What's interesting is to spend time living in an even younger culture, but with deeper roots, like in the Andes, or in Indonesia....
One thing I noticed in Ecuador was the level of visceral patriotism I had never seen and yet the lack of sense of "we're number 1" that is equated with this in the US. It was as if Ecuadorians said "We love our country. Let's make it number 1."
In Indonesia, it's different. The Chinese-Indonesians are afraid to get involved in politics, and the religious politics makes the Christian Right look pretty tame. Malaysia is different still, in weird and disorienting ways.
One thing I noticed in Ecuador was the level of visceral patriotism I had never seen and yet the lack of sense of "we're number 1" that is equated with this in the US. It was as if Ecuadorians said "We love our country. Let's make it number 1."
In Indonesia, it's different. The Chinese-Indonesians are afraid to get involved in politics, and the religious politics makes the Christian Right look pretty tame. Malaysia is different still, in weird and disorienting ways.