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An Expat's 9/11

    When I lived in America, I never thought about all the Americans scattered across the globe. The U.S. State Department estimates 6.6 million U.S. citizens are living abroad, more than 2% of all Americans. While this number does not seem staggering, compared to 40 years ago when only .37% of the U.S. population were living in a foreign country, the percentage has grown to 579 times the 1966 number. This is not a negligible rate of increase. I do not profess to know why so many more Americans live abroad, but my guess is that it has something to do with the increase of employment opportunities as the world's economy has become more and more global. Moreover, since 1966 there have been many events in America, Vietnam stands out, that may have caused people to reject the American lifestyle and start a new life somewhere else. These are the people who make the government have to estimate the number of Americans abroad as many of them never return to the states, do not pay American taxes, and have totally fallen off the American radar. I met many of this type in Thailand and some of them have even fallen off their own radar. With so many Americans abroad, I, as one of them, saw it fit to write an account of how an expat spent September 11th, 2006.
    Last year, I spent 9/11 in Australia where the reflective nature of the day was certainly noticeable. Aussies asked me about where I was when it happened, what it meant to me and what I thought about America's reaction to the attacks. While the Australians don't necessarily agree whole-heartedly with American actions post-9/11, at the end of the day, they are probably the best friends America's got. Today, on the first major anniversary since the attacks, I find myself in China, where things are a bit different. Suffice it to say, September 11th, 2006 was like any other day in the Middle Kingdom.
    When woke up this morning, I turned on the news on China's only English channel, CCTV 9. Surely, they would lead with 9/11 eve and give a summary of Sunday night's observances. After all it was the fifth anniversary of the greatest terrorist attack the world has ever seen. So I get my coffee ready for some "America time" only to find that CCTV 9 is going to make me wait for this story. I had forgotten about something. September 10th is a major day in China. It's the annual Teacher Appreciation Day and this story opened the newscast. How could I forget? Ten minutes into the show came the September 11th story in which English-speaking Asians commented on what the day meant to them. Most of them talked about how they disagreed with the U.S. war in Iraq. Hmm. My motivation to observe this day was quickly evaporating. I left for work in a foul mood. In nine hours at work with American, French, British and many Chinese co-workers, not one of them mentioned September 11th to me.
    I began to think about how different the day must have felt at home and how, of all the American expats living in distant locales, there must have been many feeling the same way as I did. So towards the end of my day, I decided to do the most American thing I could have possibly done to commemorate 9/11 on my own. As soon as the clock ticked 6, I packed up my bag and left the office. I went to the only place where there would be people like me, far from their families and hometowns. I went to a place where I could be the American I've always wanted to be. I went somewhere I'd be able to think. I went to Bubba's Texas Barbecue and observed 9/11 with a Budweiser draught and a plate of brisket, potato salad and baked beans while watching the replay of last night's Giants-Colts game. And the first time I was at all affected by the day was when the national anthem came on the speakers of this Shanghai bar and I watched on TV the visible emotion on the faces of the New York fans. On this day, while my thoughts are obviously with those who lost loved ones on 9/11, I also share these sympathies with all the expats around the world who couldn't be farther from home.

•How 9/11 Was Observed in Asia