Sometimes we forget what was considered unacceptable back in our passport country, is perfectly acceptable here. We see it often but we walk around the motorbikes (or car) parked on the sidewalk, drive against traffic, jump the cue, or heaven forbid, pick our noses in public.
We see the lack of cleanliness and we wonder, “Is cleanliness overrated?” Or we wish for a fireman’s hose and an endless bucket of bleach to douse down the soi, building or raan ahaan.
Other times, it’s the lack of safety, the neglected chasms on the side of roads, or the barbed wire left open for any animal or person to play with, that we jog around.
This, of course, goes for the way we look and are as well. We walk around that too. But that’s part of the adventure…
Life, the Universe, and Lani 
This was a problem for me when I was in CM. I tried to convince myself that things are just done differently in CM, it was their way so it was somehow OK. Some things just are not OK with me and living in CM let me learn what these things are. I do not critisize the way things are done in CM but learned to know myself better by dealing with them. Some things I learned to see the value of, or at least to tolerate. Others were just plain rude or stupid in any culture and I could never feel comfortable with these but knew if I stayed in CM they would be a regular occurance. Part of the reason I am back in the US. If I could not adapt then it was best for all concerned that I leave, which i did. I have taken the lesson learns with me.
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Because things are so different from the US, it can be really difficult. And I think it’s okay to challenge the way other cultures do things. We’re a global society and as long as it is not coming from a Neo-Colonialism POV, I think an exchange of ideas can be mutually beneficial.
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