Ex-pats?

I'm become detached from Western people and ways of life. I hold nothing in particular against them, but the Western attitude suggests to me that a lot of people are very insecure. I listened to fellow teachers at my workplace today (not exactly and uncommon experience) discuss how Korean culture is bizarre and lacking and made up of people who are unwilling to accept foreigners. Clearly then, perhaps foreigners who a) make no effort to learn Korean while living in Korea, b) expect Korean people to cater to their wishes because they believe that rich Western countries hold some sway over other nationalities, c) make little or no effort to actually venture out and experience Korean culture, save for the standard hofs and bars that they routinely get hammered at, d) suck, have no method for gaining any entended knowledge or greater understanding outside their own subjectivity. Approaching Korean culture from a Western viewpoint removes the possibility for being able to extend one's own experience into the realm of a foreign culture. This can be a problem and lacks empathy. Experiences like this are not resigned to Korea, but can be found in many cultures in Asia rich in both cultural heritage and language development, yet treated as sub-standard. The whining of whitey's is almost enough to encourage a renunciation of culture.

The book Jonathan Livingstone Seagull relates that after being belittled and shunned from his flock, Jonathan, having achieved something greater than his community could before him, came back to his flock in order to offer himself to instruct those who lacked the knowledge he acquired, but only those who had the desire to learn. In Korea however, many Westerners responsible for teaching the flock are themselves unwilling to undergo any sort of education.

Additionally, I promise to rear my children in such a way as to never even closely approximate the lifestyle of my roommate, who somehow believes that she is a character on Sex and the City.