When I walked into the International College at Mahidol University for the first time, I instantly noticed a multitude of couples walking around the canteen. Some talked and laughed, while others walked hand-in-hand to a table to eat together. As opposed to the extremely casual dating culture in American universities, Thai students date to marry.
As an international student, it was nerve-racking to enter the dating pool for several reasons. First, I thought that no one was single, everyone either in a relationship or about to get into one. Second, I had to be the person to initiate contact since Thai students are shy about approaching international students. Despite those reasons, though, I ended up dating two Thai guys, each of them on entirely different ends of the dating spectrum.
Guy One and I met through a mutual friend. He knew that I found him attractive, but he was too shy to make the first move. So, I followed him on Instagram, and he surprisingly direct-messaged me afterward.
We texted every day for the next couple of months and tried to meet at school weekly. Since I figured that he would be too shy to officially ask me on a date, I invited him to dinner. We ended up doing the typical dinner-and-a-movie date at the mall, with some ice cream in between. Again, he was too shy to initiate romantic gestures, but I found it endearing.
Our conversations, meetings, and dates continue to this day. Guy Two and I shared a class together. I noticed his interest throughout the semester, but he never approached me. Finally, I decided to take the initiative: I searched for his Instagram, followed and sent him a direct message saying I found him attractive. We talked more in class, laughing and making weird faces at each other while our professor lectured.
