American Culture from the American point of view

On our first year of studies we had a pleasure to meet Eric, American guy who came to Poland as an exchange student. Eric lives in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania and I think that the perspective of someone born in the U.S.A. would shed a light on our image of American culture. Some questions I asked him are losely connected but not in the form of an interview, so please read the whole and check if something actually changes your views.


Izabella: Hi Eric, I'm really glad you agreed to contribute to our blog. ;) As a representative of a group of Polish students learning the British English, culture and literature I feel that our perspective can be somehow distorted. You've got some experience in the international dialogue (please excuse me my British English :D), you've travelled a lot, met a lot of people and of course - had lived for some time in Poland. What do you think is the biggest misconception of America that young people in Europe have and what stereotypes had you been a victim of?

Eric: The biggest stereotype about Americans is that they are arrogant and only care about the USA.
People are constantly surprised when i know anything about places outside the USA. The truth however is that Americans love to think about other countries but many of them don't go on vacation to other countries and thus don't know geography very well.

Izabella: While being in Poland for about a year (please correct me if I'm wrong) have you clearly seen some influences of American culture on Polish customs or traditions? What trends you observed to be present among people that you met and which of them were misinterpreted? Was coming to Poland some kind of a culture shock for you?

Eric: Halloween is an obvious answear and an easy topic. I feel that it's more of a party thing in Poland. In the USA there are parties, but most important is the children and families that go around for candy. Many older people simply don't celebrate Halloween if they are not children or don't have children at the same time. Americans don't usually dress up to be scary that much, they dress up as anything that they think looks cool or sexy. Polish/Europeans seem to dress up as scary things more often, like zombies and demons etc.

Izabella: We can regard the U.S.A. as a multicultural society and the union of 50 in a way different states, what do you think unites American people and make American culture unique? 

Eric: Sometimes it's hard to talk about a unified American culture because as you said, the US is so diverse but in general Americans culture loves underdog heroes. It encourages people to be outgoing, but not as outgoing as people in America. Success is valued and though a lot of people complain about it, the American Dream of being able to do whatever you want or making a lot of money is still very important to people. Americans are very independent people and distrust authority a lot. Most of them hate big government, though many of them paradoxically want a small government that gives them lots of stuff.

Izabella: Last but not least, most of our group has never been to the U.S., what direction would you recommend to see the quintessence of the American culture? Maybe some kind of cultural capital or a short "must-see in the U.S.A."?

Eric: I guess that depends. Do you want to experience America of the past? Go to Philadelphia, the old capital, you will find a lot of history. Or to Boston, the most important city during the revolution. These are great cities with great history. Do you want to see modern urban Americans? Go to DC, NY, or San Francisco. All of those places are full of big universities, American culture and stylish young people. If you don't want that, you can get a culture experience of New England by going to Hartford, Connecticut. The Southern experience by travelling to Richmond, Atlanta, Miami, or New Orleans. The Midwest by travelling to Chicago or Detroit (dont go to Detroit, it's very dangerous, so is Chicago, but a little bit less). And the West, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, or Portland, Oregon. I hope that answers your questions.

Izabella: It does! Thank you very much, Eric!

When Eric saw that "mini-picnic-grill" at our BBQ Party, he probably began to miss his country even more. (source: private archives)

TASKS:

1. Indicate few differences between Polish (or your own depending on where you're from :)) and American culture, which of them may be just stereotypes?

2. What questions would you like to ask your American friend? Elaborate on that topic.