As an expat, it’s interesting how many people you encounter who wish to provide unsolicited opinions about your country, especially if you are from America. There isn’t the same curiosity that you as a foreign visitor might have when inquiring about their culture and history. They speak about the U.S. as if they really know America, yet they’ve never been. It doesn’t take long to realize that they know very little about the good ole US of A. Therefore, I’ve outlined a few questions below to help fellow Americans circumvent these situations and stop a potential pain-in-your-ass in his/her tracks.

Often, these people are trying to pigeon hole us Americans - All Americans are fat, stupid, rich, spoiled, uncultured, monolingual, wasters, spend-thrifts, fake, always happy, or inconsiderate…

• How many people live in America? I usually receive answers of 40M - 100M. Here’s a good way to show them the size of the US. “Take your country for example. The Czech Republic has 10M people. Okay, that’s a lot (sarcasm). Let’s double that - 20M; double it again - 40M; and, double it again - 80M. Okay, so far we’ve only gotten through California, Texas, New York, and Connecticut - we still have 46 states left. Now, double it again - 160M - Okay, you are just over half way there! Double it one more time - 320M! The United States has 301M people.” How can you pigeon hole 301M people? How can all Americans be fat, stupid, rich, spoiled, uncultured…?
• Map of the U.S. - This served me well in classes when trying to describe how big America is. Ever-curious executives always wanted to know where I was from, “Where is Massachusetts?” Pointing to it always elicited the same answer with a laugh, “Wow! that’s tiny!” My reply, “Yeah, it’s about the same size as your country.” Silence usually followed. Then, I explained that it takes six hours cross the country……by plane. Their eyes widen. “So comparing someone’s lifestyle in Portland, Maine to someone in Los Angeles is like comparing a Greek to a Brit.”
• Where do Americans come from? Are the Greeks, Czechs, Russians, etc. who immigrated to the US all fat, stupid, rich…? Are they Americans or Greeks, Czechs, or Russians? America is everyone. So, whatever they say about Americans, they are saying about their people. That means Czechs must be fat, stupid, rich, spoiled, uncultured… Most of my students wouldn’t argue these point. In fact, many made them of their own volition.
• How is it you think you know America? Where do you get your information from? “The Media.” Wow, the media! They say it as if it’s an official source like the news, CNN, BBC, AP, etc. No, the media to most of these people means music videos, movies, The Simpsons, Jerry Springer, and Married with Children. This is the source of most of their questions and pigeon holing. Sadly, they believe the media, so don’t get worked up. It’s not their fault the American marketing machine has infiltrated their lands and capitalized on fragmented markets without enough resources to build a real entertainment industry. To overcome this obstacle, it takes some maneuvering: Do you understand the difference between news and entertainment? If yes, “Was American entertainment made to entertain Americans or educate Europeans about life in America?” Made for Americans. “Is most entertainment reality or fiction?” Most is fiction, reality would be boring. As simple and stupid as this sounds, it’s amazing that most people do not get it until it’s laid out in simple chapter and verse.
• “But, we have news from America!” Okay, I occasionally get someone trying to save face by making this last ditch claim. “How often do you watch it? And, can you understand everything you watch?” Usually, the answer is “not very often.” And, “no, they speak too fast.” Or, the best one is, “our news reports your news, and we see the same clips and they translate it too.” A Greek-American girl I met in Greece who is fluent in Greek told me that the Greek media incorrectly translates the clips. She could hear the English and the translation was far off the mark. (I later confirmed with others) She also said that the news anchors consider good journalism to be when the anchor provides more about his opinion than just reporting the facts for the viewer to reach a conclusion. (also confirmed) Ironically, the best news source in the Greek media is the state-run television channel. Doesn’t that sound rife with conflicts of interest?
• Okay, I get it, you think America sucks. Tell me some problems with your country - If you think they only bash on America, strap in and get ready. The list of problems in their own country or their neighbors will exceed that for America. They just like to bitch. With the increasing middle-classification of the world, more people are being thrust into the rat-race to consume. The Jones moved east and changed their names to Jonesova and Jonopoulos, embracing vanity and materialism. To complicate matters, many people in these countries are very ignorant about financial matters, especially in eastern Europe (post-communism) and Mediterranean cultures where parents continue supporting children into their forties. As such, they’ve become prime targets for sub-prime lenders. I have heard many stories of people accumulating tens of thousands of Euros in credit card debt on consumables and luxury goods. Car repossessions are common. And, the amounts of plastic surgery appears to rival or exceeds Los Angeles. Thus, topping the list of things they will complain about in their own country is the loss of lifestyle. The days of taking a siesta are long gone in Greece. Meeting friends in the cafe every night is becoming increasingly difficult as people work longer hours and make less money. The average salaries in most of these countries are around 1,000 Euros per month for white collar workers. The list will go on to include the quality of food, water, stress, illness, inflation, etc.

In conclusion, it’s the nature of the beast. People just like to complain. They complain about America - it’s an easy target. They complain about their own countries. The problem is that many of them just don’t know when to shut it. However, you shouldn’t let it ruin your experience. You need to help them shut it, otherwise, they will drone on for hours.