Here is one of the activities I will conduct:
Students have to imagine they are traveling overseas and come up with responses to the following statements:
■“You are American? Hey I know somebody who’s American! He’s name is Paul.”
■“American? Ah! MacDonald’s! Statue of Liberty! Hollywood!”
■“My friend’s cousin’s girlfriend is also American. She is very mean. She borrowed my dictionary and never gave it back.”
■“I knew you were American! It was obvious from the way you dress. I was like, ‘Hey, he is SO American!”
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■“You are American? Hey I know somebody who’s American! He’s name is Paul.”
My response: “Paul who? …………No. I don’t know him. Too bad.”
■“American? Ah! MacDonald’s! Statue of Liberty! Hollywood!”
My response: “Yes. There is a lot to see! Have you visited?”
■“My friend’s cousin’s girlfriend is also American. She is very mean. She borrowed my dictionary and never gave it back.”
My response: “Oh. I’m sorry. Most Americans follow rules but there are always some bad ones.”
■“I knew you were American! It was obvious from the way you dress. I was like, ‘Hey, he is SO American!”
My response: “Interesting! What gave it away?”
I think only the third one is unkind. And, depending on how it’s delivered, possibly the fourth one. I would be surprised if people had a hard time dealing with the first two questions.
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The second part of the exercise is when they imagine having to answer these questions every single day for 3 years. 🙂
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(to a non-white student): But you don’t look American! Where are you really from?
Plus something about foreign policy and/or Trump . . .
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Another point that I want students to retain is that nobody is a spokesperson for their culture. Not every American is to blame for Trump. Although I won’t be saying this part aloud. 🙂
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Speaking of hostile questions… Whenever I write on the blog how annoying “Where are you from?” and “No, where are you REALLY from?” are, somebody comes to tell me to relax, that people are just being friendly, and why I am I such a stick in the mud, and how are people supposed to make a connection with me? I argue that these questions are nearly always meant to alienate and to inform you that the other party has noticed you don’t belong where you are, and that they want you to know that there is a power differential between you (has the right to be there vs does not have a right to be there).
Here’s an example. I am in a department that’s full of foreign-born people. Many STEM departments at research schools are majority foreign-born. Therefore, the department secretary should not be freaked out by foreigners, right? So this woman, who’s been with the department in various capacities for years and has recently been promoted to assistant to department chair. I have known and interacted with her for years. The other day she asks me where I am from, and I answer. And then she asks, “So why did you come to the US?” And I thought to myself, “Are you f*ckin’ kidding me? You know I work as a professor here, right? Why do you think I came to the US?” I calmly responded, “To go to graduate school.” (Just like the thousands of international graduate students that you’ve interacted with in your time here.) But the phrasing is definitely hostile. I have received similar inquiries, sometimes accompanied by, “Are you planning to go back (soon)?” which all basically amount to “So why the fuck are you (still) here? Go away” form people such as the person who underwrote our mortgage, random physicians that looked at me or my kids over the years, etc.
Sorry for the tangent. I think annoyance stemming from cross-cultural interactions is cumulative, like radiation poisoning. After enough exposure, you have no patience left at all.
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““Are you planning to go back (soon)?”
So yeah. . . I’m asking people to consider whether they are sure that their interlocutor is really interested in hearing this particular comment.
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Not sure it will make you feel better, but Americans abroad hate this question too (except in some very specific circumstances). The problem is like Clarissa said earlier though–until then, they’re not aware of it as a cultural phrase that has multiple interpretations.
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Have them imagine the American politician (or cultural symbol) they least like, that they despise enough to leave the country over…
Then imagine lots of people smiling at you and yelling that politician’s name at you every time they see you with insane grins and thumbs up! Puzzled that you don’t seem as enthusiastic about them….. Every single! time!
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Did that happen to you? Who was the politician?
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I’m exaggerating a bit, but it was the first Bush. And it mostly wasn’t Polish people, but I was living in the dorm that international visitors/students were put in and there was a group of Libyans who were studying there who seemed to be part of Bush fan club (this was in the wake of the First Gulf War).
One of them had some mental problems and started following me (and any other American) he could find expecting us to take him to America… Eventually one of the leaders apologized for his behavior and they kept him from bothering people.
Polish people at the time mostly loved Reagan and assumed I did too (nope). And they even liked Nancy Reagan (so elegant!) and looked a little crestfallen when I told them most Americans never much liked her.
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It’s like when I went to the UK back in 1990, nobody there could understand why we all adored Thatcher and disliked Gorbachev. And especially his wife.
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I remember in the 1990s anytime I mentioned Thatcher to any British person they almost transformed into Dr Hyde in expressing their hatred…. it was really visceral and almost uncontrollable.
I fully understand why people in the old Warsaw Pact liked her but I heard a lot of the reasons that the native population was glad to get rid of her. I’ve since mostly forgotten out of disinterest. One thing I do remember is that in the name of supposedly small government she created massive central bureaucracies that not only cost more than the older systems but which were far less responsive to private citizens. Oh (It’s starting to come back) she also had a habit of privatizing anything, even those things that it didn’t make much sense to.
One person complained that travelling by train became a nightmare (even worse than it had been) because she privatized sections of rail with no coordination so that on longer voyages people would have to leave the train to buy tickets several times.
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