A Norwegians view of America....
I had a nice conversation with a co worker yesterday. She told me she dreamed of going to America one day... but with all of the guns & serial killers, it made her a little nervous.......
***sounds of crickets*** Ummm what do you say to that?
I told her that I have never owned a hand gun...or known anyone who owns one.
Nor have I ever met a a serial killer..(luckily)
I could see her face relax a little, thinking... maybe... just maybe.... she could do the ROUTE 66 trip without being killed.
So how do a lot of the Norwegians I encounter, see the U.S?
Many of them think everything in the U.S. is BIG.... yes... I agree.. why not?
Americans... depending on who you ask... are regarded as "Hollywood FABULOUS"...(guilty)
or fat & frumpy...
(Norwegians who have not been to the states before, form many of their opinions from TV... Sex in the City, Jerry Springer, Forensic Files... N-I-C-E ....)
America is convenient... with stores open 24 hours a day & a shopping MECCA (true true true...)
WALMART was acutally in the newspaper the other day as a "MUST SEE" on your trip to the states...
Americans are friendly... & loud... (guilty...guilty)
Americans are proud of where they come from.... true. (Being American & from where we immigrated)
They think it is funny that Americans say... I am German-American... or Irish American.... (must be a bit boring for them to say... I am Norwegian-Norwegian...)
And generally we will tell them... Oooo I am Norwegian-German-Irish too. My great, great, great grandma was (insert nationality)
Americans are only interested in America... (sad but kind of true...
the majority of Norwegians can name most of the American Presidents..)
Can anyone name the Norwegian Prime Minister ? (without googling it?)
answer...Jens Stoltenberg... Or aka...MR. Y-U-M-M-Y
as I like to call him.(just a little eye-candy for you...)
Helllloooo Hottie..
Americans eat a lot of fast food.
Yes true...but that is because we work 40 hour weeks & it is cheap.
Reason Norwegians don't eat a lot of fast food is because it is too darn expensive! ($60 for 2 happy meals & a #3 value meal?) I would rather cook.
Americans drive everywhere.... with gas so cheap in the states... (yes, I said CHEAP... try paying $12 a gallon & then come crying to me...) Think of all of the places we can drive through... Restaurants, dry cleaners, pharmacies... WEDDING Chapels... sigh....God bless the US...
(I have to actually park to go into the bank...)
This is just the tip of the iceberg without getting into politics...
I am sure I will add more as I come up with them.... because this is something I encounter on a daily basis.
** And for those of you who are going to POOP on my PARADE... & tell me the US is not perfect... I KNOW THAT... but dammit... it is home...& I love it!
Did I mention 3 weeks til I Go Home??? (Wonder if I am going to throw that into every post for the next 3 weeks?)
Comments
I am surprised when in the West the misinformation people have about the East.
Fast food is still super expensive in Norway? I was trying to remember if it was just me or if it really was expensive. I think when I was there I ate out twice.
I sometimes bought a hot dog from the Kiosks. Hot dog only. Do they still have the little Kiosks on the streets.
I have also wondered in this day of ATMs if they still have PostSpare bankboks?
This was a neat post. Interesting to see what Norwegians think of America.
And we do use our bank cards all over the place...
RHEA... Yes that is the Prime Minister... & He is even better looking in real life... (TV)
I know, creepy right?
I will admit, that the habit Americans have of calling themselves Irish-American, French-American, Greek-American or whatever, seems to be a bit weird to me.
I'm a New Zealander. My ancestors mainly came from Scotland, with a little bit of English, Irish and Greek thrown in the mix. But I am a New Zealander. That's my identity.
It kind of facinates me as to why Americans want to tack another country on to their identity. It's rather like some aren't completely comfortable in their skins as Americans.
Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking Americans over that. I'm just interested as to why.
The postsparebank bok was a passbook savings account through the post office. This was before ATMs so you could go to a post office and get cash. It was rather convenient.
14 more days 14 more days....
I sure hope your days until you go home improve!
everything you posted about norway is the same in the UK, EVERYONE expected me to have these glowing "once in a lifetime" stories to tell, regaling them with mystery and the beauty of being "british"
nice- sure, but the TRUTH is that I HATED IT and could not wait to be back home, OMG
I only recently started to actually admit it! high gas prices, weird economy, small salaries and old school mentality made me go bonkers, and if you werent drunk at the pub or at the club you were worthless there!
anyway, GREAT read and I gotta add you to my blog list!
I came back to America, after fleeing thiking "so much more cultured, European flair is what I need....international travel... sexy!!"
to screaming to go back home arriving with $43 in my bank account and moving in with my FATHER at the age of 28 (with a MBA and consulting under my belt)
and not caring at all either, I was that glad to be back and what seemed to mysterious and grand before I lived there - well the reality came up quickly and the beauty of USA and being American warts 'n all has seriously turned me into the biggest patriot.
LOL
Kelli
I have to say that being in Norway has made me happier with America.
Plus everything you say is true. they really do think that... So it's rather funny when they talk to me and realize that I speak proper English, know about the world, and am very quiet.
This is generally in response to "Oh you're from Texas?" In that bizarre I can't tell if you are British/American/Norwegian accent.
Great sense of Humor, I've enjoyed reading.
Howdy from one Texas girl to another!!
Em