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Jan30
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Let this be the first entry in a growing review of Mexico from the expat perspective. I want your comments. I don't want to hear from tourists about their week in Cancún. I want to hear from businesspeople, diplomats, evangelists, retirees, and others who know Mexico from the inside. I want to hear if the pollution outweighs the natural beauty. I want to know if the graft and corruption are worse than the sincerity and humility. I want to hear if the "God willing" resignation of personal fate is too unbecoming to the self-determining Gringo mind. In short, I want to hear if you think that Mexico is as bad as looks from here on the border.
This little rant is inspired by a recent Knight Ridder article about Mexico hiring Rob Allyn a Dallas PR man, to clean up its public image. The article states, "The presence of nearly 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States--more than half from Mexico--has left many U.S. residents with the impression that Mexico is an impoverished, economically troubled land that can't hold on to its own people." The Mexican Consul General in Dallas, Carlos García de Alba, is quoted as saying, "We want to be recognized as a reliable good neighbor, partner and friend." Possible?
While usually tolerant of even the worst comments, I'll have to delete those that don't offer evidence of true familiarity with Mexico. It's OK if you have negative views of Mexico if they are based on experience.
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Jan30
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It's as if the sweeping Hamas victory in the elections were a declaration of war. What's the feeling on the street? Do you dual citizens feel like getting out of the way? Do you foreign service providers feel threatened?
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Jan27
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The cultures of the US and Northern Europe operate on a timer. We expect to know our own futures and then catch up to them with a wrinkle. Changes in expectations are unnerving. Not so in much of the rest of the world. Here are a few examples:
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The lack of niceties you enjoyed at home is offset by the things you enjoy about your foreign setting that you can't find at home.
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This is the first of what I hope will be a series of short, instructive looks at events and situations around the world from a historic perspective, to add depth of understanding. Let's start with the background on the Arab-Israeli Conflict.
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I've been watching the democratic elections in Palestine (or, among Palestinians, for those who can't accept that Palestine is a place), not sure what to say. Now the elections are over and Hamas has won. One of the risks of...
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Jan25
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Expats in Latin America, keep a wary eye on your surroundings. I'm not sounding an alarm, but I don't want anyone to be unaware that political sentiment, and consequently economic policy, are moving leftward in Latin America.
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I invite you to tell me the allure and value of boarding schools. And mind you, it had better be good. To me, sending your children away while you work overseas seems like alienation upon alienation.
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Jan17
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America is getting older without producing its own workers fast enough to replace retirees. This could mean changes in immigration laws to facilitate the arrival of foreign workers, temporary or otherwise. It could also help the case of the millions of foreign workers now in the and hoping for some form of amnesty or immigration reform.
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Jan13
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Here's something [the Muslim Hajj] that people everywhere ought to be aware of this week. The event is past, but the consequences will occur this week and beyond. Let me know what you see, good and bad, of the aftereffects of this year's Hajj.
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Jan12
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When is a celebrity also an expert on political affairs?
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I have been pondering an article on jet lag. My first thought upon reading it was the memory of standing on a balcony in Abu Dhabi at 3 a.m., with my entire family, wide awake and wondering how I'd stay up at work the next day. I was new to the game then. Now I'm a veteran with advice of my own.
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Jan 6
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"The ex-pat evangelical community itself [in Eastern Russia] is largely fractured. Missionaries seldom mix with other Americans for fear of becoming more visible or being lumped with an offending denomination." So says an article in U.S. News and World Report. Still, I am left wanting to know the views of more people on the inside.
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"Everywhere you look on the map of the Middle East, you see trouble and no real solutions." What does that mean for expats in the Middle East, or for people contemplating an assignment there? Nothing much, really. Or rather, business as usual.
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Jan 5
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A commenter says, "Ex-pats should not be concerned. I think it is too easy to lump Morales with leftists of the past."
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Can anyone offer a good read of what's going on inside Bolivia with the election of Evo Morales? Are expats in Bolivia concerned? Should they be?
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Jan 2
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I have become impressed over the years by what languages share and how they reveal that people the world over really are very much alike.
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I have again received a comment from an anonymous source, and once again I have let it stay because it is pertinent and well-reasoned. While I prefer for sources to name themselves, I'll happily accept knowledge from any source. I...
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I was pleased to see that Anonymous has commented again on my entry regarding helping persons in need overseas. I urge all to read the comment. (I can only assume it is the same author, based on content and style.) It...
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Some of the most memorable New Year's Eve parties I have ever experienced were outside my homeland. I have watched fireworks over the harbor of Arica in northern Chile, danced on table tops (while wearing the centerpiece) in Abu Dhabi,...
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The world is not as safe a place as it was 5 years ago, but it is also not a very dangerous place, all things considered. And travel to remote places poses few actual risks. Yes, on an actuarial basis,...
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