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A conversation recently took place in our local expat* Facebook group here in our little city in Asia-Pacific.\u00a0 A newbie family introduced a question along these lines: \u201cAre we the only foreign family that constantly deals with local people wanting to take selfies with us?\u00a0 If you have experienced this, how do you deal with it?\u201d\u00a0 This question triggered a gazillion replies on the Facebook group, since all of us (especially those of us who stand out with extra-light skin and blue eyes) deal with this phenomenon almost daily.\u00a0 Babies and children spark additional interest, and sometimes all it takes is one person brave enough to request a selfie\u2026before you know it there\u2019s a line that makes you feel like the ticket taker for the most popular ride at an amusement park.<\/p>\n
A year and a half ago, when everything in this culture was brand-new to us, posing for selfies didn\u2019t really bother us.\u00a0 But as time went on and we felt more and more at home in Asia-Pacific, we began to get a little irritated with the constant request for pictures.\u00a0 Admittedly, I (Carol) am much less patient than Jared with this inconvenience.\u00a0 The first time I felt truly frustrated by a selfie-hunter was when we went on our first weekend getaway to a nearby city and visited a zoo with the boys.\u00a0 Within two minutes of entering the park, we were accosted by a woman who wanted her picture taken with our family.\u00a0 I set my lips in a firm line, shook my head, and walked away, while Jared and Gabriel stayed patiently behind to pose with the woman.\u00a0 I remember thinking, I\u2019m on vacation.\u00a0 Nobody\u2019s getting me in a selfie today.\u00a0 No way.\u00a0 No how.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n A few weeks ago another expat inspired me to jokingly ask for money if approached for a selfie.\u00a0 Just smile, hold out your hand, and say, \u201cKalau bayar dulu\u201d (If you pay first).\u00a0 It invites a laugh, but in my limited experience of trying this line, it hasn\u2019t stopped anyone from following through with the selfie.\u00a0 In fact, one group of teenage girls actually replied, \u201cHow much do you want?\u201d\u00a0 If I hadn\u2019t set them straight I think they were actually going to check their purses and see if they could pool enough change!<\/p>\n So how do we deal with selfie hunters?\u00a0 Honestly, we haven\u2019t come to a solid conclusion on that yet.\u00a0 Sometimes it just depends on the day and whether we\u2019re relaxed or stressed, moseying along or in a hurry.\u00a0 But this honest question from a new-in-town foreigner made me pause for thought, especially after reading the variety of responses from other expats.<\/p>\n It made me question if I am truly valuing the people around me, regardless of whether I am occasionally inconvenienced or made into a spectacle.\u00a0 Have I determined in my heart to consistently show love and respect to others, even if I need to say \u201cno\u201d to a pushy person?<\/p>\n Cultural \u201crights\u201d are a difficult thing to let go of.\u00a0 My American culture tells me that if someone is bothering me, I have the right to ignore them, scowl at them, or tell them exactly what I think.\u00a0 When a situation is stressful or frustrating, I want to claim my right to respond in such a way, then blame my own behavior on the other person\u2019s inconsiderate request.\u00a0 Can\u2019t you see my kids want to play?\u00a0 We came to see the animals at the zoo, not to be treated like curiosities ourselves.\u00a0 I don\u2019t even know you, why should you ask me for a picture?<\/em><\/p>\n As the Lord continues to refine us for His purposes, He is not just working on the \u201cbig\u201d areas; He\u2019s also concerned with little things like our responses to small inconveniences.\u00a0 It\u2019s those everyday irritations that can bring to light the true quality of our hearts.<\/p>\n Lord, may I be found faithful in the small things.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n *Expat=expatriate: a person living outside their native country; foreigner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A conversation recently took place in our local expat* Facebook group here in our little city in Asia-Pacific.\u00a0 A newbie family introduced a question along these lines: \u201cAre we the only foreign family that constantly deals with local people wanting to take selfies with us?\u00a0 If you have experienced this, how do you deal with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1082,"featured_media":319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[448],"class_list":{"0":"post-315","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-ethnos360","9":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1082"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/jared-kresge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}