Thank you, Asia "Friends" (99 days left)

 99 days until we move back to Green Bay, WI. "Thank you, Asia" series.

This picture popped up as my Facebook memory from 6 years ago and exemplifies one of the greatest gifts I have received in the past 11 years in Asia - friendships with good people from all over the planet.

In this picture are Kristy and Kelly Fitzgerald. Colleagues and friends from our time in Seoul, and Texans at heart; they visited us in Hong Kong our second year here. One of hundreds of photos I could post to represent friendships made during our 11 years in Asia, this represents the great gift it has been to make friends hailing from North America, South America, Asia and S.E. Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Through these friendships, I have not only experienced the cultures of International Schools in Asia and Korean and Cantonese cultures, I have - by proxy - learned about cultures from robust discussions with these friends and acquaintances from all over the world.

For example, from the lunch table at work I came to understand the New Zealand secondary education system from Helen. From rides to and from the North Korean Women's Refugee Center I came to understand the North and South Korean culture better. From my many Canadian colleagues and friends, I came to understand my northern neighbors better. From friends in India, I learned about Indian - and especially Kolkatan - culture. From Cora and other Cantonese natives, I experienced Cantonese culture in ways that I could not have otherwise. The list goes on.

On-going friendships with good people from around the world has taught me the unequivocal fact that there is far less that separates us than binds us as humans. A friend can be found next door or half way around the world. Thank you, Asia, for those amazing friends - now scattered back to the winds - and all they have brought to my understanding and my heart.