Well, I've learned a lot about myself since coming to Rome. (Not a lot of it very good, I might add.) One of which is that I am a confirmed culturist.
Since coming here, I've got to know Canadians, Brits, Australians, Paraguayans, Costa Ricans, Italians and Germans. I have found something that really should not come as a shock. I get on best, am understood best, by people who come from cultures that are closely related to mine: Anglos (Brits, Irish, Anglo-Canucks) and Germans. They are the ones who get my sense of humour, who follow the line of conversations without giving me blank looks of incomprehension. They are the ones with whom I can communicate easily and meaningfully. Who get the cultural nuances.
I know we're all supposed to be all 'worldbeat' and multiculti and all that, but I just can't find it in me. I resonate (good grief! where did that word come from?!) best with Brits but something that I really didn't expect: I like Americans best.
Feeling kind of low, I was just revisiting the Dancing Matt videos that everyone liked a couple of years ago. I notice something in this one about all the nice happy people who came out and danced with Matt for his video.
None of them thought of doing it.
The idea of going around the world in a happy dream of global brotherhood and altrusim, innocent fun and good will, came from an American.
I think there's a reason for that.
I think they're the good guys.
~
I'm moving to be around more exiled Californians for this reason. - Karen
ReplyDeleteAnd to think I've been sitting here in Toronto for the last three weeks thinking how much I like Canadians when I could have just stayed back in the States...
ReplyDelete"I think they're the good guys."
ReplyDeleteThank you, I think?
We can also be the bad guys too. It's because we generally do things in a big way. When we're good we're great and when we're bad we're evil.
I find I get along with Brits best, followed by the other (C'wealth) English-speaking peoples, then Germanicophones (chiefly Scandinavians, Afrikaners, and Dutch), Italians, and then everyone else.
And then Americans. Unfortunately the conformist streak in American culture means that I am considered some freakish aberration to be humoured if necessary but never encouraged. (Hence why I'm trying to flea to a country where I feel at home).
LOL. I considered myself pretty liberal and "open-minded" and multi-culti until I lived in Mexico and Honduras over three years. Man, did I realize how much I loved America and Americans.
ReplyDeleteGot mugged by reality did we?
ReplyDelete