wondering if anyone else experiences this…
in the states, I am perceived as foreign, when not in the states I am considered american. in the states, I feel like the culture is to either (1) lean in to being american (which comes with some implications of country, republican, etc) or (2) fight like hell to disassociate with America(ns). trying to figure out why that is.
personally, I have picked number 2. whatever the public perception of American is abroad is not something I want to associate with, but I cannot escape that due to my accent. I don’t really identify with a lot of the american maximalism, ethics, loudness, etc, but cannot seem to effectively communicate that to people who aren’t american.
has anyone else experienced this? I suppose if someone is so eager to put me in a box anyways, they aren’t worth being my friend…
How so American of you to make such a huge fuss about nothing.
I am in states. Sure I have an accent, sure I am naturalized, but in 20 years no one had made me feel foreign.
I am free to pick and choose what part of American traditions to follow: for many years I had over the top Halloween but never did anything related to American sports. No one cares what I do or don’t do.
Abroad: no one cares about me being an American, no more than people care about someone being Chinese or Indian or Russian.
I am not that special for someone to care to put me in a box. Sure, I am an American, but that doesn’t make me any special for people to care about me.