How to deal with general assumptions, falsehoods, and stereotypes about Americans

I am finally better and I did not get mono so I am having a fantastic week! On an a note unrelated to the title, this week is reading week for most students...well students of certain majors. At Warwick Business School, there are not many teachers who give this kind of break. I actually only have one class in which I am off for the week. This led to worries about whether the students who have reading week would be loud and obnoxious while I am trying to work. Thankfully, this is so far unfound as most have either gone home or are actually being very productive. Moving on to today's topic......

How to Deal with assumptions, falsehoods, and stereotypes about Americans/American culture you may run into while at Warwick.

First let it be known to anyone reading this that I have not faced any discrimination by local citizens/students/professors or any Europeans while I have been here at Warwick University. 98% of the time it has even come up, it has been either a joking way by my friends or some of my curious fellow students have asked me about them.

I have only felt alienated on two separate occasions. The first was in a class where I am the only American and students there were trying to talk about it as if they knew about it. For example, when a student was asked whether it would be easier to innovate in Europe/the UK or in the States; he stated that it would be easier in the States because the culture and the language is the same everywhere. Evidently he did not realize how exactly diverse and spread out the United States is. Anyway the second occasion occurred just because one of my dorm mates has this tendency to only believe his opinions are correct, not just with me but with everyone, and decided to make a comment about the States that had true origins but was largely untrue. This led to a rather heated argument and now I think we finally gotten to the point where he just keeps quiet.

The truth is though that people are going to make stereotypes, assumptions, and believe certain falsehoods about the States. Why? Because very few have actually ever experienced anything in the United States for themselves and even if they have it is very limited in scope. For example, quite a few have been to New York city which is an American city but anyone who has been to NYC and practically anywhere else in the States knows it has a culture all its own and you can not base your entire opinion of the country on that one place; that is just the beauty of America. For those who have never been there, all these different beliefs come generally from the media, especially American movies, and word of mouth. Makes a lot of sense when you think about how many stereotypes there are about the British, particularly our/there movies, which to my experience are almost completely untrue.

So how should they be dealt with?
Well I believe there are three generally good ways (I am sure there are more, but I am just choosing to focus on the three)

Laugh
-I do not mean like laugh at them for being stupid or something, but laugh at the actual stereotypes. This gives the impression right away that evidently it is wrong but this approach is better when talking to people who actually know you so you can stop laughing and calming explain the stereotype without them thinking you are rude. Examples of this technique: I could not help laughing when somebody said to me....
"Isn't America like what’s on that show...um Jersey Shore?" (The laughing was followed by a rather quick no)

"Isn't it true that it is expected when you go to prom in America that you will sleep with your prom date?"
(After laughing, that was followed by a no and a where in the world did you get that idea)

"Aren't American High Schools like they are depicted in the movies...for example Mean Girls?" (This was laughed at just because in a way yes in many cases certain situations are similar to how they are in real life but as with most movies, the actual happenings of daily life are too boring and therefore amplified to make things more interesting)

Although laughing is great, you should still make sure to explain how you feel it actually is and also explain that it may be true in some places or situations but it is still a stereotype, which is something based on truth but has been blown out of proportion.

Explain it
-This approach works better in an academic setting or with those you do not know very well. I have generally used this when I heard someone make a comment and felt it was far off enough that it needed explaining or when people have politely inquired about American culture and it was in an Academic or non-familiar way. Basically you just calmly reiterate what they are saying so you are sure about what assumption is being made, ask why they have that assumption, and explain your experience with it the best you can. I have had one situation where they named one individual in which it fit, which I could not argue with but I could argue the point that just because it is true with that one person, does not mean it fits all Americans. I mean to be honest the only thing you can definitely say about all Americans is that we are all American.

Ignore it and just walk away
-This approach works best if used in a situation where you are talking to one of the few people here or are absolutely stuck in their way of thinking about the world and therefore will argue with you relentlessly if you try to diffuse what they believe. Thankfully I have only run into this I believe once. Really you just need to decide if whether explaining the truth of the assumption is really worth your time and trouble and if it is not, ignore the person and just walk away. An exception to that would be if you live in the same hall as them. In that case it needs to be explained to them that you do not like those kinds of comments and they need to stop. If they do not stop and they are making you uncomfortable or alienated, then there are plenty of people whom you can talk to on campus and it can get resolved.


I hope this is helpful and as a final bit of advice, DO NOT BE A HYPOCRIT. If you do not want someone to judge you by a stupid American stereotype then do not judge them by one you have of their country or culture. The whole purpose of this exchange is to expose those involved to different viewpoints and cultures. This includes being open about any preexisting beliefs and being willing to get rid of such beliefs if they are not true. Just come to England or any other country you travel to with an open mind and you will have a great time. Cheers!


Update

Hey everyone,
I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted and I am sorry that this is also going to be a rather short post. It seems I have become quite ill. My sickness began Sunday night and has attacked me vigorously since then, but on the positive side I am showing signs of recovery. I am gradually beginning to get better, but unfortunately being sick has led me to miss my classes this week. My teachers have been rather understanding though and as long as I turn in a form explaining my absence, the next day I attend class, it should be alright. I will post again once I am well, but until then, have a wonderful weekend! Cheers!

Words commonly used by Brittish students and their meanings

With the help of my very nice dorm mates, I have compiled a generous list of words that are typically used by Brittish Students that are not commonly used back home in America. So please enjoy this list and have a safe and happy Halloween! Cheers!

Full stop: period

Knackered: Tired, exhausted

Pissed: Drunk, totally wasted

Rubbish: terrible, awful, any word you would use to describe something as bad

Naf: (northern) Rubbish

Pub: Similar to a bar

Mince: ground beef

Toad in the hole: A meal that consists of sausage in Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire pudding: A think pancake like batter which is cooked and served typically with gravy

Football: soccer

Can’t be asked/can’t be bothered: Too lazy/tired/bored to do something (typically productive)

Loo: bathroom

A pint: a glass of alchohol usually beer

Mash: Mashed potatoes

Knick/filch: stealing or borrowing

Bloody hell: similar to oh my god or oh lord. Used typically when feeling exasperated or annoyed

Flippin ell: similar to bloody hell

Nom: used typically when enjoying some sort of food

Pavement: Sidewalk

Shops: Mall

Tele: Phone

Snogging: Making out with

Cheers: Thank you

Trolley: Shopping cart

Coach: Bus

Revising: Studying/working

Resitting/Retake: Redoing previous work, what we call revising

Sorted: Something gets solved (for example: Lunch is sorted)

Fry up: Traditional full English Breakfast

Tea: dinner or the actual drink

1 sugar: 1 teaspoon of sugar

Salad cream: Honey mustard or at least very similar to it

Git/Prat: Jerk

*Note: be warned that most puddings here are not actually pudding…example: Yorkshire pudding, black pudding.

The Common room

In Benefactors we have a common room that I may or may not have mentioned before. I am not sure if the other dorms have common rooms or rather if they do, how they are set up. However, at I believe Benefactor's common room is unique in that you can see into the halls surrounding it on both floors. For some reason whoever built it found the need to put glass panels surrounding the common room instead of walls. It can be annoying though, especially until you get used to it. Just imagine that every time you leave your room for any reason, you are watched by whoever is sitting in the common room. This can be a bit embarrassing when you are cooking lunch in the kitchen and keep forgetting things in your room and evidently can also cause some interesting conversations. Although the funniest show seen from the common room probably happened this afternoon.

So my roommate and I are in assassin’s guild and were recently put on the wanted list for failing to make a legal mock assassination attempt within the allotted time. This means that a group called the inquisition, which consists of "dead" players and those who did not sign up for the long game, and those still in the game can now come after us with the intention of mock killing us. Anyway, it was about 7pm here and we were about to leave for Karate, so we were already in our uniforms, and we got a knock on the door. Not thinking about it, my roommate answered. It was an assassin from the inquisition, ironically the person she had assassinated. So he went and hid in the stairs and when we went to investigate, he saw us, and the chase began. Now imagine looking up and seeing two girls in karate uniforms running from a guy with cardboard shaped to look like a knife. I can just imagine how that must have looked.

The common room has also given inspiration to several names such as "the hall of shame", "the zoo", and the fish bowl. If any more stories like the one above come up, I will post them. In the mean time, here are some pictures to give a better idea. Cheers!

Kitchen fun

At the dorm I live at, Benefactors, on our floor there are 22 of us to our kitchen. I still fail to understand this since I think I have only seen maybe 15 of us, but anyway…Cooking in our kitchen has been rather chaotic at times. We have had two fires, only one of which required the fire blanket thankfully, and there are times when it is rather hard to get around because there are so many of us in there at once.

Although by far the most common incident that occurs in our kitchen is food appearing on the small part of open fridge space you have left, that you did not buy, and random attacks of fridge food. Let me explain….

Towards the end of the week or near to when you are about to go shopping, there ends up being more space available as you use eat/drink things. That is fine, except when you come in the kitchen, open the fridge, and gasp at the sudden intrusion of milk or vegetables or cheese that is now on your shelf. This probably does not seem like that big of a deal but it is when you try to get around that stuff to get to your stuff. When you try to go around it, instead of moving it out of the way all together, that is generally when the random attacks of fridge food occur. Picture this…someone put a yogurt at the front of your fridge space near the edge. Not wanting to move it for whatever reason, you attempt to go around it in order to retrieve your milk. While delicately going around it, you do not notice the yogurt beginning to tilt until….SPLAT. You look down in horror (well I did anyway) to see yogurt all over the floor, your pants, and your shoes. This is a fairly common occurrence, though usually it is not yogurt that is falling.

Apart from the attacking food, invading food, and crowded conditions, the kitchen is actually quite nice. Most everyone has their own shelf space, with a lot of us opting to also keep some things in our room, and with the recent exception of a sudden spurt of vegetable thievery, stolen food has been kept to a minimum.  

The dirty duck

Today I thought I would talk about a local pub called "The Dirty Duck". First a description off of Cornell's SU site:

The Dirty Duck is a modern twist on the traditional pub, serving real, freshly cooked, value-for-money food and a variety of real ales, wines, premium beers and spirits.
During term-times we have serve our new lunch menu from 12midday - 4pm Mon-Fri, followed by a superb traditional evening menu from 4-9pm. On Saturdays our full menu is available all day 12pm-9pm. On Sundays we offer a great-value carvery (with a selection of roast meats) from 12pm onwards. During Vacation, our menu is available (minus carvery) from 12-9pm Monday til Friday inclusive, and we are open for drinks until midnight Monday to Thursday and till 1am on Fridays.
There is also a range of bar snacks and specials available throughout the day.
Real Ale - Real Food - Real People - Real Welcome


I agree with this description, but I will go a bit more in depth. The dirty duck, when you walk in, is quite a cozy place where there are plenty of places for pub-goers to sit and relax. Their are various pictures of ducks on the walls and they even have a beer called "duck soup". While the people do tend to get loud, the music stays a nice volume and plays decent mix of songs. The prices at "the duck" are very reasonable and the food is delicious. I have had and highly recommend their fish and chips, steak and ale pie, cheese sticks, chips, and cheesy chips. The food is really a good value for your money and a pint of beer is decently priced. So if you feel that the pub, rather than the party scene, at Warwick suites you best. Head on over to The Dirty Duck.

General update

Hello everyone! I am honestly going to updating as regularly as possible from now on. I realized what I had been doing that has been preventing that so I am going to fix that and put more posts up. For now, I wanted to give a general update of some of the things I have been through and learned since I last posted. The first thing I found out is something that had I lived in a dorm before I am sure I already would have known, but here it is....Do not under any circumstances get romantically or physically involved with someone in your dorm. Mind you I learned this from watching my friends here and I know there are often exceptions to that rule, but still it has lead to a few awkward interactions between my dorm mates. The second thing I found out is that when my weekend starts out going downhill, it will not stop until I have hit the ground. So basically I had a really rubbish weekend. Finally, if you want a good sense of paranoia in your life, join assassin’s guild. I joined and the long game started Monday. Monday I came back to the dorm and found out that, already, two of the three people targeting me had been in the dorm. Needless to say, I was quite a bit paranoid for the remainder of the day.

My classes are going well and my sleep schedule is starting to be affected by everything I have been doing lately, but that is pretty Cornell normal. As is the norm for me, I am learning more in some classes then in others simply because some interest me more. For the most part though, I have been having an awesome time. The only thing is that I am missing certain things about the States. For example, I am missing going into a store and seeing brands I know, I miss being mocked jokingly for my southern accent as opposed to my American accent, I miss not saying rubbish when I am describing something I do not like, and I really kind of miss the currency. That last one might sound odd but I was kind of excited when I found that my friend had a dollar hanging around. Silly no? Anyway that is about it, though I plan to go to Coventry this weekend and will post more about it. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask! Cheers!