English Topics Misconceptions about America
Alisha: Hi, everybody! My name is Alisha.
I’m joined again in the studio by…
Michael: Michael. Hello.
Alisha: And today, we’re going to be talking
about some misconceptions about America.
So, let’s get right into it.
Let’s start with you, Michael.
What is your first misconception that you’ve
heard about America?
Michael: I’m going to have to start with
the “arrogant American stereotype.”
This, I think, maybe in the past had been
a little bit more accurate but ever since
the internet and ever since the 60s, with
the Vietnam War and the hippie movement and
everything going on then, this has really
died down a bit.
I’m proud to be an American, but I’m not one
of the stereotypical Americans that, “We’re
number one.
We’re the best.”
This really has died down.
I hear this a lot on the internet and whatnot.
Alisha: Yeah, I know what you mean.
Then the whole number one thing—at least
for me, one of the things that…
I feel like if you say that there’s a greatest
country in the world.
I think that’s a silly thing to say, that
you’re the greatest country in the world.
Not that I don’t support America or appreciate
all the things that America does for me and
for people around the world.
I feel like I’m treading in dangerous waters
right now.
There are plenty of good things about other
countries, too.
I’m going to stop here before I offend anyone.
Anyway, I’m going to go to my first one.
My first one is–maybe this is one that you’ve
got as well.
“Hamburgers are the only American food.”
This is a misconception that I have heard
a lot.
Hamburgers and variations of hamburgers.
Cheeseburgers, bacon cheeseburgers, avocado
burgers, veggie burgers, whatever.
Anything burger is not the only American food.
There are plenty of other American foods.
Even if you just stick around the fast food
ballpark for a while, there are hotdogs, there
are Philly cheesesteaks, which are delicious.
If you go to the South, there are all kinds
of interesting, like Louisianan food that
you can try on there.
You can eat crocodile, you can eat frog legs,
which, I mean, probably borrowed to some extent
from French cuisine.
There are lots of fresh fish, like salmon
from Washington, Oregon.
Where I’m from, we talked a lot about Tex-Mex
and California burrito culture.
There’s so much good stuff to try in America,
and it’s not just burgers.
American food is more than just burgers.
That drives me crazy when people say, “Oh,
you’re Americans!
You must love hamburgers, right?”
Well, they’re great, but there’s so much other
good stuff to try.
Michael: Yes, likewise just with the hamburger
thing, when you think hamburgers, you think
fast food, right?
And so, that’s the other stereotype.
Even if you want a good, authentic American
hamburger, don’t go to one of the fast food
restaurants.
That’s what they think: “Oh, you’re American.
You can’t appreciate the real good, high-quality
cheese and blah blah blah.”
If you have a really good authentic American
hamburger, you’ll be really happy.
You’ll be really happy.
It’s really good.
Alisha: Did I miss any key American foods?
I feel like I had the big ones.
Just like region-centric foods that are big.
Michael: That was the first thing I thought
of, and you got to it with Louisiana, as far
as something that people don’t usually think
about when they think about American food.
And that’s amazing food.
And I think, to take that a little bit further,
while traveling and teaching, people would
say, “Oh, your name’s not a really American
name,” because my last name is German.
But I would tell them that there is no American
name.
A truly American name would be like the Native
Americans’ from way back when.
And one of the beauties of America is that
it’s the “melting pot,” as you always
hear.
And then it’s a lot of different cultures,
so as you were saying about Louisiana food,
it’s probably borrowed from French, and American
food isn’t just hamburgers.
There’s a whole wide array, and as we talked
about before, the Mexican food.
So, absolutely, there’s a big variety, and
it’s not just one thing.
Alisha: Yeah, explore.
Explore American cuisine.
There’s a lot of it to explore.
Alright. What’s your next misconception?
Michael: Next misconception is…
Well, this one’s a little bit specific to
where I’m from.
It’s that “everybody skis or snowboards
in Colorado.”
This is something–I think this is natural
when you meet somebody from any different
state, province, whatever, is that you think
about the tourist attractions of that place
and you say, so I meet another American, even
within America, they say, “Oh, you’re from
Colorado!
Do you ski and snowboard?”
Sometimes, just because I’m from there doesn’t
mean I’d do it, and to me, I think it’s kind
of a rough analogy, but it’d be like meeting
someone from France and be like, “Oh, do
you go to the Eiffel Tower every day?”
“Yeah, once when I was a kid.”
Same thing with America.
Just as the whole country, it’s what the Statue
of Liberty and these kinds of things you ever
get that.
Alisha: Every once in a while.
I’m from Oregon, so we have ski and snowboard
culture there, but I’m trying to think of
it.
There’s this one when I say that I was raised
in Oregon, if there’s something that I usually
get back and I don’t think I do.
I think California maybe more so.
If you say you’re from California, it might
be something like, “Oh, do you surf?
Or do you go to the beach?”
I think that it’s really easy to kind of make
an image of that state or what that state’s
people might be like and then to ask a question
about that, but I don’t think that it’s necessarily
out of malice that people say such things.
I think it’s just trying to make a connection
like, “Oh, I’m familiar to some degree with
your state,” or “I know something about
your state.
Maybe this is the way we can have a conversation
about it.”
But yeah, kind of pigeonholing people, like
trying to stereotype people based on where
they’re from and what you presume they might
like to do, I guess it could come off as a
little irritating for some.
Michael: Yeah, I don’t mind it because I know
that it’s good intentions.
They’re just trying to make a connection,
and I do the same thing that I think of all
the musicians or famous actors or actresses
from whatever country they’re from and I’ll
say that.
And they’re just trying to make conversation,
so it’s not a big deal.
But again, it’s a stereotype, and just try
to relate it and put yourself in the shoes
like, “What kind of tourist attractions
and stereotypes do I not relate?”
Alisha: Or saying, “Oh, I’ve been there
to such-and-such attraction before.
It was really nice,” that kind of…
I think it isn’t just certainly bad.
It’s just one of those things.
Next one.
Let’s see the next one that I have.
I’ve heard this now and now and then.
This one that I’ve heard is “Americans all
own guns.”
I’ve heard this.
Michael: Me too.
Alisha: Samesies.
Michael: Samesies.
Alisha: We both have this one, but this is
one that I think–maybe it’s because of action
movies, maybe it’s because of the news stories
that come out about shootings in America,
which are horribly tragic and unfortunate,
but for some reason, some people have this
image that Americans all own guns.
I don’t own a gun.
Michael: Me either.
Alisha: There’s one person, two people who
do not own guns, and I know that there are
plenty more.
There are a lot of people who do not own guns.
I mean, whether or not you support guns, maybe
that’s a different issue.
But this is one point that’s always just a
little bit confusing to me.
Maybe this comes from old western movies,
where we’re cowboys in this gun-toting, gun-loving,
shoot-them-up sort of country, but I don’t
think that it’s that.
I don’t think that that’s America.
Well, all of America.
There are parts of America.
There are some people in America who like
guns.
That’s your thing.
It’s just not mine, and it’s not some other
people’s.
Michael: I think the fact that we both have
to stop and hesitate, it is an issue.
It’s a hot topic.
It’s a second amendment right, so people are
constantly debating this.
But I tell people, I can’t think of five people
in all of my friends and family.
I can’t think of five who own a gun.
There are some people who are military something,
but for private people, that’s really not
common.
There’s only a handful of people I know that
own a gun, and they go out shooting.
It’s not a big deal, but it is a hot topic.
But I hate this, every time I hear, “Oh,
America—cowboys, guns, this kind of…”
No, I’m not a cowboy, don’t have guns.
Have you ever gone shooting though?
Alisha: My parents had—Do you know clay
pigeons?
Clay pigeon shooting?
My parents used to do that with their friends.
They would just go to a small shooting range,
and it’s just this little disc made of clay,
and it was just a sport.
It was just for sport.
They’d shoot it, they fly—what do you call
it?
Fling?
Fling, I guess.
They throw this clay pigeon in the air, and
then you’d aim and try to shoot it.
It was a sport.
And so, my parents had a couple for that,
and then I think they sold them after a while
because they just didn’t do it very often.
I fired that a couple times, and I really
didn’t like it.
It just made me feel really uncomfortable.
Michael: How old were you?
Alisha: I was probably 17, 18 or so.
Michael: About the age you would know if you
liked it or you don’t.
Alisha: I suppose, but it just made me really
uncomfortable.
I didn’t like it, but I’ve known people who
use them for hunting.
I knew somebody in high school, in college.
His dad had one, but he’d go out hunting every
year, and he’d go out and kill a deer, and
then they’d bring it home, and they’d prepare
it, and the family would have that to eat
throughout the winter.
That was just one of their family’s traditions.
But as far as a handgun, I don’t think I’ve
ever met anyone that I know of.
No, wait I did know one guy.
He was a little—I’m not going to say anything.
I’m really uncomfortable on this video.
I feel like it’s getting controversial.
Michael: Yeah, yeah.
Alisha: Let’s go to the last one because it’s
not controversial.
It’s going to be the last one.
My last one is it’ll be “quick and easy
to see the whole country.”
No, America is huge!
Compared to a lot of other countries around
the world, America is very, very large.
I’ve heard of people saying they’re going
to visit New York, and then they say, “Okay,
and then we’re going to rent a car, and we’re
going to drive to California.”
And the Americans in the room will go, “You
know how long it’s going to take you, right?
You have some concept of how far that is?”
“You know, a few hours or a couple days.”
“No!”
It’s far.
It’s like 5,000 miles across the country
so you should plan some time.
I heard about a guy recently who took like
a month to bicycle from New York to California.
It’s crazy.
He had some people giving him car rides along
the way.
But have you ever run into somebody who has
no concept of how large the country is?
Michael: All the time.
Alisha: Really?
Michael: Usually.
I mean, again we’re talking about the–you
want to make a connection.
So, usually, they just name–everyone knows
New York, Texas, California, that’s pretty
much it when you think America.
Even Americans I know, you really don’t put
it on scale of how big it is unless you look
at a picture and you place Europe on top and
you go, “Wow, this is pretty huge!”
Generally, though, I haven’t met anybody who’s
planning a trip and going.
I think when you plan a trip, they make a
little more preparations.
But yeah, same thing.
They really have no idea, no frame of reference,
I guess, because it’s kind of its own.
Alisha: And then if you even want to include
Alaska and Hawaii, which are just way out
there.
It’s quite large.
Good luck with that.
Your weeklong trip.
Alright.
Those are some common misconceptions about
America.
Anything else you want to add to this or anything
else you would like to clear up?
Michael: Don’t you dare say anything about
America because it’s not true.
Alisha: My, gosh.
What just happened?
Those are some misconceptions about America.
Maybe we’ve cleared up a few things about
America or maybe we’ve only intensified a
few of your misconceptions about America.
Who knows?
But thanks very much for joining us this time,
and we will see you again when we have another
fun topic to discuss.
Bye!