Hustlin' Pig

I’m sitting in Chiang Mai Airport waiting for my flight to board with a suitcase full of pork rinds. If you had told me, ten years ago, that my future would entail smuggling deep fried pig parts across Asia, I would have either laughed at you or put my head in my hands and wept. Yet here I am, weighed down with a substantial haul of crunchy fried porcine pieces, divided neatly into plastic bags, transporting them across a nation of millions for reasons I’m still trying to wrap my head around. Apparently I’m greasing the career ladder with deep fried pig. Sigh. My life in advertising never fails to surprise me.

Today marks my first day of work at Leo Burnett Bangkok. I’ve spent the past 12 years working for Leo Burnett Chicago, and when Becky got the job offer that brought us to Chiang Mai, I immediately petitioned my bosses to let me work for our Thai office. They were amenable to the idea, on the stipulation that I spend two days a week in our Bangkok office. That’s a one-hour flight from Chiang Mai, and while that may sound like a deal-breaker to some folks, in this day and age, it’s a blessing to just have a job, and I’m deeply appreciative for the opportunity to work and learn in a new context. So here I am at the airport, at 5:52 am, surrounded by disheveled backpackers and sunkissed tourists on my way to Bangkok in my best suit in the hopes of making a good first impression on my new bosses. I hope they like pork rinds.

I’m not crossing the country with this stuff for no reason. A couple days ago I asked my friends Sue and Yo if it would be appropriate to give a gift to my new bosses in Bangkok. In certain cultures, it’s expected that gifts change hands when someone arrives as a supplicant. I suppose I’m just entering into a fairly straightforward business relationship, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to bring a small token of appreciation that demonstrates my gratitude for the position I’ve been offered. Sue and Yo didn’t really think it was something expected in Thai culture, but then Yo mentioned that a lot of people in Bangkok are fans of certain specific foods from the north, and many people who visit Chiang Mai return home to Bangkok laden down with some of northern Thailand’s most noted delicacies. That sounded good to me, because who doesn’t like a tasty treat from far away? I guess I hadn’t quite pictured exactly what Yo meant. Delicacies, I’ve learned, is a relative term that means different things to different people. Pastry and cheeses are highly regarded in Europe, and in Thailand, people in the south apparently find the Sai ua (pork sausage) and Khaep Mu (pork rinds) of Chiang Mai irresistible. The khaep mu is eaten with a green chili paste (Nam prik num), a few bottles of which I’m also carrying, and people in the south regard this as one of the north’s best exports. All of this was news to me. I couldn’t quite believe it when Yo told me, but he wasn’t kidding. I double-checked with some of the folks in my Bangkok office and they responded telling me to bring as much as I can. So here I am, with a suitcase full of pork rinds, marveling at the things I do to try and impress people. At least the absurdity of it all keeps me laughing...