A personal hypothesis:

When a person returns from a short-term cross-cultural exposure (days, weeks, up to three months), they tend to glow with the bright-eyed observation that "people are the same everywhere you go! Isn't it lovely."

When a person returns from a longer-stint cultural immersion (year or two), they tend to harbour some frustrations, and think, "good gracious, those people are so different in their thinking! How aggravating."

And when you spend a lifetime together, learning and growing, the response is probably more measured. It's not "those" people anymore. We're all the same, yes,.... but, boy, are we ever different. And there's a richness to that.


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