Posted on 08/18/2005 7:41:11 AM PDT by Valin
“Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’ll get,” said Forest Gump’s mother. I would say America is like a box of chocolates.
I am spending the month of August working as an intern at The American Enterprise magazine in Washington D.C. This is my second visit to the U.S. One year ago, I attended Fort Lauderdale Language School for three weeks. So I already knew that American English is different from British. I knew that immigration officers at the airport are not as terrifying as they are said to be (or maybe I’m just lucky). I knew that streets are full of pompous SUVs. I knew that hamburgers are so big they’d make a meal for three back home. I thought I had the whole country figured out, and a few weeks ago, when my plane landed in Washington D.C., I thought there was nothing left to surprise me.
I was completely wrong.
First thing that stunned me was the city itself. I expected it to be a capital like London, Berlin, or Warsaw—modern, full of tall buildings and daily rush. Washington, or, as I like to call it, “Washington Village,” is cozy, full of greenery and calm. Washingtonians seem unlike people in other capitals. I mean, they are kind.
Americans may take it for granted, but I was delighted to hear passengers say “Thank you!” to bus driver as they got off the bus. I was delighted that when I asked one lady how to get to the nearest bus stop, not only did she tell me where it was, but walked me there. “Please,” “excuse me,” and “thank you” seem to be extremely popular here. It’s a beautiful custom of simple actions that make life easier and more pleasant.
On the other hand, some questions Americans pose to complete strangers may be considered a bit blunt by Europeans. I grew up in a country where you don’t ask even your closest friends whom they are voting for, or what their religious affiliation is. So I was taken aback when a fellow intern demanded of me: “Are you a Catholic?” My answer was something like “Umm…well…when it comes to religion…hmm…I consider myself…umm…a Roman Catholic. (Sigh) What kind of question is that anyway?” As I found out later, such an inquiry is perfectly normal here.
Another surprise was political correctness. I heard about how careful you have to be in America not to insult racial or sexual minorities, and that even mentioning them in a neutral way can be considered offensive if your term of choice is not exactly what they would have picked. Yet when I went to the movies to see Hustle & Flow, a movie about rap music, I realized that in this country it’s perfectly acceptable for black Americans to make fun of white Americans. The opposite is unimaginable. “What kind of equality is this?” I’ve asked. I’ve been told that black people are a “less privileged group.” If I were a black American, I would consider that a terrible insult – society telling me I can’t achieve anything on my own without a special status.
It’s really funny to see how different groups clamor for the distinction of being a victim. But despite the P.C. ideology, Americans still manage to run their country relatively simply, effectively, and with a great dose of common sense. People openly discuss politics, the economy, and, most astoundingly, they vote. Voting and working, words almost forgotten in Europe, seem to be basis of American society. For a European it is surprising that here hard work is considered something of which to be proud, not ashamed.
Calm capital, courtesy, freedom for—not from—religion, political correctness, citizens interested in politics, work ethic…those are the things that surprised me the most in the U.S. But I’m sure that’s not everything. Due to its multicultural and multiracial make-up, America is, by definition, always surprising. It’s the kind of country where everyday you learn something new.
Some people hate it. I love it.
Olga Walendziak lives in Warsaw, Poland
"So I already knew that American English is different from British.
"Billion" is "milliard" in British. Really. I'm still recovering from that one.":}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
I'm OK--how about you ? Are you traveling ? How it's going ?
Almost true, but. It's been said that Europeans work to live while Americans live to work. No, workaholism is nothing to be proud of. (I haven't known a European who's "ashamed" of hard work.)
I'm doing well good friend please read e-mail thank you/dzieki Sergiej.
Yes, and isn't "billion" in European languages what we in the U.S. call "trillion"? If you're counting on your fingers, it can get real confusing!
Your right on some things here, but on average just around 55% of voters vote in elections. You are right that most Americans say more thank you, please etc.
It might be so that people are ashamed of hard efficient work in Poland, but that is because you were communist. This is not way it works in most of Western Europe exluding the French.
And so is in Polish ("miliard"), and so might be in almost any other language :)
"Billion" is thousand of "milliards".
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thank you:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Compared to what the Europeans are doing, this is true.
DC is a great town. It's a fantastic place to live. You get to meet people from all over the US, as well as around the world (I just met a Mongolian for the first time at the Four Seasons' bar this weekend).
What's especially great is that DC is cosmopolitan without being overwhelming. Even interns fresh off the turnip truck from South Dakota can get used to the District very quickly.
It never ceases to amaze me how many foreigners I have met, whether from Poland, Costa Rica, or the Phillipines, expect America to be just like "Friends" and get here and realize that we are much more complex, culturally and otherwise than depicted on TV. Another thing foreigners tend to notice is how Americanized second-generation children of immigrants are.
One of my class mates was half Polish. He went down there when they were still communist. He said it was incredible how slow people could work. There were several men that was making small walkpath of some kind. They had started before he arrived and was still not finished after two weeks. He found it very amusing and strange. Just like it was a game going on who can work the slowest. It could be three people working in a small shop and you still didnt get service even if you were the only one there.
When I was a university student in Poland, one day I was sitting on the bench in the lobby of the institute with couple friends talking on various subjects.
Then one of the professors was passing by, he stopped before us looking annoyed and said "why don't you do something useful instead of wasting your time". He apparently was very busy doing something very important and left in hurry.
One of my friends explained, "he was too long in America and now he acts strange". I am sad to inform you but this professor did not live long - he died young because of some heart problems. I guess all this stress killed him.
leje ze smiechu:}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
albo lezy nie lezy i tak zarobie pracowac nie musze 8 godzin przechodzi
We talk about things like that all the time when we are in Poland and I'd hate to now find out that we have been offensive by talking about these subjects.
""I grew up in a country where you don’t ask even your closest friends whom they are voting for, or what their religious affiliation is."?"
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