I am so glad I went to Noodle Nights in the park for dinner last night. It reminded me of I-Fest at CMC (which I am still devastated I only attended twice … maybe I'll go this year?) in that there were many stalls serving food from different cultures and a ton of people out enjoying it. I decided to come back a few nights next week and try something totally new each time. Last night I had okonomiyaki, a Japanese pancake with spicy beef and cheese, garnished with seaweed flakes. It was very good, but tasted similar to the Turkish gozleme I had recently.
Then I went to the Argyle to hang out with the American Expat group which was an interesting experience. There were people from other countries there, which I liked, because we all need a little variety. I was skeptical about meeting up with Americans simply because we're from the same country, but I looked at it as a chance to get a little nightlife and meet some new people. The Argyle was more posh in some ways than I expected it to be, so I'm glad I thought to dress up a bit. The night got me thinking about some of the specifics of being an American abroad, so I thought I'd share them with you.
1) "Seppo." A slang term for Americans because "septic tank rhymes with Yank." I'm not personally offended, of course, because I think it's more of a teasing moniker than an aggressive one. I just think it's weird. I mean, if someone from another country visited the U.S., I could never imagine throwing pejorative slang at them, but I know there are many people who would.
2) "That accent – are you Canadian?" "No, I'm from the U.S." "Oh, I knew you were one or the other, but I didn't want to offend you." Well, you certainly did. It's no bother to think I might be Canadian as some of the regional accents sound very similar. I think an Aussie would be much more offended to be mistaken for a Kiwi based on accent than I would. It's offensive to me that the person assumes I am ashamed to be from the U.S., and is giving me an out by offering the Canadian option. There's nothing wrong with being Canadian, but there's certainly nothing wrong with being from the U.S. either.
3) "Oh, you're American? [IMMEDIATE POLITICAL ATTACK]." Look, I get it. There's a really exciting and important election going on in the U.S. right now and it's international news. As an American citizen, I may have an interesting opinion to share with someone who'd like to hear that perspective. But that is clearly not why they've brought up politics after knowing nothing about me past my name and accent. They've brought it up to air some grievance that I can be held responsible for. I don't like to talk politics with people who I think are going to be disrespectful of views different from their own because it's like talking to the mean kid on the playground.
4) "Where in L.A. are you from?" "Glendale." "Oh, I have a sister who used to live in Riverside." This is just cute, and it could happen anywhere in the U.S. also. It's always the goal to find common ground with new people, and I'm sure I do the same thing. Last night I told a woman from the French Riviera that I'd been to Paris when I was younger. It's just conversation, but I love how we're all always flailing about to make connections.
5) "You have a very nice accent, but you don't sound American." "Oh? I mean, I think I do. I can't imagine what other accent I might have." "Well, you don't roll your R's." "Um, I'm neither Scottish nor Spanish." "I mean, you don't sound like George Bush. Everyone hates American accents because they sound like George Bush." Siiiiiiiiiigh. First of all, thanks for the heads up that everyone hates America, it's a nice thing to say to someone you've just met. Secondly, have you never seen a movie, news clip, or TV show that had an American person in it? They sound just like me, because I'm from California and we have a pretty simple American accent found in movies and television. The U.S. is a very big place. I don't sound like George Bush because I'm not from Texas. I don't sound like JFK because I'm not from Massachussetts. What a thing to say.
And what do I bring to the equation? Well I will say that I've been tipping a lot less while I've been here, which I should probably fix. I'm definitely someone who misses the lifestyle to which I am accustomed, so I'm always seeking out foods and media that I would have at home. I'm going to be celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving because it's tradition. I could say that I should be fine without these Americanisms in my life, but I think the difference is the length of time which I'm here for. I've spent a number of Halloweens and Thanksgivings abroad, and it's never bothered me. One of my favorite Thanksgivings was one spent eating samosas at an Indian restaurant inside Sainsbury's department store in London. But this is my first time keeping my own place for an extended period of time away from home, and I want to celebrate these things. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
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4 comments:
Hey I used to live in New Zealand so I know your pain about this. There was an article in the paper about how wallabies were a pest in NZ and so they were going to start hunting them. So some dude in the article said oh if only we could shoot the other human invaders from Australia. LOL IT SURE IS FUNNY TO WANT TO SHOOT AUSTRALIANS RITE?
So yeah I hate that stuff.
1. this used to be pejorative but i think it's more affectionate now, because australia seems to love america. seppo is not a kiwi thing but if you got called a yank in nz i think you would have far more cause to be offended (i think nzers tend to be more parochial and insulting)
2. i would have thought this was almost certainly due to the perception that canadians hate america more than americans hate canada, rather than a perception that americans want to pretend to be canada. if you assume an american is a canadian, that's a mistake; if you assume a canadian is american, that's an insult. i'd say this is a pretty popular perception among people in australasia.
3. i think this is mostly the frustration of living in a smaller country where everything america does affects their country, but they don't have the power to do anything about it. also populist politics look much more like obvious grabs for power when you are not part of the culture that the arguments are being framed for. so americans seem dumb to australians because they voted for george bush after he said he would keep them safe from terrorists, but australians seem dumb to new zealanders because they voted for john howard because he would keep darkies out of their country, and then because he would keep interest rates low, and then voted for kevin rudd because HE would keep interest rates low, etc. australians who voted for john howard will think nothing of criticising americans who voted for george bush, even though they were essentially doing the same thing (and howard stayed in for longer!)
also i think you sound pretty american
"You have a very nice accent, but you don't sound American."
I'm pretty sure that that's just a really poor pick up line, which imposes the user's negative opinion of americans on the recipient. The misguided logic is as follows: "Everyone hates americans. Surely americans also hate themselves. So if I say that her accent is nice but doesn't sound american, she will be flattered that I thought that she must be from another, better country."
Also, you sound extremely american.
Unfortunately ignorance is not confined to one country and is experienced the world over. Most anti american people in my experience either haven't been there or don't appreciate the debt we owe them.
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