they-we? world without strangers?

wow. we studied about the world becoming a village nearly 15 years ago in school...then globalisation shifted from the imagination to the immediate. living in singapore - eager to maintain our economic security, and welcoming people from many lands onto our shores; i meet them everyday. from the foreign worker to the expat wife, from the chinese national to the ang-mo (caucasian).
it seems like the world - not its dream destinations - but the real world - the people - are right at our door-step. and it gets uncomfortable. i am no xenophobe and generally love adventure and the excitement of meeting people. but today i caught myself short.
a filipino lady was on the same bus as me. she wanted to get off near bishan park. that's all fine except bishan park is a huge stretch with several stops. i wanted to talk to her and help her clarify where she should actually get off. instead i sat there and watched as the bus driver told her to get off at the first stop of the park, 'this is bishan park la!' i felt tired. without thinking, my system knew well that this will not be a fun, easy conversation. i will need to work at understanding her and making myself understood. plus, after all the effort, it may actually not help her. so i sat there and just hoped she did get off at the right stop.
world without strangers? i think not.