I will never not be fascinated by how incurious family has been about learning anything about Colombia in the 5 years I've been here. Two siblings still can't spell the country's name. Another thinks I live in the jungle. And all have such cosy presumptions about poverty that they dump on the whole of it.
(Father was amusingly worse. When I first told him I was leaving, he was terrified I'd join a cartel & asked how I expected to raise 3 kids here. [He figured my 3 nephews needed 3 cousins. ๐])
@MLClark Had a boss like that in China. She was there for four years, and not only barely spoke any of the language but also despite being in charge of the campus had no understanding of how to relate to the Chinese staff. She was extremely self-centred and it boggles me.
@Nimthiriel She reminds me of why I have zero North American friends here. I will not have anything to do with digital nomads / Western lifers who still retain elitist attitudes about the country, or otherwise come here to live in tourist districts where they expect locals to cater to them, objectify the women, and don't bother learning the language while complaining about various facets of the country. They & disrespectful tourists make life harder for everyone else. But the type is everywhere!
@MLClark if you were in my family I'd be pestering you nonstop about everything from the food to the wildlife and if you were near anything historical or super cool ! You'd be my favorite to visit on holidays!
@Tattoomonkey29 ๐คฉ Cousin Ronnie~!
@MLClark
Oh Lord. Don't tell me your Dad said that before you even had kids? errgh
@janallmac Oh, no surprise there. My father has always felt that I should have had kids, that I'd have been happier if I'd just found a man and procreated. He only grudgingly admitted, the first time I was published in Analog, that maybe it was all right that I'd "delayed" having children to write a little.
He once also hounded me about having kids while I was in grad school, and pointed out that my sister hadn't even finished high school when she'd had her first. So, not great. But so it goes!
@MLClark @janallmac Yes but everyone knows women are only defined in society when they become mothers. /sarcasm My friend @Lena_Tasi has written extensively about this.
@MLClark
Yeah. I was in my 30s, trying to establish a career and, you know, support myself, and I didn't have kids yet and my dad complained about it in a Christmas letter he sent all his friends. Well, he said "No kids yet! Oh well." like I was a disappointment. That one still stings a bit.
Women need to be able to support themselves and their kids. You would think fathers, of all people, would understand this. ๐คท
@MLClark
P.S. I would also come to visit often if you were my family, and you'd probably regret it! ๐
(Family is something you make for yourself, by hook or by crook or by international flight out.)