The water-heater doesn't work, I inform the receptionist. The little man replies with his condensed English: check tonight. He smiles and I smile back before I go to the beach.I come back in the evening and turn on the shower. Tropical weather can make you sweat and suffer but don't expect it to help you to bear freezing water. I wash up fast, with clenched jaw and teeth. Before I go out I tell the receptionist. The man sympathizes, gets sad while he listens, it seems that he's the one who took a cold shower. He rearranges his face into a Teddy Bear smile and selects another entry from his disarrayed phrasebook. Check again!
When I'm back to my room I find a different heater: it's older than the other one but the light is on. Unfortunately the water doesn't get any warmer. I go down to pick up a new Teddy Bear smile: the solution is the same...once more check again. The third machine is a modern antique. Discouraged, I wait with my hand in the water. Surprisingly enough it gets a bit warmer. I let the man know, he is satisfied and smiles.
Smiling in Thailand is a multi-functional gesture: it can break ice barriers or hide one's embarrassment. Sometimes, in a hotel, at a southern island, it can even be used as a customer care tool.Image "Sailboat Teddies", by Ruane Manning, from Allposters.com
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