Ambushed part 2 of 2

Recently, the family and I were on Lantau Island just west of Hong Kong. I was chatting up a British expat on the street corner from whom I was buying a couple of used paperbacks. He was a leftover hippy with crooked eyeglasses who has been in Hong Kong for over 30 years because he cannot go back to his native England for unspecified reasons. Something about a contested tax bill.

At first, I was getting a little frustrated because I mistakenly thought I was engaged in a dialog. Once, I realize it was a monologue, it went much better. I settled in and buckled up for the ride. And quite a ride it was: George Bush, Alan Greenspan, George Bush, The IMF, Iraq, George Bush, Afghanistan, George Bush.

Ai-ya.

But even the current administration is not immune. A couple of weeks ago, I arrived in the teacher lunch room five minutes too late. I was told that I had just missed one of my otherwise even-keeled British colleagues going off on a riff about the death of Osama Bin Laden. Something about transgressing the borders of another sovereign nation. Who do we think we are?

Ai-ya.

There are universal rules that govern polite conversation that hold true from one culture to another. But those rules seem to go out the window when discussing America’s presidents past and present and the U.S.’s role in the world.

Whether I like it or not, I have come to realize that I am an ambassador for my country. That’s fine. I figure the best thing that I can do is simply conduct myself well in all my interactions. Beyond that, there's not much I can do. No sense in arguing.

-Jack

I don’t know much about Canada. But I was thinking about reading up on our neighbor to the north. I don’t know what kind of dirt I'll dig up, but I'm sure I can find something to build on: some hockey scandal, maple syrup price fixing, something. That way, the next time I come across a Canadian on the train or in the park or at church, I can unleash my prepared stream-of-conscience, rambling diatribe against our neighbor to the North.

Or maybe I’ll set my sights on New Zealand. Any country with more sheep than people can't be up to any good.

Nothing personal mind you, just wanting to try my hand at the world’s fastest growing sport.