As if last week's crushing work stress wasn't enough, this week i had two - count 'em - social events lined up to sap every ounce of my mojo
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'It's funny that blue collar workers are considered migrant workers and white collar workers are considered expats.' That is a strange one, and you got me googling the difference between an expat and an immigrant. This is one of the first articles that came up. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170119-who-should-be-called-an-expat I don't really mind what people call me. Expat, immigrant, foreigner 외국 waygook (foreigner in Korea). I think all of them fit.
You seem a lot more conscientious than most about wealth inequality and power imbalances. You remind me a lot of my own thinking patterns ten years ago. Though the current me, were he not very settled in Korea, would jump at the chance to be a digital nomad lazing on a beach in Thailand. If I ever got too uncomfortable about it I'd probably just find a local charity to donate some of my earnings too.
'He said that something he didn't like about spending time in "developing countries" is that he feels he can never trust anybody that he meets. It's not just if a girl talks to you is she just trying to score a foreign husband, it's also... if anyone talks to you, are they just 媚外 fawning on foreigners? Are they trying to scam you? Befriend you so you can be a mascot for them, a symbol of prestige?' I have't spent enough time in what we call the developing world to know how I'd feel living there, but I can imagine living in some countries getting odd and uncomfortable due to the reasons he mentions. Korea is roughly on par with wealth and standards of living to much of the western world, so it doesn't feel like much of an issue. Few people here (so far as I can work out, others may disagree) see foreigners as a source of potential wealth or prestige. It means I can go about my day largely undisturbed, with little reminder that I am an obvious minority. On the odd occasion strangers do strike up a conversation, it seems to be out of friendly curiosity more than anything else.
There are a lot of articles about the expat/immigrant thing, and I think it depends a lot on which country the person is from, which country they now live in, what their legal status is and what their intentions are. I think it's really tough to take on the title of immigrant if you are living in a country that will not even give you permanent residence. The most you can ever hope to be is a literal migrant worker. But in a lot of countries - Taiwan included - there is a codified difference between blue collar and white collar migrant workers - they have different visas and different rights under the law. That tiered system probably adds to the public opinion around who gets to be called "expat" or something else.
I think for people who actually live for extended periods in other countries, the name that random people on the street call us matters less than how the government classifies us. But i do wonder if it can create a feedback loop where how the government classifies us ends up influenced by the way the public sees us. So i am somewhat mindful to avoid being a "pulling up the ladder after me" type who doesn't challenge the terminology since i am currently in the relatively more fortunate bucket of immigration status and therefore am not as negatively affected by the stereotypes as blue collar migrants.
That is a strange one, and you got me googling the difference between an expat and an immigrant. This is one of the first articles that came up.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20170119-who-should-be-called-an-expat
I don't really mind what people call me. Expat, immigrant, foreigner 외국 waygook (foreigner in Korea). I think all of them fit.
You seem a lot more conscientious than most about wealth inequality and power imbalances. You remind me a lot of my own thinking patterns ten years ago. Though the current me, were he not very settled in Korea, would jump at the chance to be a digital nomad lazing on a beach in Thailand. If I ever got too uncomfortable about it I'd probably just find a local charity to donate some of my earnings too.
'He said that something he didn't like about spending time in "developing countries" is that he feels he can never trust anybody that he meets. It's not just if a girl talks to you is she just trying to score a foreign husband, it's also... if anyone talks to you, are they just 媚外 fawning on foreigners? Are they trying to scam you? Befriend you so you can be a mascot for them, a symbol of prestige?'
I have't spent enough time in what we call the developing world to know how I'd feel living there, but I can imagine living in some countries getting odd and uncomfortable due to the reasons he mentions. Korea is roughly on par with wealth and standards of living to much of the western world, so it doesn't feel like much of an issue. Few people here (so far as I can work out, others may disagree) see foreigners as a source of potential wealth or prestige. It means I can go about my day largely undisturbed, with little reminder that I am an obvious minority. On the odd occasion strangers do strike up a conversation, it seems to be out of friendly curiosity more than anything else.
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I think for people who actually live for extended periods in other countries, the name that random people on the street call us matters less than how the government classifies us. But i do wonder if it can create a feedback loop where how the government classifies us ends up influenced by the way the public sees us. So i am somewhat mindful to avoid being a "pulling up the ladder after me" type who doesn't challenge the terminology since i am currently in the relatively more fortunate bucket of immigration status and therefore am not as negatively affected by the stereotypes as blue collar migrants.
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