When in Rome, say ‘non sono americana’
When in Rome, say ‘non sono americana’
Friday, February 29, 2008
“And all the people sing, long live the king for he’s a godly thing, an eagle with just one right wing.”
— “Moving to Canada” by Cloud Cult
Whenever I travel I tend to fall into a pattern of strategic lying.
My falsified past usually centers around my country of origin: Once I leave America, I have no ties to it. My command of Western European languages is just enough to pass for non-American — I claim to be German in Italy and Italian in Germany. Failing all else, I emphasize being from California, because strangely enough, it’s better to be from California than America.
One of the benefits of interacting constantly with strangers while traveling is that no one knows who you are, and it’s not your responsibility to inform them. The reality is that I haven’t lived in California for years, and I have absolutely no claim to Western European citizenship.
But that’s not important. For all they know I could be anyone and anything.
Why then do I take such pains to keep from being American? This country has done nothing wrong by me — with the possible exception of my public school education — and American citizenship is one of the most coveted in the world. But there’s still some part of me that would rather be German, English, Brazilian, Vietnamese or Palauan — anything before the dreaded “Ah-murh-i-cun.”
Drinking wine in Rome Tuesday night thanks to my senior essay research, I met a woman from Amsterdam named Mareille who had deliberately never been to America. While traveling around the world seven years ago, she had deliberately rerouted her flight so that it wouldn’t go through America.
When I asked her why she’d taken such pains to avoid us, she explained that she thought most young Europeans felt the way she did: America and its inhabitants are like its foreign policy — ignorant, pigheaded and rude, with nothing but misplaced priorities.
No wonder I’d never wanted to be associated with America. Who wants to be burdened with that kind of reputation?
The worst part is that the reputation isn’t entirely undeserved. Even I — aspiring to a somewhat more worldly perspective — had no idea that Italy happens to be in the middle of a critical shift in government. America is gearing up for its regularly scheduled election charade, and therefore nothing else matters. Stereotypes hurt more when they happen to be based in truth.
So what exactly is a Californian-American with fading language skills to do? Eventually I’m going to have to own up to being an American when I’m in Europe, and maybe it won’t be as bad as I’ve made it out to be. Even Mareille confessed that meeting actual, live Americans helped replace her disgust with a more general mistrust.
Hopefully it’ll be strategic for me to stop lying about my country of origin someday. Until then, don’t believe me when I start telling you I’m German.
In the spirit of talking and drinking — two things which always break down preconceptions — the following is a classic Italian cocktail named after gli Americani.
Americano
1 oz. bitter Campari
1 oz. red martini
Mix in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into glass and garnish with lemon. You can add some seltzer to dilute it, because we all know that Americans like their drinks weak.
Comments
None 3 years, 4 months ago
Isn't it counter-productive to hide your true nationality in that way? I can understand that Americans aren't particularly popular in many places in Europe, but the best way to help diminish the American stereotype is to a) not lie about where you're from and b) have a nice, pleasant conversation.
While taking an industrial design course in Italy I was able to meet people from dozens of different countries and had no problems making friends with any of them. Most had actually assumed I was American (In reality I'm Canadian but grew up outside of Canada). But many of them had simply never met anyone from my side of the pond and had their own (highly inaccurate) ideas of what North Americans were like.
Forging friendships in this way also has a snowballing effect as your foreign friends can relate to their other friends the positive experiences you were able to share.
None 3 years, 9 months ago
Italy doesn't have police enforced mandatory voting....
None 3 years, 11 months ago
Nothing but pure, unadulterated hipster trash.
The fact that an Italian is more likely to know about the American presidential election, whereas an American is likely to know nothing about Italian politics whatsoever, is more a reflection of how awesome America is and what an influence we have on the rest of the world rather than an American arrogance. If there were another world superpower instead of the US, you can bet Americans would know a bit about that country's political situation.
It also speaks to American good sense that we have better things to do with our lives than wallow in the mud of politics. We are incredibly wealthy and enjoy many freedoms as part of a stable, liberal democracy. We can enjoy our lives instead of funneling our discontent into politics. Italy has police-enforced mandatory voting, a corrupt government, a stagnating economy with one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe... and it should be no surprise that Italians turn to politicians as an outlet for their frustrations, and it's no surprise that things there never change.
I'll never forget the old man I met in Provence who fought with the French Resistance in World War II, who thanked me and my father profusely for America's liberation of France. I've never been prouder to be an American than I was on that day. Perhaps Ms. Banks would have preferred drinking wine in Rome under the watchful eyes of Signore Mussolini...
None 3 years, 11 months ago
The cultural fakery won't be nearly as obvious as the linguistic fakery. Ms. Banks neglects to add that Western Europeans generally speak far more languages than Americans and have more regular interactions with Western European transnationals, so it seems unlikely that a bastardized Italian or German accent would stand up to even generous internal scrutiny in either opposite country.
I also wonder what kind of cultural sharing happens between people with manufactured nationalities. If a faux-Italian meets a faux-German at the border, and one identifies the other's trickery, is it appropriate to call the other out? If neither recognizes the mutual deceit, was there really any reason to talk to the person in the first place? In my brief Western European travels, I have not hidden my American nationality, and my identity has been accepted most naturally.
I hope that anyone tempted to pull off a cheap imitation of another culture will imagine how a proud foreign national will feel to have his native heritage reduced to a bad accent and unnatural hand gestures.
None 3 years, 11 months ago
I'm glad that you feel comfortable associating yourself with two of the countries who fought for a systematic genocide only fifty years ago. It reaffirms my decision to turn down Yale.
None 3 years, 11 months ago
Arnold in California, Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, son of a Kenyan goat herder running for president, just some of the more recent stories of immigrants and first gen offspring of immigrants that rose through the power eschelons in the US. Only in the US can something like this happen and be normal and people around the world know it too. Imagine this casually happening anywhere else like Japan, Russia, China, France, Germany, Italy, England....I rest my case.
Europeans and the most of the world like to give lip service to other "cultures" but in their own house, they are as protective as can be. Americans might have an unfair image of being racist / prejudice, but they play fair or fairer than you can get anywhere else. Anyone can rise through the ranks no matter their racial, economic, social, background. Even all these America haters can come to America and be given a chance to have a new life if things get messy in their country.
Everyone in the world probably has some connection to America. Could be their son, daughter, relative, nephew, niece, friends etc....Can any other country say even the same thing?
None 3 years, 11 months ago
"Who wants to be burdened with that kind of reputation?"
Yeah, it's like WAY cooler to be a pretentious in reputation than suffer someone else's misconceptions.
I'm kind of glad she says she's Canadian - I'd hate for anyone to think that all Americans are completely and utterly lame and horribly insecure.
None 3 years, 11 months ago
My parents moved to the United States so that their children could have a great life and be proud to declare themselves Americans. Self-loathers should really just move out.
You want to change the perception of Americans in the world? Be a cultured American. Be a good ambassador. Don't be a pretentious asshole.
None 3 years, 11 months ago
I've traveled in Europe extensively, as well as a few other countries. I've never been ashamed to call myself an American. I conduct myself appropriately and I don't behave like a stereotypical American. That's enough for the people in whose countries I visit. Why cover who you are? They'll know you're lying... Everyone can detect a cultural fake.
Or login with:
OpenID