We are not the center of the universe.

All right. Time for a rant.

I’ve been abroad for three months now. And it has been, hands down, the most humbling experience of my life thus far.

The no. 1 reason for this? Because of how eager most people in Taiwan are to learn English. To read English. Or simply to communicate with me, whether it be through one-word sentences or gestures.

Here, there’s no attitude of “White girl, you don’t speak Chinese. Get out of here.” No one has ever treated me that way. All they want is a smile and some friendliness. If anyone treated me that way, I’d be completely screwed.

A smile can take you so far in life. So very far. My dad was right.

And yet, back home, (I’ve seen it a lot in Texas, much as I hate to admit it) there are pictures like this floating around:

Really, people? Really?

Is this really how you want to portray our country?

People see this. People around the world see this.

And it’s embarrassing.

It’s shameful.

And it’s not improving the world’s opinion of Americans…believe me.

I have met so many wonderful, amazing people in my time abroad: People who, while maybe they didn’t speak English perfectly, can communicate. And they made it clear they wanted to learn more.

Yet there I was, unable to speak a word of their language. And sitting there, a foreigner, listening to them talk about how much they wanted to learn English, all I felt was shame.

Shame for the attitudes that abound in my country. Shame for the people who feel that way toward others. Shame for people who are so narrow-minded as to look down on those who don’t speak their language.

But mostly, shame that some people can be so inconvenienced at having to push a button.

The world is filled with so many good people. So many decent people. And it’s a damn shame that some of you out there are so unwilling to realize this.

You’re missing out. You’re missing out on learning a new worldview. You’re missing out on the privilege of observing another culture, and learning how other people live their lives. You’re missing out on knowing some really, really interesting people.

Trust me: They have stories to share. You should listen. Just listen.

America used to pride itself on being a “melting pot” of cultures: A mix of different races, ethnicities and nationalities all blended to become one distinct, functioning community. A society built upon different lifestyles, languages and beliefs.

If America is a blend of different nationalities, why should anyone expect English to be the primary language? Shouldn’t it be some of everything?

What happened to that attitude? That was a good attitude.

The world is not just the United States. The United States is not the center of the universe.

It’s time some of you out there learned that.