Shall I re-phrase that?
Corroded old men with twenty-something year old local women.
Children as young as seven years old offering me pot and cocaine.
Street vendors asking me whether Obama or Clinton will win the election.
I cannot escape these three issues.
The first topic has been covered: Revisit "Tim the Sex Tourist;" Though I must say Tim proved himself extreme compared to these lonely old-timers. The ex-pats here in Saigon, Vietnam desire medium to long-term relationships, maybe with one girlfriend in each of a few different countries, and they throw tidbits of their pensions at the girls to pay for things like braces, rent, diapers, etc.
The young cocaine dealer approached me in Laos. A tiny boy stopped playing with his friend for a moment. He made the offer and along with it came a childishly playful yet serious smile as he caught a breath. I casually walked past. My younger brother has a couple of years on this boy and enjoys the innocence of a healthy American childhood. When not in school or practicing for his black belt in karate John plays with and cares for Scout, his loved dog. Contrast? Looking back on the child's drug offer, the uninterested expression I maintained at the moment made the situation seem almost imaginary - like recalling a scene from a movie, something that's not real. This far from home the departure from our perception of reality becomes so polarized that it just doesn't even register sometimes.
Everybody wants to know what's happening in America. For many, it determines whether their family will have enough rice on the table next year. Without going into detail, the American economy affects the entire world more than any other economy in the entire world. Even though Americans travel less than citizens of any other developed nation (check me on this), many businesses in any country base their pricing on the [generally] stable US Dollar. Locals in every single country I have visited ask about the elections. Literally, I have been approached by gregarious street vendors who first ask what country I'm from then follow up with a remark about Obama or Hilary Clinton. This has become so commonplace it no longer causes my jaw to fall. Interestingly, not many people have heard of McCain...
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