Questions

I am confident that every single American remembers the exact moment when the learned of the 9/11 attacks...I won't go into specifics here...I will tell you that I still have an email from my brother Jeff printed and hanging on a bulletin board at our house in NC.  It is his stream-of-consciousness description of his morning having just arrived at work in a building right next to ground zero and his next few hours until he was safely away from it all.  I keep it hanging up and read it every so often to remind me how lucky and truly blessed we were as a family to be so close to tragedy and escape it relatively unscathed.

At the time that I received Jeff's email I never would have thought I would be living in another country.  Not because of what just happened but because it hadn't really dawned on me as an idea.  Now, after having been here I cannot imagine not having lived this experience.  There are the obvious reasons of travel and food but it has opened my eyes in ways I never thought of as a 'benefit' or 'perk' to being an expat.

I'll be the first to admit that Singapore isn't crazy different from the US...I typically describe it as 'Asia Light'...but there is enough of a difference that it makes you think.  I have to abide by the local laws...whether or not I agree with them or I risk being shipped home or even, believe it or not, caned as a punishment.  But it definitely stretches beyond the laws and government...to things like the difference in culture and religion and dress and skin tone... Sure we Americans pride ourselves on diversity but putting yourself into a situation where you are the minority teaches you a lot and in a very different way.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned during my time in Asia is to ask questions...  It seems so simple, doesn't it?  But, for some reason, before living here I was afraid to ask questions.  I was afraid I would offend someone...or intrude...or who knows what...but whatever it was kept me from asking them.  As a result, I would view things and put my own spin on them, right or wrong, because I didn't know any different.  Now I ask a million questions.  I do it in a polite manner and I do so with the understanding that some people may not want to answer them.  However, 9.9 times out of 10 they do...and they are thrilled to teach you about their culture or religion or food or how they dress...  I may not agree with everything but certainly appreciate the opportunity to learn about it and make my own decision.

When I was in Vietnam last year I went on tour and within a few minutes of pulling away from the hotel the tour guide said "I am going to tell you our side, the Vietnamese side of the war.  I'm not trying to attack you or offend you but please respect that this is the view from my country."  I remember some people from my office saying they were indeed offended by the way the US was portrayed in some of the museums and other places.  I did not find it offensive at all...it was just a different view.

I have been so lucky to learn things about so many different religions and cultures and governments.  My world view has been completely changed.  Before coming here I thought I considered myself open-minded but the comparison between then and now is light years difference.  Regardless, I'm thankful.  I encourage you all to do the simple thing and ask the questions.  And I have to wonder that if everyone had an experience similar to mine or just simply took the time to ask questions instead of make assumptions would we be able to live in a place with no more 9/11 type attacks?  I know that is a very naive view but this is my blog and a gal can be hopeful.

On another note, while we are remembering 9/11 I can't help but give a shout-out to all of the amazing service men and women.  If you are interested in doing something small...you can always drop something in the mail to one of our military personnel posted overseas using anysoldier.com.  Here's the website: http://anysoldier.com/. And here's a link to my original post about this fabulous website.