A couple months in a foreign country - especially working in the service industry, I've discovered quite a few patterns in how I'm looked at down here. Although I've only been met with outright negative perceptions once or twice, there are a few inherent views of Americans that are either slightly negative or sadly true. Judging from the interactions I've had on a daily basis, people are certainly curious about the American way - and especially after that cluster-f*** of an election - but most are open-minded despite their discretely ignorant perspectives of Americans. Aside from vehemently apologizing for the soon-to-be "President," I've been asked some hilarious stuff and posed with ridiculous stereotypes - some of which you'll find addressed below, in my great list of ignorant questions and generalizations.
As you can all imagine, currently America is the political laughing stock of the world. I get asked about Trump at least once a day.
"So Make America Great Again, aye?"
Me:
Again, aside from first asking me how the racist guy in charge is going to be, it seems a prominent thought is in regard to my accent:
"You don't really sound like an American"
Stereotype - What people think most Americans sound like:
My response - Calmly explaining that is more reflective of the average Trump supporter.
For the most part, the majority of these interactions take place at the restaurant I work at - a gastro-pub that ironically specializes in burgers. After most of my clientele figure out my American origins, they tend to wonder about how the burgers I'm serving relate to those in America.
Stereotype - What people think of American eating habits:
I mean, in all honesty, though - they aren't completely wrong.
If I'm not talking about anything food-related at work or explaining half my life's story to people I'll likely never see again, another popular subject is sports. More specifically American sports.
"Wait, so you a big LeBron fan then? King James, right?"
Me:
Spending my undergraduate years at a college equidistant to Detroit and Cleveland has more-than made that subject matter substantially annoying...
Yet mention of the Cavaliers does next to nothing in comparison to being lectured on the alleged toughness of rugby as compared to football.
"Gridiron is for pussies - rugby doesn't even use pads and still hits."
Me:
Alright, that may have been a slight exaggeration on my part, but you get my drift. More often these accusations have paved way for some lengthy debates around the fact that football does, in fact, hit substantially harder than rugby.
Lastly, however, one subject of conversation that I did fondly find myself explaining, or really confirming, would be perceptions of the American collegiate experience. Many a time I've assured the curious that yes, college is more or less reminiscent of its depiction in movies, and I'm not at all embarrassed to admit that one...
Not
One
Bit.
