As for our food! Let me be polite and not say any more on that subject. Now to what one admires when they are in foreign lands.
First is the absolute integrity and honesty across the board. I once stayed in Geneva for a week and used the trams and buses without paying. All along I had assumed public transport was free. I never saw anyone one pay and no one asked me for a ticket. They just expect that everyone abides by the rules.
Another time a colleague lost his phone in the train in Oslo. His only concern was that whoever found it would take it to a far off "lost and found." Never for one moment did he imagine it could be stolen. Sure enough it was found and delivered to him that same day.
Secondly, is the politeness and decency with which most people handle each other. Put a foot onto the road and all vehicles stop, even on the busiest throughfare. We need to learn to be kinder to each other.
I also admire the physical and institutional infrastructure particularly the one that makes it convenient for people to live.
The public transport system in most of the West is exceptional and affordable. The school system is structured towards inclusion so that no child is truly left behind. Training facilities for career development abound.
Finally, governments are accountable. Leaders generally pay the price of their misdeeds. I know I have presented an overly rosy picture. Believe me I know there are worms and warts even in the best of the West. But when one is a visitor politeness demands you focus on the positive.
In that spirit, how I pray that we would enhance those things that we excel in and aspire to improve on the things that would make life more fulfilling and exciting in our beautiful motherland.
-The writer is an advocate