Reflections on our Experiences

It was a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to travel to so many parts of the world to see and experience first hand how people of other countries live. Having spent my entire life in the US my knowledge of many of these countries was accumulated from newspaper and television coverage over many years. In addition, my definition of "normal" was built on what I encountered growing up in the US. What I learned is what might be normal for me is not normal for most of the world. Admittedly, having the refuge of a cruise ship to retreat to each night, for most of our travels, probably does not provide the most accurate picture of any country. With that disclaimer here are some reflections and observations.

First, is became abundantly clear that we in the US are so fortunate to have the intrinsic assets that we take for granted and to a certain extent assume all countries provide their citizens. Specifically, what I am referring to are the following: Infrastructure including roads, water, sewer, communications, electricity and hospitals. Rule of law so that everybody is treated evenly and fairly and has access to protection they can trust. Protection of property rights and ownership. A society that encourages ambition and innovation and rewards those who are successful. Public education that prepares people to work productively in the 21st century.



Having seen people who live in homes without electricity or running water is not uncommon. Watching people work at a menial job 10 hours a day just to survive for another day without hope for a future that is any different, is a way of life for many. Seeing countries trying to build a 21st century economy with roads that are undersized, and choked with all type of vehicles from bicycles, motor scooters, cars, trucks and in some cases animals, is their only way forward.

One of the common things I found was that many of these economies are dominated by millions of small family run and staffed businesses. These businesses serve as their store front and home. Most of these businesses focus on one type of commodity such as pipes or cement or bricks etc. Their scope of influence is restricted to within a few miles as their business is replicated by another family a few miles down the road. They get their food either by growing it or from small one room stores that sell basic necessities or open air markets. There are no refrigerated food cases to keep perishable items from spoiling. Most grocery shopping seems to be done on a daily basis both because there is no way to keep the food fresh and because they can't afford to purchase much more than a day or two in advance.

I was surprised to find, what I consider to be American music, in so many places even where they did not speak English. What an impact we have on the world. Religion is a very strong element in the Asian countries as well as superstitions. It is hard to distinguish where religion stops and superstition starts.
There was a very wide divergence in the work ethic I was able observe. In the island countries, especially the Marquises Islands, the work ethic is not very evident. In Cambodia, Viet Nam, Thailand and China there was a strong work ethic that was very evident. It appears that the people I came in contact with in the cities had ambition to get ahead and improve their individual situation. The people I came in contact with in the rural areas seemed to work hard but their objective was to have something to eat at the end of the day as opposed to looking to change or improve their situation in the long run.
With the above comments in mind it is clear that in all of the countries we visited I observed that the people were generally happy. Each society seemed to be comfortable with their situation and the people were able to find happiness no matter what their economic or social situation was. This is a lesson that I took away from the experience. People can find happiness in any situation, it does not require all of the trappings that we as Americans think we need to be happy. Clearly, our quality of life is far superior to many if not all of the places we visited. The opportunities available to us, in the US, to determine what we want to do with our lives is one of the largest differences between our society and many others. So many we came in contact with have no knowledge of what the world has to offer. Many are born into situations that dictate what they will do for the rest of their lives.
I would recommend to any young unmotivated person that they spend time in Viet Nam or Cambodia or Thailand and they will come back to the US and understand what opportunity really means.
I am proud to be an American but more so I feel so fortunate to have been born an American. It is simply that I was born in the United States to parents that provided the basic education available to all that allowed me to find success in my chosen field. This opportunity is not available to so many through out the world.