Why don’t you just teach in America, they say?
There are little nuggets here just like there. You’ll get paid more, they say. They are cute here just like there.
Why don’t you just adjust, they say?
Well, you just don’t get it, I say.
You haven’t walked to class where kids run at you, clinging on you full force, with such excitement to see you.
You haven’t heard 50 kids uproar in unison, “Good Morning Teacher.”
Yes, there are kids in America. But they aren’t the same. They see teachers like you everyday. They don’t wait expectingly to have that white girl grace their class two times a week. They don’t appreciate you as much.
Why don’t you appreciate the luxuries here, they say?
Well, you haven’t felt the luxury of simplicity, I say.
You haven’t lived somewhere with more motorcycles than cars, where a family of five can fit on two wheels.
You haven’t understood that meals should cost $1.
Yes, there are people who lavishly live in America. But they aren’t the same. They look at $30 and think ‘wow, this won’t last me all day’. They don’t look to save and extend what little they have, they take loans and pay with credit. They don’t just get by, they are always craving more.
Why don’t you want the American Dream, they say?
Well, you haven’t lived abroad, I say.
You haven’t traveled across the world to find strangers more friendly than your neighbors.
You haven’t been humbled by another culture’s ability to spread kindness instead of hatred.
Yes, there are dreams in America. But they aren’t the same. They focus on excess. They don’t think about wealth in terms of well-being but rather in terms of money. They don’t see the beauty in the present.
Well, you just don’t get it, they say.
And that’s exactly it. The longer I’m home in America, the more I don’t understand this life. The longer I’m home in America, the more I want to go away.
Why don’t you just go back, they say?
Well, it’s not that easy, I say.
