Some of you may know my rather messed up background now...first ten year of my life in places as diverse as Iraq and Indonesia as well as Singapore..so for those you who have children and are contemplating living (or indeed already are living) the expat life this is what myself and other kids had to endure whilst you were enjoying your new found lifestyles...
YOU KNOW YOU'RE AN EXPAT KID IN ASIA WHEN...
You flew before you could walk
You can't answer the question, "Where are you from?"
You have a passport, but no driver's license
You watch National Geographic specials and recognise someone
You run into someone you know at every airport
You have a time zone map next to your telephone
Your life story uses the phrase "Then we went to..." five times
You speak with authority on the quality of airline travel
National Geographic (or the travel channel) makes you homesick
You read the international section before the comics
You live at school, work in the tropics, and go home for vacation
You don't know where home is
You sort your friends by continent
Someone brings up the name of a team, and you get the sport wrong
You know there is no such thing as an international language
Your second major is in a foreign language you already speak
You realise it really is a small world, after all
You watch a movie set in a foreign country, and you know what the nationals are really saying into the camera
Rain on a tile patio - or a corrugated metal roof - is one of the most wonderful sounds in the world
You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price
Your wardrobe can only handle two seasons: wet and dry
Your high school memories include those days that school was cancelled due to tear gas. (or riots, or demonstrations, those "corrupted countries problems... OR REMEMBER THOSE BOMB THREATS?
)
You have a name in at least two different languages, and it's not the same one
You think VISA is a document stamped in your passport, and not a plastic card you carry in your wallet
You automatically take off your shoes as soon as you get home
Your dorm room/apartment/living room looks a little like a museum with all the "exotic" things you have around
You won't eat Uncle Ben's rice because it doesn't stick together
Half of your phone calls are unintelligible to those around you
You go to Pizza Hut or Wendy's and you wonder why there's no chili sauce
You know the geography of the rest of the world, but you don't know the geography of your own country
You have best friends in 5 different countries
You went to school with that kid who was caned or the other kid who tried to smuggle one kilo of hashish
You ask your roommate when the maid service is scheduled to come clean the room
You're spoilt. You know it. You're VERY spoilt.
So be warned parents!
[This message has been edited by doggmeister (edited 10-01-2001).]
