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Getting to Know Americans

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Re: Getting to Know Americans

#61

Post by hessenwolf »

ido wrote: post #38
FraaJad wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you. My own "disappointment" is not with 'regular joe' Americans, but with educated Americans. Being from a large city in India, I know from personal experience that majority of the people with college education, especially technical education are knowledgeable about things outside their own country at least in a conversational level, if not they want to know more. I cannot assume the same with Americans…

I don't know where in India you are, but I've spent 2 months there and have encountered my share of educated Indians who, for example, didn't know where or what Austria is or that Israel has a lot of Jewish people in it (or even what Jews are). Another example off the top of my head was an educated engineer (who went to graduate school) who didn't know what the Roman Empire was. All of these examples or equivalents n…

India is a bit like America in the fact that it is huge and multicultural, and you do not need to leave in order to travel, in my experience.

(incidentally, from Ireland, I must admit I had met and drank beer with several Israelis years before I knew anything about the whole Jewish thing. It's pretty easy to ignore history & geography when you are younger.)

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#62

Post by jarin »

One thing I've heard from several Europeans I've met (who are currently living in the US, either for work or school) is that Americans have a reputation for being very friendly but making a lot of empty social promises.

One European I met at my local watering hole was a programmer and a very cool guy, so we made plans to get together for beers and nerd talk. He mentioned the whole thing about social promises and said that he's had tons of cases where an American would express an intention to hang out at some later date and then flake out.

I insisted that I totally intended to call him up the following weekend and set something up, but of course I totally forgot, and by the time I remembered it had been an awkward amount of time, so I never did call.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#63

Post by capstone »

jbooth wrote: post #15
dr_ wrote: post #4

"Be patient if Americans are ignorant of some aspect about your home country. Use the opportunity to educate and share, just do so in a polite and brief manner." Citizens of other countries always like to point out how Americans are ignorant of other nations and their cultures, oftentimes failing to realize that within their own nation poverty is rampant and the majority of the population remains illiterate (yes, alt…

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that there's noone on earth who grew up in one country, moved to another one, and managed to completely forget about salient facts like the poverty level in their original country.

People tend to forge their identities when they feel inadequate about their past. As an immigrant privy to no Americans present get-togethers, I see it all the time. The same people who lump all Southerners or Midwesterners into a overweight, bible thumping yokel stereotype, will froth at the mouth about Americans' ignorance of latest political discourse in their small corner of the world. People from predominantly white countries will claim that the US is less cultured because there is too much brown immigration. People who didn't have toilet paper back home will talk about the lack of museums. And so on and so forth.

My personal observation is, the majority tend to forget all the bad and remember all the good about their former home, and conversely, pick out all the bad and none of the good of their new home. It may be hard for you to believe because you are a rationalist, but it's very common.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#64

Post by ola »

jarin wrote: post #62

One thing I've heard from several Europeans I've met (who are currently living in the US, either for work or school) is that Americans have a reputation for being very friendly but making a lot of empty social promises. One European I met at my local watering hole was a programmer and a very cool guy, so we made plans to get together for beers and nerd talk. He mentioned the whole thing about social promises and said…

I'm European and I do this all the time too, I think it has more to do with the individual than with cultural norms.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#65

Post by bostonpete »

davidw wrote: post #25
yardie wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, US Americans, as opposed to US Mexicans, or Canada Americans, Brasil Americans, or Columbia Americans. See what I did there.

"What you did there", besides beat a dead meme-horse was invent words that no one actually uses, as far as I can tell.

> a dead meme-horse

It's reassuring to know that meme-horses can die. I was afraid we were stuck with them forever...

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#66

Post by capstone »

arethuza wrote: post #30
holdenc wrote: post #23

How about American irony and sarcasm? Here in Asia sarcasm is almost non-existent. Also, Americans value humor as a way of showing affection for someone. Whereas in Asia displays of servitude are a sign of affection. For example, if I engage in a humorous conversation with you, that means I like you. Even if I don't pour your tea for you!

Actually, by British standards America appears an irony and sarcasm free zone. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is very noticeable.

It really depends on where you are. America's states are analogous to European countries, albeit with a common language. The cultures are very, very different.

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#67

Post by jbooth »

capstone wrote: post #63
jbooth wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that there's noone on earth who grew up in one country, moved to another one, and managed to completely forget about salient facts like the poverty level in their original country.

People tend to forge their identities when they feel inadequate about their past. As an immigrant privy to no Americans present get-togethers, I see it all the time. The same people who lump all Southerners or Midwesterners into a overweight, bible thumping yokel stereotype, will froth at the mouth about Americans' ignorance of latest political discourse in their small corner of the world. People from predominantly w…

Well, I'd never claim to be so rational as to have excluded emotionally-self-serving reason entirely.

I just thought the original post came across as having the same sort of stereotypes that it decried, so responded with a little snark. :)

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#68

Post by paylesworth »

arethuza wrote: post #30
holdenc wrote: post #23

How about American irony and sarcasm? Here in Asia sarcasm is almost non-existent. Also, Americans value humor as a way of showing affection for someone. Whereas in Asia displays of servitude are a sign of affection. For example, if I engage in a humorous conversation with you, that means I like you. Even if I don't pour your tea for you!

Actually, by British standards America appears an irony and sarcasm free zone. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it is very noticeable.

I agree. American humor can be pretty tame by comparison http://www.economist.com/blogs/blighty/2011/01/golden_globes...

Re: Getting to Know Americans

#70

Post by jwhitlark »

jbooth wrote: post #49
billybob wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking as an American who has spent time in Mexico, Spain and Ireland, and has traveled to southeast Asia: yes, Americans do sometimes have an arrogant view of the world. On the other hand, knowing about other countries doesn't come as naturally here. If you live in Europe, you can take an overnight train ride to any one of a dozen countries, with whom you share a currency and often a closely-related language. An e…

I think a lot of the beef with "typical Americans" is with your last type. If you get off the coasts you can find a whole bunch of Americans who are seemingly proud of not knowing anything about the rest of the world.

Not surprising when you consider that most people came here to get away from something, (poverty, repression, etc.) For no small number of Americans, the rest of the world is a proxy for "that place my ancestors left because it sucked ". The US was isolationist before it got dragged into the world wars, and has become interventionist not because it's interested in conquest, but because the past century has taught it to fear what happens when it's not.
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