Red Solo Cup

So I have decided that it is a funny thing to be living in a foreign country. 

The particularly funny thing about Australia, is that you don’t always remember until you look over to the car next to you and think “Why is a dog driving that car!?!?!” or any number of similarly ridiculous thoughts.   It is an exhausting thing though, when all the little things take thought.  Things that used to be simple, like making chocolate chip cookies, are suddenly a major math equation.

While all of these adjustments make for the adventure, I think the funniest part so far for me, has been how fascinated people are by me, and American culture.  In Australia they broadcast most of the major US television shows, movies and music.  For many people, this is the only real exposure they get to American culture, which is a little horrifying really.

For smaller kids, like the grade 5 who I was talking to yesterday, this means that everyone in America is famous.  She was so disappointed to find out that I didn’t know any celebrities.  My junior high aged kids all think I sound like various different movie stars, I think being compared to Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory is my favourtie thus far.

For the teenagers, they do not understand why in so many TV shows American teenagers are drinking.  I have had many questions from adults and teenagers about  the culture of alcohol in the United States.  Like whether or not they ID people, what is our drinking age, what are our drinking and driving laws, and why college kids in the US drink so much.  My particular favorite question was whether red solo cups are actually used.  Because in all the movies and TV shows, and now songs, all the parties use red Solo cups, and people want to know if we really do.

I hope that I can fairly represent normal Americans, but it is very strange to explain our culture, and our media.  I have even had people ask me about why we have so many elections, or why it takes our government so long to make decisions.

Perhaps the really strange part is that to them I am such a novelty.  People have so many questions.  People will come up in restaurants and ask me where I am from.  That and the newspaper interviewed me just because I am American.

Yep, living in a foreign country is a funny thing.