Fair warning: This post is sort of a rage-filled rant against elements of western media, Asian governments, and the apathy that people show towards what’s really important in life. Why? Because I saw something today that broke my heart and got me mad. Cuss words may appear.
So, forgive me folks, I’m kind of pissed off now. I’ve written before about how a person changes when they become an expat; how living in a strange culture and being constantly exposed to new and different viewpoints can alter how one thinks about the world. It’s one of the great benefits of being an expat, actually – roughly summed up by the popular terms expanding your horizons or opening your mind.
Whether you stay for a week or a year or – in my case – 16 years, you will not be able to look at your home country or native culture the same way. Many times it’s just a small thing (“How much for a slice of pizza?!”) but in many other cases, your experiences have rearranged your brain in such a way that you can’t help but be critical at how silly and pointless many “important” aspects of