Americans and their reactions to your life abroad

[newlife]

whenever i tell the people back home i live in thailand they look at me like i'm an alien from planet X. thailand? what's that? must be some place in africa to them?

and when i get back to america through customs the people are like, why are you living there? why don't you stay in america? traitor!

[Rock]

whenever i tell the people back home i live in thailand they look at me like i'm an alien from planet X. thailand? what's that? must be some place in africa to them?

and when i get back to america through customs the people are like, why are you living there? why don't you stay in america? traitor!

You're lucky then. Many who know a bit more about Thailand assume its just a big festering brothel where dirty men go to exploit Asian girls. This goes quadruple for Pattaya.

[newlife]

whenever i tell the people back home i live in thailand they look at me like i'm an alien from planet X. thailand? what's that? must be some place in africa to them?

and when i get back to america through customs the people are like, why are you living there? why don't you stay in america? traitor!

You're lucky then. Many who know a bit more about Thailand assume its just a big festering brothel where dirty men go to exploit Asian girls. This goes quadruple for Pattaya.

yes, i get that kind of response too - that i'm a pedophile. last time i went through customs they diverted me to a search of all my belongings(presumably to see if i had any kiddie porn? ). you're guilty until proven innocent in the USSA police state.

[E_Irizarry]

....This goes quadruple for Pattaya.

Soi 1- 17. Woooo who!

yes, i get that kind of response too - that i'm a pedophile. last time i went through customs they diverted me to a search of all my belongings(presumably to see if i had any kiddie porn? ). you're guilty until proven innocent in the USSA police state.

Sad but true. +1

[djfourmoney]

whenever i tell the people back home i live in thailand they look at me like i'm an alien from planet X. thailand? what's that? must be some place in africa to them?

and when i get back to america through customs the people are like, why are you living there? why don't you stay in america? traitor!

You're lucky then. Many who know a bit more about Thailand assume its just a big festering brothel where dirty men go to exploit Asian girls. This goes quadruple for Pattaya.

This! That is the usual answer for those a bit more informed...

[ladislav]

My mom came back to Palm Springs from Boracay. Her neighbors asked her where she had been. She told them that she had been to Boracay, the Philippines.

"Where is the Philippines"?

"You know", she said," it is where Filipino people live". "

"Who are Filipino people?"

" What do you mean, you have never met them? There are so many here".

"I have no idea who you are talking about. Never heard of such people".

[odbo]

My mom came back to Palm Springs from Boracay. Her neighbors asked her where she had been. She told them that she had been to Boracay, the Philippines.

"Where is the Philippines"?

"You know", she said," it is where Filipino people live". "

"Who are Filipino people?"

" What do you mean, you have never met them? There are so many here".

"I have no idea who you are talking about. Never heard of such people".

[Adama]

whenever i tell the people back home i live in thailand they look at me like i'm an alien from planet X. thailand? what's that? must be some place in africa to them?

and when i get back to america through customs the people are like, why are you living there? why don't you stay in america? traitor!

You're lucky then. Many who know a bit more about Thailand assume its just a big festering brothel where dirty men go to exploit Asian girls. This goes quadruple for Pattaya.

yes, i get that kind of response too - that i'm a pedophile. last time i went through customs they diverted me to a search of all my belongings(presumably to see if i had any kiddie porn? ). you're guilty until proven innocent in the USSA police state.

I have been to Latin America by myself twice, and both times this happened to me at two different US airports. It is the policy of US customs.

[FreeYourMind]

You read periodically about surveys that find that significant numbers of Americans can't even locate Canada and Mexico on a map. Idiocracy sometimes seems like an understatement when it comes to how dumbed-down the U.S. is.

[Winston]

If you get asked, just show them a printed copy of my 3 point comparison pamphlet:

http://www.happierabroad.com/Pamphlet.pdf

I carry around several copies for just such occasions, and to promote this site of course. Most guys who see it react positively with enthusiasm and remark, "Wow this is so true!" Rock handed a copy to his Aussie friend, who liked it too.

Customs people aren't usually anti-male feminists, at least not the ones I've met. The ones in Washington are very polite and they ask few questions. I wouldn't mind handing them my pamphlet though. lol Most guys, including them, are sympathetic to our movement.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

Most Americans cannot fathom why anyone would want to live in any country other than the USA. The assumption most Americans make is that the US is the best of the best and that any other country would subject one to inferior people, inferior, products, and inferior standards of living.

We all know those assumptions are false, but the brainwashing and media reinforcement of these myths are long-lasting.

Another thing is that as an African American, most Americans assume that the rest of the world is not as enlightened and hospitable to people like me so why would I want to live elsewhere? Such is POPPYCOCK. There are bigots the world over, but the USA is the least hospitable country for African Americans. The opportunities for African Americans in the US are enforced by law and not by common courtesy. The smugness, the rudeness, and the presumed superiority do not exist abroad to the degree that they exist in the US.

The US is declining economically, socially, and politically. This is no secret. Americans now see that global travelers are onto something, but the arrogance and false sense of security will doom them to go down with this sinking ship.

[ladislav]

Not only that, but there is a distorted picture of people living in mud huts and other such nonsense. As far as the treatment of black people, I was in Saudi and things were much better than in the US. Black people there are classified as Arabs and Saudis. Not Black Arabs, African Arabs, Afro-Saudis, etc. While the equality is not 100% there ( and in Oman, the UAE, etc) , Islam strictly prohibits racism with Mohammed actually stating in the Koran that there is no difference between a black man and a white man and an Arab and a non Arab.

When I was in Abu Dhabi, I saw local kids of all colors from ebony black to almost blond playing together and hanging out in mixed groups. There is no such thing as a Black Emirati ghetto. And there is no such thing as a black mosque vs. a white mosque as in the US where you have black churches and white churches. It was amazing. All those teachings that I 'd heard in the US which justify the apartheid such as: "people naturally choose to associate with their own kind" went through the roof. Well, yes, they do choose to associate with their own kind- with Muslims and Arabic speakers and of the same citizenship and tribe. But not black vs white.
It does not mean that someone will not make a comment occasionally or they would often prefer a Semitic looking person for a high position, but in daily life things were very good. A racist person in the Arab Gulf goes against Allah and that is what they fear the most. So, there is something to be said about Islam- it in no uncertain terms outlaws racism and makes it un-Islamic, whereas in Christianity there is nothing that expressly prohibits it.

[NorthAmericanguy]

Most Americans cannot fathom why anyone would want to live in any country other than the USA. The assumption most Americans make is that the US is the best of the best and that any other country would subject one to inferior people, inferior, products, and inferior standards of living.

We all know those assumptions are false, but the brainwashing and media reinforcement of these myths are long-lasting.

Another thing is that as an African American, most Americans assume that the rest of the world is not as enlightened and hospitable to people like me so why would I want to live elsewhere? Such is POPPYCOCK. There are bigots the world over, but the USA is the least hospitable country for African Americans. The opportunities for African Americans in the US are enforced by law and not by common courtesy. The smugness, the rudeness, and the presumed superiority do not exist abroad to the degree that they exist in the US.

The US is declining economically, socially, and politically. This is no secret. Americans now see that global travelers are onto something, but the arrogance and false sense of security will doom them to go down with this sinking ship.

+1

[NorthAmericanguy]

Not only that, but there is a distorted picture of people living in mud huts and other such nonsense. As far as the treatment of black people, I was in Saudi and things were much better than in the US. Black people there are classified as Arabs and Saudis. Not Black Arabs, African Arabs, Afro-Saudis, etc. While the equality is not 100% there ( and in Oman, the UAE, etc) , Islam strictly prohibits racism with Mohammed actually stating in the Koran that there is no difference between a black man and a white man and an Arab and a non Arab.

When I was in Abu Dhabi, I saw local kids of all colors from ebony black to almost blond playing together and hanging out in mixed groups. There is no such thing as a Black Emirati ghetto. And there is no such thing as a black mosque vs. a white mosque as in the US where you have black churches and white churches. It was amazing. All those teachings that I 'd heard in the US which justify the apartheid such as: "people naturally choose to associate with their own kind" went through the roof. Well, yes, they do choose to associate with their own kind- with Muslims and Arabic speakers and of the same citizenship and tribe. But not black vs white.
It does not mean that someone will not make a comment occasionally or they would often prefer a Semitic looking person for a high position, but in daily life things were very good. A racist person in the Arab Gulf goes against Allah and that is what they fear the most.

Interesting post.

So, there is something to be said about Islam- it in no uncertain terms outlaws racism and makes it un-Islamic, whereas in Christianity there is nothing that expressly prohibits it.

Yep, and it can be found in this book: Christianity, Islam and the Negro Race





"A lot of personal research was put into this work. It basically shows that Islam is a better choice than Christianity for Black People. This is primarily because of social, political reasons. The lesser of the two evils = Islam, but all Western Religions accomplish their goal of divide, rule and conquer. "

[NorthAmericanguy]

whenever i tell the people back home i live in thailand they look at me like i'm an alien from planet X. thailand? what's that? must be some place in africa to them?

and when i get back to america through customs the people are like, why are you living there? why don't you stay in america? traitor!

It's worse then this.^ If you even tell Americans that you're thinking of moving overseas there will be a problem.

For example, I made the mistake of telling this older clueless American woman that I plan to move away from America one day and that I was likely to find a better quality woman.


She then asked me some the places that I was thinking of moving and EACH one of them she had something negative to say. It was all the usual stuff as in South America is full of drugs, crime and killings, that Africa is underdeveloped, ect... As far as I know she has never been to any of these places herself.

Then on the subject of American women, she says, "there are good women to be found here," but you know they are a lie because they can never show you where they are or offer their daughters/sisters to you.