Monday, April 14, 2014

Show Me The World

In 27 days I will be on a plane ride to the biggest adventure of my life, and hopefully not the last. I will be heading to London for two weeks and experience what the world is like outside of my little bubble in the United States. As I prepare for this trip, I think a lot about how I will be perceived as well as how I will perceive them. I am a very open minded person and will try my best to keep stereotypes from interfering with my interactions, but they still may creep into my mind every so often. One thing I wonder about is if everyone will have bad teeth. My teeth are far from perfect, yet I am still curious if there will be a significant difference in dental hygiene. I also expect that everyone will be drinking tea. I am not sure if they all really like tea that much or if it is just something they do to show they are united in something. I have never been a big fan of tea but I am surely going to have to drink a few cups while there. I think I will enjoy being there very much because I see them as a country full of history, culture, and pride.
One thing I am very worried about is if they will welcome me into their country and enjoy me being there as much as I will enjoy being there. Americans are already perceived as arrogant and ignorant, I do not want them to hate me before I even arrive. The U.S. has always been a bit invasive and is not well liked by outsiders because of it. I love living in the U.S. yet even I disagree with some of the interactions we have with other countries. I hope I can be an amazing example of how kind and gracious Americans can be while I am there. In every country there are good and bad people. Sometime we get so caught up in one side of it that we label them entirely good or entirely bad. I think visiting the country and showing how open and willing to learn we are, we can show that Americans are great people to be around and maybe in the future countries can be a bit more enthusiastic to interact with us.
My best friend, who is attending this trip with me, and I have recently bought out tickets to Paris, France from London. We plan on having a day trip and I am very excited to see the Eiffel Tower and experience the city of love, even if it is only for one day. As excited as I am, I am also very worried about it. France has a reputation for being very angry and hateful towards any outsiders, let alone Americans. In my high school we had a foreign exchange student from Italy and even she told me about how rude the French can be. It scares me to think that I may arrive there and they may all stick up their noses and look down on me based on where I am from. As I said earlier there are both good and bad people every where. I just hope I can find the good ones while in France rather than the bad ones. 
I have never given much thought to where I was from because it has just been where I have lived my entire life. Since signing up for this trip I am thinking about all of the negative things that other people think about the United States. We do have bad attributes but we are also a country of hope and exploration. We are constantly changing and growing from out past mistakes. We are open to learning from others and doing our best to make this country a place for anyone who needs a home. I love referring to the U.S. as the melting pot because that is what we are. We have taken people from all over the world and created a place full of life and freedom. As I study more about London and how the U.S. is seen by the rest of the world I hope I continue to learn and be able to see from multiple perspectives. In preparation for London, my friend and I have been trying to incorporate what they call "the Queens English" into our daily conversations so we do not look like complete tourists when we arrive. 
Wish me luck! Until next time, Cheerio!

No comments:

Post a Comment