Tag Archives: seattle

Do expats judge their “own” more harshly?

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Interacting with foreigners of any kind is an interesting cultural, character-study: 50-something-year-old German women with that unique purple-red hair color; Chinese businessmen surreptitiously smoking on planes; binge-drinking Brits.

All simply splashes of unique “local color.”

But upon encountering a fellow-American, the cross-cultural interest falls away and I more swiftly evaluate, label and judge. Better-understanding the “markers” of Americans — conservative/liberal, East Coast/West Coast, hyper-religious/non-religious, SUV-driver/bike-rider, Pepsi/Coke — facilitates swifter categorization between the like-minded potential buddy or to-be-avoided weirdo.

Conversely, I can suffer a mildly neurotic foreigner for a much longer time before deciding one way or another.

Is it just me?

The unexpected joy of driving in Hong Kong

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Don’t snort out your coffee in disbelief, before noting that I live in Hong Kong’s relatively rural New Territories.

I haven’t felt so free behind the wheel of a car since I left Utah, USA and its wide, open freeways 15 years ago. As a new driver there, I adored driving my ancient, yellow beetle up and down I-15 with my window rolled down, waiting for good songs to pop up on X96 FM. My left arm was tanned all summer.

Then I left Utah and forgot that driving can actually be a pleasure.

Until now.

I drive in Hong Kong and I love it. Music playing, sunroof open, kids in the backseat, we curve up and down Route 9 and enjoy the freedom of getting places quickly on open, off-peak-hour roads.

Do I feel like a former bike-riding, environmentalist hypocrite? Only a wee bit and mainly because I don’t really drive that much here. But when I do, really, really like it. I barely dare to admit this.

But I said it. Under the right conditions, driving feels good. Like a drug.

So how have I gotten around the last 15 years with minimal (and really only un-fun driving)? The break-down:

Seattle: I lived in-town and took the bus downtown to work. I learned to avoid the 358 (too many drunks and/or unstable people at any time of day) in favor of the 5 Express (mostly others like me with headphones on, ignoring each other). Driving, when I did it, was mainly within the city, with lots of stopping and starting, searching for parking, traffic jams, etc. Even when we left the city for the weekend, we almost always got stuck in a massive Sunday evening traffic jam as all the other hikers, skiers and campers tried to get back home too.

Zhuhai, China: I never bothered to get a license, never drove, and took insane taxi rides everywhere.

Cambridge, UK: Rode my beloved Dutch “bakfiets” bike and loved it. Flat, open and free, but on a bike. My range was limited, but I built my life around that. I did have a UK driving license, but there was absolutely no joy in driving there, as I was alternately terrified of side-swiping cars on tiny streets or stuck in a traffic jam on the motorway.

Here in Hong Kong: Yes, I can take the neighborhood mini-bus to the MTR station and take the train. It’s a schlep and takes 45 minutes to make a journey that takes 10 in the car. I do it when I’m going to Kowloon or Central sans kids when I can listen to my i-Pod and people-watch.

But if I need to dash someplace, I drive. And like the red-blooded, Western-state American I am, I love it.

There I said it. Driving in Hong Kong is my dirty vice.

My favorite stretch of road: The slopping curve of highway that passes through Ma On Shan if you’re driving back from an afternoon in Sai Kung at sunset. Steep, green mountains on one side and tall apartment blocks on the other with a view of the water.

Being an expat has taught me that Americans…

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1. Have a serious sweet tooth. This weekend a 5-year-old English girl looked down on me with distain when I suggested that she eat pancakes with syrup for breakfast: For God’s sake, doesn’t this woman know that pancakes are only eaten as a special treat before Lent on Shrove Tuesday?

Below is a shop window in Cambridge fishing for that American sweet tooth with imported goods. Please note the jars of marshmallow fluff; only folks with a serious sugar problem could have dreamt that up.

American sweets in Cambridge shop window.

2. Rightly favor solid deodorant sticks. Apparently many people in the world favor spray or roll-on deodorant. I say: Who wants to inhale tiny bits of deodorant every morning or have a slimy feeling under their arms? I hoard stick deodorant every trip to the US.

3. Are followed by the Tax Man the world over. All these lovely European expats I meet have no need to file taxes when working, living and earning overseas. Not so for Americans, we must file no matter what. And yes there are general US tax exemptions for folks living abroad and tax treaties avoid “double-taxation,” but figuring out how to correctly file US taxes overseas is an on-going nightmare of expat life. Yet another reason that, in addition to their health care, Europeans can be pleased with themselves. Smug bastards.

4. Should use “gas and air” in child birth. The childbirth books I bought in American made no mention of “gas and air” (basically nitrous oxide, i.e. laughing gas). I was introduced to it at hospitals in Hong Kong and again in the UK during the births of my children. Really takes the edge off. God knows why Americans only seem to use it for dentistry.

5. Are hassled more for visas. In fairness, a lot of this is reciprocity: you made it a pain for our citizens to come to you and we’ll make it a pain for your citizens to come to us. Within Britain we’re pariahs (residence) visa-wise: “Sorry you’re not Polish (i.e. from the EU)? Get in the long line with everyone else while we look you over skeptically.” And China makes it more difficult for Americans (than Europeans) because they want to and they can. No quick “visa at the border” for us.

6. Do have nice teeth. I had to beg a dentist in Macau to clean my teeth while I was pregnant. She suddered at the thought of cleaning a pregnant woman’s teeth and finally (after much prodding) found another dentist in the practice who was “willing to do it.” My dentist here in the UK takes a quick look, says they’re lovely and tells me to come back in 18 months. In America, it’s an every 6 months kind-of-thing with a professional cleaning every time. So, yes, with all this comparative attention, our teeth do tend to be nice.

7. Should be proud of Starbuck’s. I was once the cool kid who decided that Starbucks was corporate crap. No more. I crossed borders (often) in China for decent coffee. In the UK it’s also where we buy our beans. Yes it’s a global chain that’s everywhere and very generic. But now you can buy good coffee everywhere. (Including in local independent coffee shops that do very well drafting off of the coffee-love that Starbucks has fostered.)

8. Are “chipper” and “over-friendly.” Six years ago, a German friend told me quite bluntly that Americans are too happy and fake. After enough time away, I now see exactly what she means. While listening to streaming NPR (American “National Public Radio”), even I find the pertness a little hard to take.