ASIA
My 10-Hour
Mistake I
love living in Asia. For the past 14 years, my family has grown to love the food, the tropical climate, and most importantly, the people. Some of our favorite memories are of times that we’ve spent mingling with those in our Asian community. There are many ways to mingle—and I have so many stories to share. But one of my favorite experiences was one that embarrassed me for a long time. When we first arrived in Asia, we were totally dependent on others. We didn’t know the language. We didn’t recognize the food. And we weren’t sure how to get around town. I didn’t even know how to clean the house properly (yes, it’s done differently here!). So when we found people who took the time to understand and help us, they became special friends. One of those people was a tuk-tuk* driver at the market. Whenever I went to the market, he would spot me—not hard to do because I’m white and a head taller than most of the locals, and at that time I had a three-yearold and six-month-old in tow! He would run over to me and tell me through hand gestures that he would be waiting for me and would take me home when I was done shopping. I would then do my shopping, and as I exited the tarpaulin-covered open-air market, 18
