Penang -- Week 15 -- Post-colonialism [EDITED]

Sorry, I did a bunch of editing to this post in the hour since it published, so if you read it right away, it's changed a little. -- I apparently posted a draft I hadn't finished writing! Now, on with the post!


Week  15
Weekend (continued)
On Sunday, we're at our favorite wifi spot where I spy some big, hulking American guys.  We're talking college football types, broad necks and all.  One of them is wearing a bright yellow, CU Buffs shirt!  When they leave I ask if he's from Colorado.  He says he went to school there.  CU?  No, Mines; a friend went to CU.  I tell him I went to CU, my sister went to Mines.  He says, "huh, small world," we pause and look at each other, realizing we have nothing else to say, and he walks away. 

Despite the fact that I go (or went) to an American play group, George and I are really not all that interested in socializing with "our own kind" all that much.  I mean, yeah, if it happens naturally, organically, and we befriend other expats along the way, we're not going to run away from them.  But as a whole, we're not especially drawn to them.  George and I both turned our noses up every time we saw white people when we first got here.  Especially those we saw as tourists.  Now I don't notice them as much, but I'm still not seeking Westerners out.  And you know, I'm not sure I have more than a CU shirt in common with most of them, so why bother?

In particular, I had a prejudice against any of those wearing the tropical look, riding around in trishaws and trying for the "authentic experience."  They don't wear the tropical look here.  They wear mostly the same stuff we see in the States, with some slight differences (dressier than Colorado, and less chest/arm skin showing, but some have plenty of leg).  Oh yeah, there are women wearing tudungs and batiks, or saris, but in general, it's the same clothing you'll see anywhere.  So, if you want the authentic experience, you'll wear normal clothes, and drive around in a Myvi or on a moped.  These tourists, on the other hand, are the ones that go back to their countries with their noses in the air talking about the fahbulous experiences they had in Malaysia, and educating people on the correct pronunciation on Char Koay Teow. 

Thankfully, the expats don't seem to have any of those airs at all, but I don't care for their obsession with sticking together either.  They have their maids, or "amas," but for socializing, it's all expat all the time.  It makes them seem to me a modern day equivalent of the colonial who comes in with all his perceived privilege and takes all of what the locale has to offer but without having to do anything quite so repugnant as truly mingling with "the natives."  Then he can go back to his homeland and tell all the stories of living in the Orient or wherever, but with never having had more to do with its people than to have them do his bidding.  Oh they're really not that bad, I know.  And at least they are actually exploring the lands, unlike many people I've come across on military bases.   Furthermore, I think it's easy to fall into the all-expat trap.  I'm trying to avoid it without turning away friendship where it turns up, but look how much time we spend with our expat friends versus locals!  I just have more respect for the integrated foreigner. 

By the way, despite being told that it's vital for our survival, we've yet to attend any IWA (International Women's Association) activities, and I don't foresee us doing so in the future.  I love the latin crowd and my playgroup girls (if I ever see them again), but I don't need a social calendar of contrived expat mixers and pottery classes to find people.  I've found people through our own connections, the internet, salsa, art, and now, natural parenting.

No, I still haven't met my artist friend in person.  We were supposed to get together Friday, but she cancelled because of a cold.

Now, what do I do about the fact that, despite my prejudices and given the opportunity, I'd love to wear the tropical look?