General Discussion

Having traveled a fair amount, both for leisure/pleasure and from being stationed in Japan for 2 years while in the Air Force nurse corps, I think way too many Americans are woefully ignorant about the rest of the world, and this lack of exposure to anything different fuels the fear and hate of "otherness." Many of our countrymen are not very adaptable because we don't have to be - the same language, albeit with various regional accents, is spoken from one coast to the other, 3000 miles away. McDonalds and Burger King are everywhere, as are Walmart and Home Depot. Brands of gasoline are the same. Etc, etc, etc.

My family had moved 7 times by the time I was 12, and I've lived in 6 different states since graduating from nursing school in 1973, and worked in at least 11 different job settings - bedside/acute care, float pool, education, new hire orientation, private pediatric offices. Having to change makes you realize that you can handle it.