(no subject)

[hawkwing_lb]

Okay, I have a question.

What do you say to someone who, when you mention that you've been thinking of spending a year (after you get this college thing done) teaching English in Thailand or China, tells you you shouldn't go to "yellow people" countries?

Really? Seriously? I thought the yellow menace had gone out with phrenology, for gods' sakes.

Of course, aforesaid person - who is a relative, btw - tops this by telling me I should go to Canada instead, because, and I quote, "All the best aristocratic British people went to Canada when the blacks came in to England after WWII."

The stupid, the ignorance, the bigotry, it burns. And makes me want to cry, in frustrated rage sort of way.

Comments

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

You have my sympathies; that's bloody awful.

While, you know, Canada is nice, a large part of why it's nice is rampant multiculturality; when people talk about the Underground Railroad, it's not always with that much awareness that those escaping by it ended up here, and we also have sizable Asian-descended communities.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Relatives. What can you do?

I liked Canada, on brief acquaintance. It seemed an eminently sensible sort of country. With cool people, dinosaur bones, and mountains.

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

In my case, I'm working on the "not talk to them any more than is avoidable" solution to the relatives issue.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I'm already at that point with most of 'em.

[clarentine]

Argh! Logic just has no weight with that sort of people, either.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

What is this "logic" you speak of?

[clarentine]

*g*

[cpolk.livejournal.com]

"Dude! Did you really just say that? OMG."

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

My grandmother, let me show you her.

(On second thought, let me keep her very far away from all of my good friends whom she will like in person and denigrate as a class.)

[cristalia.livejournal.com]

and I quote, "All the best aristocratic British people went to Canada when the blacks came in to England after WWII."

They did?

I guess that explains the attitude my grandmother cops sometimes. :D

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

I confess, it was news to me.

I liked Canada, on brief acquaintance, but there are some endorsements one can live without hearing. :)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Mm, sounds like my Gran, who grew up in Cavan. She could talk in a casually bigoted way about folks, and then behave nicely to everyone (just as well, or she'd never have been to Passover dinner at my Gram's house).

At times like this, you pat her hand and change the topic as fast as you can.

Canada was a fantastic place to live, and if you go off on an Adventure to teach English, you'll not only learn a lot, you'll have some great stories to tell. There's an American guy who blogs about his experiences teaching English to middle schoolers in Japan -- you might take a look at it; it's called "GaijinSmash".

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

I still boggle at the phrase "yellow people", though. Who the hell talks like that? Seriously?

...I guess I know who, but it's still disappointing.

(Thanks for the blog rec; I'll look into it. Hey, what's the economy like where you are? I have to find work somewhere in the world next summer.)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I know..it's just one step away from "yellow peril", and then we're back in the worst days of WWII.

The economy is rebounding here, as the Federal government is a steady employer and the ARRA funds are flowing out, so the Beltway Bandits are hanging on, and the service sector is cautiously optimistic. How about the Irish Embassy?

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Yep.

Right now, I'm just asking everyone I know who lives in Large Foreign Cities (tm) whether their economy is dead or dying yet. Before applying for visas.

Because, you know. I don't want to arrive somewhere and end up camping out. :P

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Good plan. There are enough Irish in the DC area for us to have hurley and camogie teams, and practically a whole province's worth of GAA. None of our street signs have any Gailge, though.

Do let me know if you end up in this part of the world, and we'll meet up . ;-)

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

At the moment Canada is winning by a hair. Due to containing socialism, and all that. :)

And the visas appear to be slightly less hassle and cash.

(Plus, the one time I have been through an American customs, and the one time I have been through a Canadian customs? I would go Canadian again any time. Not so much the US version.)

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

I'd vote for Canada too. I've got friends at MNI who can also help, if you end up in Quebec or Ontario. I agree on the border personnel, too. Driving across the border was much more pleasant than flying.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

MNI?

I'm looking at Toronto, since I'm do not parle courament le francais, and Vancouver is fourteen hours flight time. But it's all very early days yet. I don't even know if I'll be able to afford the visa programme yet.

[etumukutenyak.livejournal.com]

Sorry, the Montreal Neuro Institute.

Toronto is a neat city. I lived in Guelph for a semester, and took the bus into Toronto whenever I could.

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Ah.

It's looking like I can't afford the upfront costs of visa and flights and stuff, at least not this year, but it's cool to know stuff. :)

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

(assumes serious simian expression) You _should_ avoid yellow people! Hepatitus is catching. There is a good reason for avoiding Chinese people too! They work too bloody hard (I shared my postgrad lab with a Chinese guy for a year. Great guy, but holy macaroni, he made all of us look feckless.) On a slightly more serious note, you seem quite prone to isolation hassles and that can be overwhelming, and a very different culture can make that worse. Also check out the temperatures - Parts of those 'Yellow people countries ;-)) can be either very blistering hot and sweaty (not your best, eh?) or freeze your buns off. But otherwise? The hell with the lot of their opinions. Go where your heart takes you, not where other people want you to go!

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Well, it was a thought.

Most likely I'll be staying home and doing a couple of boring-ass day courses to qualify me for a security license, and then seeing where I can go to do doorwork or shop security. (Because it pays more than retail. And you don't always have to pretend to like the customers.)

How is your migration coming along?

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

AH BAH! You want to be a writer? You reach MUST always exceed your grasp - and somehow you do succeed. Which shows others - and you - are mistaken as to what you can reach. It seems typical of your climbing and your academic achievement. Why not the rest of your life?

Migration. The uncertainty is the killer, in that we accepted the offer on house, and now we wait for the buyer's bank. But we're still reaching too far, away from the comfortable or predictable with this.

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

you reach =your reach

[hawkwing-lb.livejournal.com]

Hard to reach abroad if you can't pay for flights.

Best wishes, as always.