And Dear Expat,
Why complain so much? Sure there are real issues wrong with one country or another, but instead of worrying about poverty and human rights violations and organ harvesting the biggest complaints are over being ripped off two bucks by a taxi driver. You who have a job only because of where you come from and make ten times more money than the locals; poor you who get the wrong food ordered at the restaurant and they don’t give free refills. Such a tragedy that it isn’t exactly like the country you left. How dare a nation of billions not accommodate you. Of course, we all have our own special and unique priorities.
There is something to be said of the foreigner’s objectivity. Fresh eyes can see flaws in the culture the programed masses perhaps cannot. You may make some good points when it comes to the hygiene, for example. Or then again you may just be perpetuating programming if you never admit the home country’s flaws either…
I mean, everyone in the world is crazy in one way or another. Nowhere is perfect, and for that matter some places are far more imperfect than others. But wouldn’t it be great if world-travel brought about the promise of being open-minded? If we could see the world and grow the better for it? Experience some other points of views and all come together as a human race.
Instead it often does the opposite. Retreat back into the old culture, complain, and reinforce the old stereotypes and programings all the more. Hang out with everyone who speaks your language and complain and complain and complain.
Still fun though.
If not unfortunate.
So let us be objective, if such a thing exists. Imagine if you will, being one of these expats. Perhaps, say, in China. And imagine not going back to the home country of… let’s say America and let’s say not being there for two years. What do you think?
My friends, forgive me for being so trite and pretentions and sixteen year-old melodramticy to say it, but am I tired of America? Has the opposing small-mindedness taken over me, am I over the American dream and content to never return?
When I came to LAX and my friends drove me down the 405 to Long Beach, it was as if I never left. No reverse-culture shock, not even nostalgia exactly. Just everything exactly as it was. To be sure, it was a wonderful gift of life to see my friends and family, from Long Beach to Echo Park to Hollywood to Indianapolis to Cincinnati to Berkeley to San Francisco… but the geography just doesn’t impress me anymore… the background noise is uninteresting… and I dare say I like Shenzhen better.
Over LA, over spending money, over California beaches. Sick of everyone around me having the same accent and lack of dynamic construction and clean streets. No language challenge, minimal street food, and having to drive a car to get anywhere. I will never be over my friends, but I can be over a lot of other things.
Next time, you visit me in China ok?
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Some fun facts juxtaposing China vs. America!
(and I do like the US of A, just look and see)
-What is similar about Hong Kong and the East LA Echo Park/Silverlake area:
Being in an English-speaking country and being the white minority, being able to get by but still most people around me speak another language… sometimes in the world its Spanish sometimes in the world its Cantonese…
-What I like about the states in general:
Vegetarian food! Respect of vegetarianism and no restaurant arguments over meat!
-What I like Southern California specifically:
Mexican food, the Mexican culture’s gift to the planet Earth and absolutely the greatest food in the history of the world.
-What I like about Northern California:
Pizza’s pretty good. And, it’s so easy to by entheogenic mushrooms at that Golden Gate park…
-What I don’t like about the states:
Being asked if I’m gay all the time.
-What I do like about the states:
Not having to see shitting babies everywhere.
-What is similar about Long Beach and Guangdong Province:
Ah, to live in the center of the world. Now, downtown Long Beach appears to me to be the central of Southern California. This metropolitan locale has a plethora of bus convergance like no other: Long Beach Transit, OCTA, LA Metro – busses and the LA subway system, and even Torrance.
And that’s nice, and I do indeed dig gay-bar hopping and taking public transit to all manner of Southern California delight. Thank you Long Beach, I can go from Compton to Huntington Beach.
But on the bigger macrocosmic scale, there’s Shenzhen and there’s Guangdong Province. The economic center of the biggest province of the most populated country in the world set to take over said world. All the crap in your house was probably made somewhere nearby. Shenzhen Special Economic Zone boasts convenient travel distance from ancient city Guangzhou to glorious Hong Kong, and Dong’guan where the factories that make all that crap are, and even another touristy economic zone next to a former colony ala Zhuhai and Macau.
There’s Cally surfer accent, and then there’s Cantonese dialect.
There’s Hollywood movies and there’s Hong Kong cult cinema.
I mean, sure, California is like Guangdong, and they’re both hot and they’re both great.
Each has a special place in my heart and I’m blessed to have lived in both, but I can’t live everywhere.
So, faced with opportunities galore, which one would you choose in the end…?
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