By this point, I have been able to integrate myself adequately into the routines here. I must say, overall, I’ve been surprised at the amount of the people that I interact with that are actually not British, but rather are international students. In the program I am affiliated with, the only British are the professors, and not even all of the professors. The students come from Germany, Norway, India, China, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Chile, etc. I only encountered one other American in the whole time I have been in Bath.
This situation has given me the opportunity to suppress my obvious American ties in order to be a fly on the wall, and garner insights that would other wise not be afforded to me as an American. The teachers, for instance, use many American examples, which is expected to an extent in a business setting. However, professors feel the need to apologize to students for using American examples. Like, there is some shame for participating in the spread of American influence. This barely scratches the surface of the complexity of feelings towards America and Americans. To say it was a love/hate relationship would simplify it to the extent that would strip it of its meaning and weight. There is an appreciation for Americans and American things, but a resentment because of it. I, of all people, will recognize that America as a country is much more complex than the stereotypes that make their way to Europe, but I cannot seek to absolutely separate myself from them either. But what people know about America tends to be whats loudest, not what is most accurate. Whereas many countries focus on protecting their international façade, America’s presence and willingness to participate in the global culture tends to expose it to ridicule as well as respect. And that resentment of the American cultural imperialism which has spread to all parts of the globe fuels a desire to see and exploit the parts of American culture that people from other nationalities find absurd. Yes, it is true, some Americans cannot think on the spot of a country whose name begins with U (such as the United States) and yes its true that many Americans do not believe in global warming, or the participation of humans in the global environment. However, it is the willingness to publicize and participate in these dialogues… to open ones mouth instead of keeping it closed, that makes the American culture pervasive internationally, and laughable at the same time.
I do not believe that Americans can or should be confident in their international leadership role any further, but perhaps that comes from my person frustration with assumptions, arrogance and the tunnel vision that many Americans demonstrate. Of course, citizens of all countries can be found guilty of these faults, but no other country is as much in the global public eye as America. Of course, when I meet someone new, this also means that they believe they already know me, and the cultural context in which i was raise. This is complete fallacy as Seattle is vastly different than any other place in the US, and the country is so huge and made up of so many cultures that such narrow mindedness is maddening. No, I don’t drink Bud and I agree it is close to water. No, Americans do like and make other food apart from cheeseburgers and hotdogs. No, you cannot just place me in your little box and look at me with polite arrogance.
In all, this experience has forced me to take off preconceptions of any nationality and really search to see people as they are, whoever that may be and however counter that goes to whatever prejudgements are easily made. While this is exhausting, i feel its the only way that we can truly learn anything from each other, and what a vast amount of experience and knowledge we, the collective, holds.
This picture was taken in Bath! It is quite beautiful, though i think that stores should be open longer and there so be more of a night life than there is!
These are some of the students I went out with the first night! Going from left to right, there is Renee (my roommate), Lara’s boyfriend, Lara and Christina (my roommate).
Some international girls! Julia on the left is from Germany and Frida on the right is from Sweden! Sorry, i used my little camera, so its over exposed!
