Strong magnets in Book Two

On my walk along the river this morning, I saw a guy that I stop to chat with when I see him. He’s an expat from Ohio, living here in Taiwan now for about 7 or 8 years.

Like most people I know, I know more about him than he knows about me. I don’t have a need to share too much, to explain the world through my eyes to people. I’d rather listen.
I like long pauses. I always feel that if I am talking, then I am talking too much.

I used to ask questions to both control the direction of the conversation but also to keep the focus off of myself. I don’t do that anymore. Now I express my opinion when asked or when needed and then I shut up.

This is only the third time I’ve stopped to chat with this guy. So we are still in the getting to know you phase and sadly the more I get to know him the more I don’t like him. He is simply too American for me, too Fox News. He likes guns and Trump. He’s a Republican. As a Canadian I don’t see the appeal of guns or Trump, though I do see that in such a polarized political environment how someone could vote Republican. It seems to me that the left has gone too far left to balance the fact that the right has gone so far right. So now you’ve got fascism fighting wokeism. Strong magnets.

But besides those things, the real reason that I do not like him is because he lives in Taiwan and has made zero effort to learn the language. He sees himself as a ‘old china hand’ but he is really just a tourist.

I know this is harsh but it’s how I feel.