I thought it might be fun to talk about American stereotypes abroad annnnd my newfound love for Thanksgiving. Let's begin!
So many Americans travel abroad and gain a great new sense of their own American-ness. I, like many before me, used to believe that the US didn't have much of a culture. I hated that our country was so young (History major here), specifically that we didn't have beautiful castes, cool old timey culture costumes, a history of warring between neighboring countries (arguable), and lovely stylish old houses made from real stone. Basically shopping malls and movie theaters weren't doing it for me in the culture department and it probably didn't help I grew up in Silverdale, where there is almost nothing to do when you're 14 that doesn't involve hiking or wandering around in nature. The US also constantly appropriates European culture like we belong to it, stylizing our fairy tails around mystical European forests and castles. None of this is necessarily bad, but as I was growing up I felt like the US was a cultural vacuum. And surprise surprise (to no one) when I traveled to Europe and realized, yeah people here are really different from us. I began to feel more American than ever before and it was all of the little things that really brought this out.
For example, when...
--My 16 year old host sister had her 16 year old boyfriend spend the night and it was totally okay and normal for everyone but me.
--Germans were silent for what seemed like a long time after I told a story which made me think they thought I was stupid and the story was horrible, but really they were giving a respectful amount of time to show they were listening.
--Germans were really into recycling everything in its own special place which results in a garbage can for compost, plastic packaging, paper, glass/plastic, and if there's anything left, the garbage.
--I made a fool of myself using the informal you to everyone.
--I thought that two brown slices of lovely German bread wasn't enough but all the Germans claimed to be stuffed.
--The fancy Berliner Philharmoniker concert hall sold pretzels at intermission like it was something more than baseball food.
--Children aged 6 could use the city busses better than me.
--People started putting up Easter branches and handing out really nice presents for a holiday I rarely celebrate.
--Speaking of Easter, how everyone gets 4 days off for that holiday I never celebrate.
--Germans got NAKED in public like it was no big deal. (I'm talking city parks)
--12 year olds were getting drunk in public on the U bahn.
The list goes on and on.
The point is, every time I see something different in Germany I can reflect on how American I actually am. Americans are always agreeing or positively asserting their friend while telling a story through an occasional "yeah" "uh hun" "definitely" "interesting" ect. Also we have almost zero pretension when it comes to speaking to strangers, there isn't even a formal "you" in English. We eat tons of food. We're horribly prudish when it comes to sex and alcohol. We tend to baby our children and we unless we live in a city where it is possible to use public transportation, we all drive cars. While it may seem boring, to non-Americans it can be a bit weird.
There are also a ton of American stereotypes floating around Europe that I'd thought I'd share since some of them aren't actually that bad! Yay!
The Good
--Positive attitudes (maybe to the point of over confidence). This one is typically associated with a "get'er done" attitude (hopefully with less redneck) where we just assume everything will be okay and blinding head forward. This is probably my favorite American stereotype because a Spanish guy once told me that I had such a sunny outlook because I guess I was acting friendly and pretending like I would find a home in Berlin even though there was NO HOPE EVER. This also might stand out in a big contrast with Germans who's stereotype is to be negative and critical (sorry Germans, I don't really believe that! Well I don't believe it for everyone). We also have this business culture where people are over confident and accomplish big tasks.
--Overly thankful. Someone said this to me once and I had no idea what they meant. Americans, thankful? What does that even mean? Apparently there's a stereotype that Americans tend to be hyper gracious and over thank people for simple tasks like holding a door open or giving directions. I would say this is an exaggeration if I wasn't such a good example of someone who totally does this to everyone.
--Lacking pretension. As me and my German friend were sitting on a curb in Ankara drinking a bottle of beer instead of going into the bar because beer is cheaper when you buy it outside, he said to me "I really appreciate that Americans I've met have so little pretension." He definitely meant it as a compliment and I'd like to think of this as a positive quality because when was the last time you met someone who thought they were better than you and went "Wow I'd love to spend more time with that person"? Never.
--Friendly. Our smiles while walking down the street combined with our tendency to ask everyone how their day is makes us the friendliest people you'll ever meet (minus Canadians). We're known to be super friendly to strangers immediately and refer to even random acquaintances as our friends. Some Europeans claim this makes us false, but I'd like to counter that what is the definition of friendly? Kind, amicable, helpful, supportive. What's so wrong with being amicable to strangers? Nothing at all. My mom doesn't chat with old ladies at Costco about their eye seeing dog because she's trying to lure this old woman into a false sense of friendship for the rest of her life--my mom's doing it because she genuinely wants to know more about eye seeing dogs and because we live in the US, she can!
The Bad
--LOUD. Americans tend to speak at a louder volume than other people. WE JUST WANT TO BE HEARD!!! When I first came home from Turkey last year I felt like everyone was always talking over me and yelling. I am totally a culprit of this when I'm in the US and actually since I was young people have said I'm always being too loud. That being said, while in public spaces in Europe people tend to be a bit quieter. People don't speak at full volume on the U bahn so it becomes a bit obvious you're foreign when you're talking about GOING OUT TO THAT BAR BECAUSE YOU HEARD IT HAS THE BEST ABSENCE SHOTS AND LAST NIGHT WAS TOTALLY CRAZY. JOHN BARFED ON A WAITER HA HA HA. As all the Germans in the compartment of the U bahn are shooting you passive aggressive "be silent" looks. (Side note: so many Germans speak English you should really never assume they don't understand you)
--Obnoxious/Annoying. Going right along with this loud thing, Americans have the horrible reputation for being obnoxiously overconfident and annoying. Personal example: A friend came to Berlin and he brought his friend with him to hang out with me. I was excited to have Americans over until we drank a bit more and his friend turned out to be the obnoxious and annoying American. He actually told my German friend that because he spoke English he could "basically speak German" ughhhhh. Another American guy I met loves to make generalizations about how American doesn't have racism or totally accepts its immigrants... what? Then another American I met in Georgia last year went on to complain about how Georgian people are "ignorant" because they sell plucked chickens near their vegetables and were all super religious. Racism?? Generalizations?? There is always one American you met abroad who's trying to prove how awesome and alternative and knowledgeable they are. These people tend to be the obnoxious people you'll ever meet. One time an American guy in Denmark actually asked me how I got to this house party we were both at because I couldn't possibly have been invited since I didn't speak Danish like he did. Barf.
The Ugly
--Lots of talk, not much content. This is the most painful stereotype because I run into it all the time. I think something about American educational system makes us feel overconfident to share our opinion which means many Americans fall into the trap of talking a lot to prove a point without actually saying anything. While I'd argue being too afraid of your opinion to share it is equally as horrible, that doesn't usually make you look like an ignorant, generalizing, idiot. People often feel compelled to share "what the US is really like" with horrible generalizations usually making the US seem like a magical fairy tale land of equality and hand holding. That or we (yes, myself included, sadface) tend to talk up in class when we don't fully know the context of the subject therefore saying something that makes us look like silly people. I don't know why I find this so cringeworthy, but I think it has to do with being one of two Americans in a classroom and when someone speaks up and says something like "I'm not racist, I'm from the US" you just want to shrink into a tiny little ball because suddenly everyone in the class thinks all Americans are idiots.
Alright I'm done bitching about Americans. I actually to shine so positive light on meeting Americans, I met the most wonderful American guy on Thursday who cook the most wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and made me fall in love with Thanksgiving again. Jake and I had planned on going to Korean food on Thanksgiving with friends because since we couldn't cook thanksgiving I thought we could at least have the Getma family together. Jake invited his American friend who's in Berlin for a month to join us. His friend, Mat, not only said he was already halfway through cooking an apple pie from scratch, but invited us to join him. In the middle of the day on Thursday another friend, Jamie, joined us as well. We showed up at Mat's door as the "orphaned Americans" and started to make food. I had totally underestimated Mat. He had made an apple pie from scratch, cranberry sauce, 5 huge cooked turkey breasts (because you can't find a whole Turkey very easily in Germany) with chicken breasts layered on top of them, made salad with homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy from scratch. Did I mention he had no original intention of inviting anyone other than his three roommates? He'd made enough food for ten people! Jake made a green bean casserole and Jamie made a date and goat cheese salad. I made some glühwein (hot mulled wine), which is my expertise now. It was so lovely to hang out in the kitchen and cook together. We spent like 3 hours cooking in the kitchen and then sat down with Mat's three roommates.
Maybe because I haven't been home for Thanksgiving in six years now, I've lost some respect for the holiday. It doesn't feel that special anymore, but this year for some reason, maybe being away from home and surrounded by people who were also nostalgic for their family, I really loved it. In a way I think Thanksgiving is the best representation of America ever--its lots of food, lots of happiness, and we can be over thankful for everything. I really love it.
((Pictures will come later, I left my camera at Mat's house))
So many Americans travel abroad and gain a great new sense of their own American-ness. I, like many before me, used to believe that the US didn't have much of a culture. I hated that our country was so young (History major here), specifically that we didn't have beautiful castes, cool old timey culture costumes, a history of warring between neighboring countries (arguable), and lovely stylish old houses made from real stone. Basically shopping malls and movie theaters weren't doing it for me in the culture department and it probably didn't help I grew up in Silverdale, where there is almost nothing to do when you're 14 that doesn't involve hiking or wandering around in nature. The US also constantly appropriates European culture like we belong to it, stylizing our fairy tails around mystical European forests and castles. None of this is necessarily bad, but as I was growing up I felt like the US was a cultural vacuum. And surprise surprise (to no one) when I traveled to Europe and realized, yeah people here are really different from us. I began to feel more American than ever before and it was all of the little things that really brought this out.
For example, when...
--My 16 year old host sister had her 16 year old boyfriend spend the night and it was totally okay and normal for everyone but me.
--Germans were silent for what seemed like a long time after I told a story which made me think they thought I was stupid and the story was horrible, but really they were giving a respectful amount of time to show they were listening.
--Germans were really into recycling everything in its own special place which results in a garbage can for compost, plastic packaging, paper, glass/plastic, and if there's anything left, the garbage.
--I made a fool of myself using the informal you to everyone.
--I thought that two brown slices of lovely German bread wasn't enough but all the Germans claimed to be stuffed.
--The fancy Berliner Philharmoniker concert hall sold pretzels at intermission like it was something more than baseball food.
--Children aged 6 could use the city busses better than me.
--People started putting up Easter branches and handing out really nice presents for a holiday I rarely celebrate.
--Speaking of Easter, how everyone gets 4 days off for that holiday I never celebrate.
--Germans got NAKED in public like it was no big deal. (I'm talking city parks)
--12 year olds were getting drunk in public on the U bahn.
The list goes on and on.
The point is, every time I see something different in Germany I can reflect on how American I actually am. Americans are always agreeing or positively asserting their friend while telling a story through an occasional "yeah" "uh hun" "definitely" "interesting" ect. Also we have almost zero pretension when it comes to speaking to strangers, there isn't even a formal "you" in English. We eat tons of food. We're horribly prudish when it comes to sex and alcohol. We tend to baby our children and we unless we live in a city where it is possible to use public transportation, we all drive cars. While it may seem boring, to non-Americans it can be a bit weird.
There are also a ton of American stereotypes floating around Europe that I'd thought I'd share since some of them aren't actually that bad! Yay!
The Good
--Positive attitudes (maybe to the point of over confidence). This one is typically associated with a "get'er done" attitude (hopefully with less redneck) where we just assume everything will be okay and blinding head forward. This is probably my favorite American stereotype because a Spanish guy once told me that I had such a sunny outlook because I guess I was acting friendly and pretending like I would find a home in Berlin even though there was NO HOPE EVER. This also might stand out in a big contrast with Germans who's stereotype is to be negative and critical (sorry Germans, I don't really believe that! Well I don't believe it for everyone). We also have this business culture where people are over confident and accomplish big tasks.
--Overly thankful. Someone said this to me once and I had no idea what they meant. Americans, thankful? What does that even mean? Apparently there's a stereotype that Americans tend to be hyper gracious and over thank people for simple tasks like holding a door open or giving directions. I would say this is an exaggeration if I wasn't such a good example of someone who totally does this to everyone.
--Lacking pretension. As me and my German friend were sitting on a curb in Ankara drinking a bottle of beer instead of going into the bar because beer is cheaper when you buy it outside, he said to me "I really appreciate that Americans I've met have so little pretension." He definitely meant it as a compliment and I'd like to think of this as a positive quality because when was the last time you met someone who thought they were better than you and went "Wow I'd love to spend more time with that person"? Never.
--Friendly. Our smiles while walking down the street combined with our tendency to ask everyone how their day is makes us the friendliest people you'll ever meet (minus Canadians). We're known to be super friendly to strangers immediately and refer to even random acquaintances as our friends. Some Europeans claim this makes us false, but I'd like to counter that what is the definition of friendly? Kind, amicable, helpful, supportive. What's so wrong with being amicable to strangers? Nothing at all. My mom doesn't chat with old ladies at Costco about their eye seeing dog because she's trying to lure this old woman into a false sense of friendship for the rest of her life--my mom's doing it because she genuinely wants to know more about eye seeing dogs and because we live in the US, she can!
The Bad
--LOUD. Americans tend to speak at a louder volume than other people. WE JUST WANT TO BE HEARD!!! When I first came home from Turkey last year I felt like everyone was always talking over me and yelling. I am totally a culprit of this when I'm in the US and actually since I was young people have said I'm always being too loud. That being said, while in public spaces in Europe people tend to be a bit quieter. People don't speak at full volume on the U bahn so it becomes a bit obvious you're foreign when you're talking about GOING OUT TO THAT BAR BECAUSE YOU HEARD IT HAS THE BEST ABSENCE SHOTS AND LAST NIGHT WAS TOTALLY CRAZY. JOHN BARFED ON A WAITER HA HA HA. As all the Germans in the compartment of the U bahn are shooting you passive aggressive "be silent" looks. (Side note: so many Germans speak English you should really never assume they don't understand you)
--Obnoxious/Annoying. Going right along with this loud thing, Americans have the horrible reputation for being obnoxiously overconfident and annoying. Personal example: A friend came to Berlin and he brought his friend with him to hang out with me. I was excited to have Americans over until we drank a bit more and his friend turned out to be the obnoxious and annoying American. He actually told my German friend that because he spoke English he could "basically speak German" ughhhhh. Another American guy I met loves to make generalizations about how American doesn't have racism or totally accepts its immigrants... what? Then another American I met in Georgia last year went on to complain about how Georgian people are "ignorant" because they sell plucked chickens near their vegetables and were all super religious. Racism?? Generalizations?? There is always one American you met abroad who's trying to prove how awesome and alternative and knowledgeable they are. These people tend to be the obnoxious people you'll ever meet. One time an American guy in Denmark actually asked me how I got to this house party we were both at because I couldn't possibly have been invited since I didn't speak Danish like he did. Barf.
The Ugly
--Lots of talk, not much content. This is the most painful stereotype because I run into it all the time. I think something about American educational system makes us feel overconfident to share our opinion which means many Americans fall into the trap of talking a lot to prove a point without actually saying anything. While I'd argue being too afraid of your opinion to share it is equally as horrible, that doesn't usually make you look like an ignorant, generalizing, idiot. People often feel compelled to share "what the US is really like" with horrible generalizations usually making the US seem like a magical fairy tale land of equality and hand holding. That or we (yes, myself included, sadface) tend to talk up in class when we don't fully know the context of the subject therefore saying something that makes us look like silly people. I don't know why I find this so cringeworthy, but I think it has to do with being one of two Americans in a classroom and when someone speaks up and says something like "I'm not racist, I'm from the US" you just want to shrink into a tiny little ball because suddenly everyone in the class thinks all Americans are idiots.
Alright I'm done bitching about Americans. I actually to shine so positive light on meeting Americans, I met the most wonderful American guy on Thursday who cook the most wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and made me fall in love with Thanksgiving again. Jake and I had planned on going to Korean food on Thanksgiving with friends because since we couldn't cook thanksgiving I thought we could at least have the Getma family together. Jake invited his American friend who's in Berlin for a month to join us. His friend, Mat, not only said he was already halfway through cooking an apple pie from scratch, but invited us to join him. In the middle of the day on Thursday another friend, Jamie, joined us as well. We showed up at Mat's door as the "orphaned Americans" and started to make food. I had totally underestimated Mat. He had made an apple pie from scratch, cranberry sauce, 5 huge cooked turkey breasts (because you can't find a whole Turkey very easily in Germany) with chicken breasts layered on top of them, made salad with homemade dressing, mashed potatoes, and gravy from scratch. Did I mention he had no original intention of inviting anyone other than his three roommates? He'd made enough food for ten people! Jake made a green bean casserole and Jamie made a date and goat cheese salad. I made some glühwein (hot mulled wine), which is my expertise now. It was so lovely to hang out in the kitchen and cook together. We spent like 3 hours cooking in the kitchen and then sat down with Mat's three roommates.
Maybe because I haven't been home for Thanksgiving in six years now, I've lost some respect for the holiday. It doesn't feel that special anymore, but this year for some reason, maybe being away from home and surrounded by people who were also nostalgic for their family, I really loved it. In a way I think Thanksgiving is the best representation of America ever--its lots of food, lots of happiness, and we can be over thankful for everything. I really love it.
((Pictures will come later, I left my camera at Mat's house))
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