You know, I was never really homesick in Cayman. There were times I missed living in the ‘civilized world’ but the friends and, yes, climate made it an easier place to call home.
Don’t get me wrong: I still very clearly remember the life of being a second class citizen in a small Caribbean country. You stay there for seven years and it’s hard to forget having to contend with people yelling “Go back to your country!” at you when you don’t acquiesce and let them cut you off while driving. Or hearing “My bredren work at Immigration, I can have you kicked off the island,” or even having a bogus file of complaints submitted to the Honourable Work Permit Board.
But lemme tell you this, I miss the heck out of the USA and Cayman right now.
And not just because of the distance and time differences of my favorite tv shows and sporting events. Tech mitigates those issues quite well thankyouverymuch.
It is partially because I couldn’t go to Baltimore when my grandfather passed away. Ok, that one is distance. But it’s more the sheer inconvenience of it.
Yes, there are some fundamental cultural politeness issues. That’s rich coming from me, I know, but it’s true. The pushing and shoving and overall vibe of animosity is right up there w/ New York and there’s a reason I don’t want to live in that city.
Also, there’s an interesting thing about the expats here. They take on a more native thing and say, “you have to adapt to that if you want it to work out.”
Well, that’s just it, isn’t it?
Like maybe the type of people that are expats in Asia are totally different than the type of expats in the Caribbean. And interestingly enough, some of the challenges have come from ‘fellow Americans’ who’ve become power-grabbing opportunists, competing with each other instead of working on the same team. Which is a direct reflection of the duality of Korean community ‘all-for-one’ while simultaneously stressing ‘be the top in your class/field/whatever no matter what the cost.’
Crazy, right?
I just don’t feel at home here the way I did in Cayman, Philadelphia, or Baltimore.
Really didn’t expect that.
So yeah, I’m a little homesick for friends and family and the feeling of community that comes from both.
password protected old chap
I wanted to read it too 🙁
Password jenn
Cayman misses you too
Yes Ben Cayman misses you both!
Sean Kingscote liked this on Facebook.
I was in Cayman last week, so I missed you too. 🙂
You will be alright dude. It is not prison and it is not forever, so you don’t have to punch the toughest man in the yard or become one of them. Let “Unreal Korea” have to deal with Ben Maxwell, the polarizing figure I love so much. (takes one to know one).
Eugene Bonthuys liked this on Facebook.
In Cayman pretty much everyone is from somewhere else, which makes a big difference to attitudes. However when expats are a very small minority they have to adapt to a much greater extent than in a cultural melting pot like Cayman. When you have as many cultures competing for a spot in the sun as you do in Cayman there is no one culture that will make you feel like an outsider. Korea, of course, is quite a different story. Not to mention the language barrier, and even a different alphabet.
Agreed, Eugene Bonthuys — and the cultural differences are so vast. The behavior I mention in the post (a small example, btw) is so unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, yet it is the norm. Another example: Older men hock up major phlegm and spit it right in your path on the sidewalks. All the time. I realize it’s MY issue, and not theirs. My comments are deffo subjective. All of this gives me pause as to what’s next for my family.
Sling some loogies back at em. How hard was it to learn the language?
Haven’t learned it really. I can sound out some words and know a few phrases but nothing substantial. People spend years here not having to and/or not wanting to know Hangul. I haven’t really had the time, and the sheer stress of it all is still overwhelming.
wow
Sweetie, I hope it works out. Maybe with time it will feel better. And, I can imagine the challenge is great.