WORLD GONE MAD

6 Comments on “About expat”

1. catalonia Says:

   
   September 25, 2007 at 12:02 am

   Nice introduction and some nice birdhouses Brian, great stuff!

   Reply
2. Steve Riley Says:

   
   September 12, 2008 at 3:17 pm

   Glad to hear that there are some sane people out there. Gives me hope (albeit only a little) that things might turn out differently in a few generations time. I fear that the choices made by the american poeple dont only effect themselves, otherwise I´d just say” they made the bed let them lie in it”
   Sorry my english is a little rusty.
   Greetings from Steve in germany

   Reply
3. Brian Says:

   
   September 12, 2008 at 5:42 pm

   Hi Steve, as an English teacher of foreign students (mostly Chinese) your english is fine.
   And you are so right. Unfortunately, whatever the US government does seems to affect the whole world. Put a maniac like Bush in power and everyone, in all countries needs to be on the alert. Best of luck to you and your fellow Germans after the election.

   Reply
4. Rick Singer Says:

   
   January 6, 2009 at 3:30 pm

   Ahh, you’re not an expatriot… you’re just an angry (rightfully so!) American living on an island! Remember, no MAN is an island! You know who you are, and we know where you’re from… and your roots rumble in your core, like the sound that GTO made (from THESE soils) not so very long ago.

   “Do not go gentle into that good night,
   Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
   Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

   So RAGE Worrell, rage!

   And…. smile.

   Regards,

   Rick Singer

   Reply
5. Brian Says:

   
   January 7, 2009 at 7:50 am

   Well, Rick, you may be right. It was wonderful to be back for a while and now that Bushwacker is gone, I don’t feel so much rage anymore. But Singapore is more than just an island to me. It’s a paradise and I’m a lucky guy to have two places I can call home.

   Reply
6. BBlacky Says:

   
   August 8, 2012 at 2:19 pm

   Hi Brian. I happened upon your blog through, strangely enough, fark.com, a website which rarely fails to amuse and occasionally imparts interesting information.

   As an American who sacrificed an academic career to protest against the Vietnam War (remember that one, or have too many other illegal adventures come and gone since…) I can empathize with you. I moved to Vancouver in 1970 with the FBI / CIA hot on my cute little tail. Charges were eventually dropped (bullshit blows away) and after spending a couple of years teaching and working as a communicator in Japan and Thailand I made a half-hearted attempt to “go back” and integrate with North American society (1986). Big mistake. To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, …”there was no ‘back’ to go to…”

   After 14 very annoying months I was hired to come and teach in Jakarta and here I am in 2012, no richer but wiser. Being an expatriate is one of the only sane ways to withhold approval and support of the corruption, brutality and craziness.

   And, as you are well aware, looking at the antics of Wall Street / White House / Pentagon / a crazed & armed public from the vantage point of an orderly multi-racial society like that of Singapore gives one a very unique perspective.

   As the recently-departed Gore Vidal put it, passing sad judgment on the USA, “…from a flawed republic to a murderous empire…”

   I’ll let you know if I’m in Sing and you do the same if you ever come here. Buy you a beer in messy Jakarta.

   Reply