Having a Foreign Accent
Ok, at this point I probably have a little more information to share with you about life and cultcha’ here. First off, I have been doing an excellent job of keeping myself busy. Being American in a foreign country has been a blast and I am taking full advantage of every situation that comes my way. From the supermarket checkout girls to bartenders to professors (which are called conveners here, by the way), I’ve been striking up conversations with everyone. It doesn’t take long for them to figure out I’m not from around here, but that’s OK. They are fascinated by almost every aspect of American life. Personally, I don’t entirely understand their fascination since most of our music and ideas for reality television shows seem to find their way here but hey, I guess I should’ve expected that. As far as Australian culture goes, my main questions for the Aussies mainly pertain to the popularity of Paul Hogan movies and The Wiggles. I’ve yet to hear a satisfying answer.
Relating to the Aussies (and the multitudes of students from all over the world) has definitely been one of the most valuable and exciting aspects of being here. I’ve found that our similarities are more striking than our differences and that these so-called differences mainly stem from cultural misunderstandings and the Australian tendency to stick a U in “color”. (Don’t confuse labour with “Labor” or link Conservatives with Republicans. These are easy mistakes to make.) Most of what we Americans know from others comes from stereotypes, while most of what they know about us stems from the massive amounts of hours spent watching our music videos and McDonald’s commercials. Our notions of this country gained from advertising are equally inaccurate: No self-respecting Aussie would be caught dead in an Outback Steakhouse or drinking Foster’s, no matter what the commercials tell you. I’ve made enormous efforts to talk to as many Australians, Germans, Japanese, Mexicans, and anyone else who speaks English well enough to speak with me about life in their countries.
This blog presents me with a great opportunity to speak about something else that has been on my mind since I landed here. All of the barriers that separate us, whether cultural, linguistic, religious, political, or stereotypical, have a much more tangible quality than I ever realized. Obviously, I’m taking the American perspective again (since it’s the only one I have) but after observing the overwhelming number of Americans interacting with and adjusting to life here, I have to say I’m somewhat embarrassed for my country. While I don’t believe anyone should ever be ashamed of where they come from, I wish my Australian accent were convincing enough so that I don’t have to constantly tell people I’m from the States. Of course, this doesn’t only pertain to Americans but, overall, I’ve found the Americans here to be not as willing as I am to play against type. Not to say that people aren’t friendly, but the general level of open-mindedness amongst us has been disappointing.
I have a feeling these past two weeks in Sydney have probably been everything they are supposed to be. I’ve covered a ton of bases and met some great people. I told you in my blog last week all of the amazing things I’m doing and I’m definitely aware of how lucky I am to be here. Unfortunately, there are some negative aspects of being abroad that I think should be included in the shiny information packets universities use to hype their programs. Depression, loneliness, homesickness, and probably (for me in Thailand) upset stomach are all things few international students don’t experience. The important thing to keep in mind (this is me trying to convince myself, by the way) is that all of this is normal. If I had let these bumps in the road stop me from making the decision to come here, I’d be back in the States sweating with the rest of the East Coast. Instead, I’m in Sydney and I couldn’t be happier to be here.
Cheers from Australia,
Jason
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