20040927
day 1 down
the final minutes of my workday went like this:
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Alan Keyes... YOU HAVE GOT TO GO ASIA.
i stop typing midsentence and laugh out loud. "the more so then that you've got to visit asia, if there's that much you don't know about that place."
"but i would stand out there," one said.
"how do you think we feel over here?" i laughed, throwing out my arms as if to embrace them all. mwahahaha.
"you don't stand out. we're a melting pot in here," she said referring to this office, which, in a way is true.
they eagerly imparted to me just how strange they would feel and what they would eat, and places like tokyo and manila might be sensory overload to them coz they're both bigger than new york city.
i laughed more and grabbed the opportunity to tell the more about my home continent. i wasn't believing what i was hearing, but i didn't take it against them, either. i forgot most of what they said, because i was very pleased that there wasn't a shred of malice or fear in their voice, just a lot of curiosity and interest that wasn't at all faked.
"after seeing 'lost in translation,' now i really don't want to go to tokyo because it'd be too much of a sensory overload for me," said my news supervisor. i haven't been to tokyo before, but i've been to new york city twice, and after a while you learn to get used to the craziness of times square. you learn how to make your way around the city, and that makes travelling and learning about the city and yourself much easier.
we left the conversation at that, because one concluded that if they had to, they won't have any qualms visiting manila. we acknowledged the cheap labor provided by outsourcing in manila and elsewhere in the world. in true geek fashion i told them how "america's influence has become so widespread that you'd be suprised at what you might find there - there's a mcdonald's everywhere." saying it right now sounds hella, pathetically inane, but it is true.
just to argue on the side of regular american workers, we also hafta abide by company rules and the size of our pockets. it does take money to go someplace else. and i am just so glad that at least, right now, i encountered no negativity with regards to my diversity. that's one of the myriad other things i owe this company, and my background. ¶ 9/27/2004 10:37:00 PM
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Alan Keyes... YOU HAVE GOT TO GO ASIA.
i stop typing midsentence and laugh out loud. "the more so then that you've got to visit asia, if there's that much you don't know about that place."
"but i would stand out there," one said.
"how do you think we feel over here?" i laughed, throwing out my arms as if to embrace them all. mwahahaha.
"you don't stand out. we're a melting pot in here," she said referring to this office, which, in a way is true.
they eagerly imparted to me just how strange they would feel and what they would eat, and places like tokyo and manila might be sensory overload to them coz they're both bigger than new york city.
i laughed more and grabbed the opportunity to tell the more about my home continent. i wasn't believing what i was hearing, but i didn't take it against them, either. i forgot most of what they said, because i was very pleased that there wasn't a shred of malice or fear in their voice, just a lot of curiosity and interest that wasn't at all faked.
"after seeing 'lost in translation,' now i really don't want to go to tokyo because it'd be too much of a sensory overload for me," said my news supervisor. i haven't been to tokyo before, but i've been to new york city twice, and after a while you learn to get used to the craziness of times square. you learn how to make your way around the city, and that makes travelling and learning about the city and yourself much easier.
we left the conversation at that, because one concluded that if they had to, they won't have any qualms visiting manila. we acknowledged the cheap labor provided by outsourcing in manila and elsewhere in the world. in true geek fashion i told them how "america's influence has become so widespread that you'd be suprised at what you might find there - there's a mcdonald's everywhere." saying it right now sounds hella, pathetically inane, but it is true.
just to argue on the side of regular american workers, we also hafta abide by company rules and the size of our pockets. it does take money to go someplace else. and i am just so glad that at least, right now, i encountered no negativity with regards to my diversity. that's one of the myriad other things i owe this company, and my background. ¶ 9/27/2004 10:37:00 PM
