Research Protections, whose responsibility is to protect human subjects in research; * Representatives of Ohio University (OU), including the Institutional Review Board, a committee that oversees the research at OU. It is possible, though highly unlikely, that audio recordings and other material could be subpoenaed by authorities. Every effort will be made to protect your confidentiality, including not recording your name, place of employment or other identifying information. Nonetheless, you should use caution in revealing names, etc. during the interview. If you do include names or identifying information, I will record over such breaches, to further ensure confidentiality. Contact Information If you have any questions regarding this study, please contact Jirah Krittayapong at (740) or jk208106@ohio.edu. You may contact Dr. Devika Chawla, faculty advisor at (740) or chawla@ohiou.edu If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research participant, please contact Jo Ellen Sherow, Director of Research Compliance, Ohio 307

317 University, (740) By agreeing to participate in this study, you are agreeing that: you have read this consent form (or it has been read to you) and have been given the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered you have been informed of potential risks and they have been explained to your satisfaction. you understand Ohio University has no funds set aside for any injuries you might receive as a result of participating in this study you are 18 years of age or older your participation in this research is completely voluntary you may leave the study at any time. If you decide to stop participating in the study, there will be no penalty to you and you will not lose any benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. 308

318 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thesis and Dissertation Services!