The Loud "American"

This last Sunday I went to Louisiana, a nice art museum on the coast, just outside of Copenhagen. On the train on the way there, my friends and I sat opposite a very talkative redhead with an ambiguous accent, and his Danish friend.

My friends Ross and Thomas, an Irishman and a Dutchman, immediately looked at me and said "Oh god, it's an American."

In case you were unaware, it's unbelievably trendy to hate on Americans. And I don't completely blame the world for this trend. I think we can perhaps thank the Bush-era, obesity, a poor education system, and our pervasive, trashy media (what a train wreck!) for that.

Thus, I near called-it when both of them quickly judged this obnoxious man as an American. It's common-place with both of them. But I was skeptical.

Sure, he was running his mouth about international defense, the galaxy, esoteric literature, some girlfriend he once had, some famous friend of his...

But he referred to calling a friend of his as "ringing" him. Distinctly un-American. He also had a faint Irish accent, and for all of Ross' judgement, I prayed that my suspicions were correct.

As we prepared to exit the train, I said "I have to ask where he's from". Despite everyone begging me not to ("But then he'll engage us all in endless conversation!"), I just had to ask.

"So sorry to interrupt, but may I ask where you're from? I can't quite place your accent."

The answer? Unbelievable.

"I'm half Irish and half Dutch, but I went to a British school in Hong Kong..." and yes, he did continue chatting. But I didn't hear a word he said beyond that. Gloating. Half Irish (Ross!), half Dutch (Thomas!). The answer couldn't have been more perfect.

These people (the world?) don't seem to realize that Americans are everyone. It's an immigrant country. Earlier that morning, Thomas had said, "That's one thing Americans can cook: breakfast. That, and burgers," and I got seriously upset. He claimed all other American food is sub-par. Wha? But all of the food we have in the US is pretty damn close to authentic, considering the great diversity in the states. Los Angeles alone has Little Tokyo, Korea Town, China Town, Little Ethiopia, Little Armenia, Oliveira Street, etc... and you can bet your bottom dollar that the food your getting is coming from immigrants who come from the source, unlike here, where I can buy a Shwarma at the same place I buy a pizza (even a Shwarma pizza!) so my pizza is far from Italian.

Get your heads out of your European arses. Just because someone is loud and talkative doesn't mean they're American. It means they're likely Irish and Dutch. But maybe one day they'll move to America, just like everyone else.