As a Muslim, I believe that everything we do/say depends on our 'nawaitu'/'niat' or intention. If our intention is good, insyaallah we will in return get good things too. If you start a friendship with the intention of getting something from that person than most likely that friendship will not last long. And when that happens, you have no one but yourself to blame. Although this of course is not always true since people like that will always put the blame on others instead of looking at themselves.
Living in SoCal for the last 5years have been great for me (and our marriage). There's a huge Malaysian/Singaporean community here that I don't find myself missing home too much. Of course it's not the same but we immediately become instant family to each other. And I really mean like family, not just friends. We may be different in what we like or how we live our lives but we respect each other. And it helps that we don't have to walk on egg shells with each other! If/when we're not happy with something, we voice it out because that's what friends do. You can't be too sensitive about every damn thing and criticism is not an insult unless it's meant as one. If I insult you, you will know it. I hardly sugar-coat my insults. :P
