When I lived in Eugene, Oregon, there were a ton of Thai restaurants around. At least a couple dozen in a city that really wasn’t that big. Strangely, however, I don’t think I met a single Thai person. Not even in the restaurants.
Turns out, this trend is consistent in Santa Barbara, Arizona, Alaska, and all over the U.S.- not to mention several other countries. In most places you won’t have a hard time finding Thai food. But Thai people? That’s a different story.
What’s going on here? It turns out there’s a reason Thai food is so much more prevalent than the Thai population, and it’s fascinating. It’s all part of Thailand’s global strategy to assert itself in the world by means of noodles, fish sauce, and lemongrass.
