My reply to your replies

Just gotta say :

Yup, I am white, I am South African and I am quite broad too - good guess!!

So you are telling me :

When you walk in the street, people smile, look you in the eyes and greet you (well they DO in some parts of the world) ....

When you (as an expat) sit all alone in a cafe or on the beach or at a club, other expats smile at you and ask if you would like to join them .... (The only expat I know who has done this, is ME!)

That furry long tailed rodent I saw trying to get up the steps was a .......???
Those brown scuttling insects that stream over the pavements are NOT cockroaches??

That schooling is cheap, housing is cheaper and you are saving as much as you thought you would? Please let me know your secret ...

That people here allow you to go first out of a door, or, if not, they hold it open until you have passed through... yeah right! That, if YOU hold the door for THEM, they say thank you ... yeah right!

And, finally, that you found things here just as you thought- If you did, then you must have had someone telling you things like : "It's a beautiful country, but ..." or "The Locals might seem distant at first, but ..." or "What seems barbaric to one person may seem normal to others and will take time to get used to" ................... and THAT is all I ask - be proud of your country and what you have achieved, but also have the guts to be honest and help others be more prepared for reality, then they won't feel so disappointed.