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This post is a follow up from a post about how I don’t particularly care to be a “gringo.” I suspect that part of the problem with being a foreigner is that I am a United Statesian. (There really needs to be a better word).
As the US culture spreads througout the world, people form strong opinions about the “image” of the United States. These unpleasent feelings towards the United States were cetainly worse when Bush was presidency, but even after Obama I still feel there are hard feelings.
This last week my pet-peeve stereotype was how everybody in the US only eats french fries and hamburgers. After signing up for a gym last week, the people working there thought it was amazing that a girl from the United States actually wanted to work out, and the gym’s nutritionist told me that she was surprised that I ate healthy and wasn’t obese because she thought everyone in the United States is. Leandro’s parents even told me after they traveled in the United States with me for two weeks that they believed that the only food in the United States was french fries and hamburgers. The problem was that when they picked up the menus, there were the only items they knew the words for in English! (And I tried! I took them to Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Asian food, Salad restaurants…)
But, as I’m complaining about US-stereotypes, I have got to look at the other side of the coin: I bet many Brazilians get a little annoyed after all the tourists from the United States believe that Brazilians don’t work and instead spend their days smiling, samba-ing, and laying out on the beach.
Back to the love-hate relationship: So as some Brazilians love to have distaste (”distaste” is a more accurate word than hate in this situation) for the United States, on the other hand, many of these same Brazilians love to watch cable with US television series, love to show-off by saying how many times they’ve been to Disney World, (no wonder about the stereotypes if Disney World sums up US culture), and love to take advantage of US-themed areas, restaurants, and activities.
There is even a miniature Statue of Liberty in a mall called “New York City Center” Rio de Janeiro.
And you know that Botafogo Praia Shopping is becoming more “chique” because it now has a Starbucks, which is ALWAYS packed. I can’t lie and say that I don’t love that Starbucks is right next door even in Brazil… Sorry to the anti-corporation anti-starbucks people.
Its funny how it looks exactly like all other Starbucks!
I can understand these mixed feelings though. Sometimes I myself have a “love-hate” relationship with my home country. I sometimes feel that I missed out on some parts of a big extended family always staying close and mostly in the same city and parents babying their children until they are married. (Things that I have learned to love here with Leandro’s family taking care of me). Then other times I’m so glad that I went away to another city for college and learned how to be independent. I’m so glad that at the age of 23 I have worked to sustain myself with various jobs such as a Bar Manager to the assistant of a woman who headed the Brazil team for business development in a conveyor belt company. In Brazil, working odd-jobs during college is not very common and could even be a sign that the family can’t take good enough care of the kids.
Sometimes I feel that the US is so big, vast, and empty. Leandro always finds it so amazing that there aren’t many people walking on the streets. (I am aware that this is probably not the case in all US cities). On the more superficial side, I trully miss home when I’m getting my house together in Brazil and I don’t have the luxury of going to Target to finish up all last-minute housing needs, food, and clothes if there happens to be something cute.
There is an interesting story about one US man’s experience at a wedding between his son and a Brazilian woman, which can be read here. Before going to the wedding, he was worried that everyone would just want to talk about the US’s role in world politics, and was surprised that everyone was extremely nice. At the end the Brazilian brides father tells the man, “that as a rule Brazilians do not like the Americans that they encounter. However, he mentioned that in private conversations with many of the guests that my wife and I were universally showered with praise.” The post ends with the message, “Our new Brazilian family and friends had not allowed politics or prejudice to interfere with the joy of two young people starting their lives together.”
The more interesting part is the comments to this rather innocent post, which range from supportive, to skeptical, to anti-American, to anti-Brazilian, etc. Generally the more heated they get, the more ignorant they are.
I guess its good to remember that most everyone feels a little love-hate for every culture.
