Dear Anonymous:

I recieved this comment as a response to my prior "Shower" blog. It's frustrating to me when I get nasty comments because, number 1, I don't get paid to blog, I do so as a hobby and as a way for my friends and family to feel closer to us while we are too far away to see them and as such I should have every right to blog about whatever the Hell pops into my head without some "secret" person who has nothing better to do policing my site.

And number 2, because while it may drag me down a bit on an otherwise tolerable day, it is obvious that the only people who write things like this do so because they are personally offended by something I'm doing that they cannot... in this case, having a relatively happy life in spite of living in my own version of Hell. It's not up to be to make anyone else feel better, and it's also not my job to feel perfectly happy in an oppressive, second world country, just because other people are too egotistical and fake to say anything truthful. I think my honesty, while I'm certain to offend some, is one of my best qualities, and is either way, one of the first things that readers of my blog thank me for.

Here is the comment: (you can also find it in the comments section below this blog.)

"You are so miserable here. Why do you stay? Just leave, go back to your wonderful country since it has so much more to offer you. You act as though you are kept here against your will. If that is the case call the police.

For someone so miserable all the time, constantly complaining about everything, you'd think you would be smart enough to just go home. Oh wait, your country is in a bit of shambles and oh your husband may cheat on you whilst your gone. I see, you are here for the money and to keep an ever constant controlling eye on your spouse. You are a trader to your country and a hyprocrite, a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. Take your country talking, thinking, verbal diarhea back to your own country. How does your husband stay married to you?"

Ok, my turn:

Of course I am miserable here. Anyone would be, and most of the Americans I know who live here are miserable.

But we can't go home yet. We ARE here for the money. That's the only reason we came and it's the only reason we're still here. And we're saving a shit ton of it. My country does have a lot more to offer me, when it is in decent economic times. We're not going to go home when we have a high-paying job here just to waste our savings not being able to find employment like the rest of America is doing.

I don't only complain. I report. This particular blog talked only about what we did this weekend (again, as I've said too many times, this blog is for my friends and family back home. I don't give a shit how anyone else takes how I write about our experiences, and anyone who actually knows us well enough to care to read this would have the balls to sign their name to what they write). Of course I'm complaining about our shower head exploding and not being able to correctly wash as a result of a lazy society and irresponsible building maintenance.

My husband, son, and I are a family. We came here together to make a better future for ourselves while we had a chance to do it (this job). I'm not going to go back to the States without him and have him make all the money and us be apart. It's not about cheating, it's about our relationship and OUR life. It is one... he could never go days or weeks or months without seeing Kaden or me. And that's not something for me to apologize for. We are a happy, strong family unit and he is even more miserable here, away from our families, than I am. But we're in this together. For better or worse. I'm sorry that you don't have the same privilege with your own cheating husband when you go home on vacation without him. But again, it's not my problem.

From the beginning I have written from my heart about being here. It's been so hard a lot of the time, but at least I am honest with myself and the world. As a result, it means that I am very vulnerable. Someone having a hard time with life does not need to try to bring me down and hurt me just because they can't live up to the virtues and morals that I have.

I'd imagine my husband stays married to me because I am a good wife, a good mother, and I have helped him become a better person by having me in his life, or so he'd told me. But I suppose you'd have to ask him.

It’s comments like these that make me grateful for the genuine, good people I've been lucky enough to meet here, like Lulu and Lindsay, Eva and Kundi, Hala and Rama. And not for the people who have turned out to be backstabbing, malicious, unhappy, immoral people like Sam and Rainy. The only type of people who would have any reason to hold other, happier people responsible for their misery. (Especially watching someone who is half their age do it better.)

I take no responsibility for anything except for what I actually do. I've done my best for my family and real friends to live the best that I can, and given the circumstances, I think I've done a pretty good job.


(Side Note: It should probably be noted that you shouldn't call someone out on their "verbal diarrhea” when you’re spouting your own. Invest in spell check:

It’s “hypocrite”, you think I’m a “traitor”, not a “trader” (unless you really think I’m importing and exporting goods), and try “diarrhea” next time.)