When An Expatriate Community Becomes Introvert

[george]

When an expatriate community becomes introvert

Be open-minded

By: elm200.blogspot.com

The other day, I had an interesting conversation with Thomas, a German gentleman living in Saigon. He has been a consultant in many different industries.

He has been living in Asia and hopes to continue to do so for a long time toward the future. Although he is a German national, he says that he is not too keen on mingling with the German community in Saigon. His mind is more international-oriented and he hopes to have more international friends, not only German ones.

I felt empathy with his statement. When an expatriate community becomes introvert, its ethnicity gets even more condensed than that of their motherland. German expatriate communities become more German than the society in Germany, and Japanese expatriate communities become more Japanese than the society in Japan. This is probably because these people try to overcome fear of living in an alien land by clinging to their own ethnic community.

That's the exact reason why I feel reluctant to dive deep into the heart of the Japanese community in Saigon. While, according to Thomas, the size of Saigon's German community is about 500, the Japanese community here is said to be much larger with the size 5,000. However, many of them do not understand much of foreign languages, either English or Vietnamese. When they don't speak a foreign language, how can they effectively communicate with local Vietnamese people and expatriates here? It is natural for them to just stay inside the Japanese community and form a dense and complicated web of human relationships there. It would resemble a small village in ancient times.

I think we need balance. Having friends from the same ethnic group can be comfortable. But if you wish to have a more exciting life, we need to take some risk and go beyond the complacency. We should be more open-minded and embrace different thoughts of people with different backgrounds.

-- http://elm200.blogspot.com/2009/08/be-open-minded.html

[george]

Whats your thoughts?

[Geekfreaklover]

I think the last paragraph was the obvious conclusion to the questions asked in the rest of the text.

I'ts all about balance. It is not socially productive to totally emerge yourself in a foreign culture, nor is it benefcial to remain in pockets of ones own culture in a foreign land.

Best to mix it up.

[mauGR1]

Whats your thoughts?

One of the reasons i'm grateful to live in Thailand,besides the love for the Land,its people and the climate,is to be able in a single day to meet folks from every corner of the Globe.And to learn something from each of them.

Thank you Thailand for that too!

[LeungKen]

Whats your thoughts?

Is this homework compulsory ?

If so will our work be graded and used in our end of term assessment ?

P.S. I don't think the expat community is completely introverted or extroverted, just a product of all their collective influences and persuasions accumulated to date.

vive la difference.

[mrtoad]

I think the last paragraph was the obvious conclusion to the questions asked in the rest of the text.

I'ts all about balance. It is not socially productive to totally emerge yourself in a foreign culture, nor is it benefcial to remain in pockets of ones own culture in a foreign land.

Best to mix it up.

Yep, it's not rocket science. I have been here for four years now, and I have a bigger mixture of friends from different parts of the globe than I have had before. I've also met a number of total tossers as well, but then that's going to happen wherever you go.

[chiangmaibruce]

Certainly applicable in some places, but less applicable here. The reason being, I think, is the high percentage of expats in Thailand who are married to Thais. This means that expats here are less likely (even less able) to cut themselves off in some sort of cocoon. This contrasts with expat communities in other countries where there is a low level of inter-marriage (and in fact sometimes strong pressure not to inter-marry), more country-specific ghettos, etc.

Another factor (that makes this issue less applicable here) is the socio-economic issue which is about-face to the situation with expats in many other places. In Thailand the expats are better-off on average than the locals and don't come here "for a better life" or as poorer and less well-educated refugees. They have more choices open to them - indeed many come here specifically to immerse themselves in the culture ... albeit in a manner and at a level of their choosing

[neverdie]

I don't feel the need to only exclude people from my own cultural background, mainly because I hate all people, irregardless of colour or shape.

[noahvail]

I don't feel the need to only exclude people from my own cultural background, mainly because I hate all people, irregardless of colour or shape.

Ah, Neverdie, you're reflecting the collective opion of your fellow countrymen (Gawd, but I do love having that NZ passport). Here in the less populated area of Issan, farang are pretty much few and far between, outside of the small cities. So one attempts interaction with them, no matter where they're from. Seem to be more tossers than winners, but then they may think that of me as well. Even without the language, I've got more Thai friends than farang.

But to chime in with you, from an old Kingston Trio song:

The whole world is festering with unhappy souls.

The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles.

Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch.

And I don't like anybody very much.

I did say it was an old song...but still kinda rings true.

[neverdie]

^Give me a good dog anyday.....u can be guaranteed that it will never stab you in the back.

Also, if you lock yourself away somewhere with a dog and you die in your sleep, the dog will eat you when it gets hungry.....thus illiminating the need for one of those funeral things.

[Moonrakers]

I think the last paragraph was the obvious conclusion to the questions asked in the rest of the text.

I'ts all about balance. It is not socially productive to totally emerge yourself in a foreign culture, nor is it benefcial to remain in pockets of ones own culture in a foreign land.

Best to mix it up.

Yep, it's not rocket science. I have been here for four years now, and I have a bigger mixture of friends from different parts of the globe than I have had before. I've also met a number of total tossers as well, but then that's going to happen wherever you go.

You mean you've met people who are not from Cornwall?

[abdulrahman]

Whats your thoughts?

George,you ask this question in an"English only"forum!

[mahtin]

Funny that the blog specifies Germans and Japanese in HCMC (to be PC); a former girl friend ( Vietnamese in Europe, born in Saigon) once said to me that the Japanese were the Germans of Asia.

I suppose that wasn't a PC thing to say, but she did, and I cracked up.

I've seen expat Brits in Europe who were caricatures of themselves, too, regular Alf Garnetts.

Inbreeding is a terrible thing. Miscegenation balances it out.

Do your bit

[doodee]

^Give me a good dog anyday.....u can be guaranteed that it will never stab you in the back.

Also, if you lock yourself away somewhere with a dog and you die in your sleep, the dog will eat you when it gets hungry.....thus illiminating the need for one of those funeral things.

Now that will save some money on the funeral and my gf can send the bones back to my son in the uk.He can grind them down and tell my friends and family i was burnt.

EASY PEAZY