[lbo-talk] Cultural exchange!

[Carrol Cox]

The preference for home is rather widespread, without any special 
motives. I remember my grandmother telling how _her_ grandmother would 
go out to the front gate and gaze for long periods of time in what she 
thought  was the direction of England. And a Guatemalan refugee (many of 
his family had been killed) broke down crying in the middle of giving a 
talk: he wanted to be home. And as far as we know, Dante wasn't all that 
delighted to be in exile from Florence -- even though to other Italian 
cities.

Carrol

On 8/18/2011 6:24 PM, Charles Turner wrote:
> On Aug 18, 2011, at 5:58 PM, 123hop at comcast.net wrote:
>
>> Why specifically do they hate it? Degree of exploitation? alienation? social vaccum?
>
> It's hard to be definitive. I get chit-chat during my meals, not the kind of thoughtful response you'd get if you were out drinking or something. Also, these are staff at smaller restaurants, not the big ones like Jing Fung, where direct exploitation might be more likely.
>
> I'd guess that the difference between income and expenses is much greater here. There's "key money" for Chinatown apartments that I'd find hard to pay. And quality of life can be much better in China for equivalent work. When I've been in Beijing, I've often run into Chinese that have returned from the U.S. to work as pharmacists, opticians, etc. But I know that's also true in places like Greece, for example.
>
> Or was. :(
>
> Best, Charles
>
>
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