A is for American... & Austria

-
OK... first time E V E R I am going to try my best to participate in a blogging CHALLENGE..







I will be blogging an A-Z challenge. Every day a different letter... 

 I thought I would try to use this challenge to tell you a little more about me... my family.. and my life as an expat in Norway.

today the letter is A... and for me..

 A   is   for   A M E R I C A N...






There isn't a day that goes by that I am not reminded of who I am .. and where I come from.
And how much I miss my homeland and family..

Europeans are always amused when Americans say .. oh I am 1/2 this and 1/4 that...etc.

Guilty... I used to do the same thing..


I have been asked
 "when do Americans stop saying I am  1/2 this or that.. and just say..
I AM AMERICAN... ?"

I am pretty sure Americans start identifying themselves as AMERICANS when they become expats.. LOL

I dropped all of the 1/2 this and that.. when I realized how confusing it was for my children..

"Mom - are we 1/2 Norwegian 1/4 German 1/4 Scottish? -
 Where does the American fit in..? "

- I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have had to live and travel  abroad...
but the older I get.. and the chance of my going "home" becomes less and less..
the more patriotic I become... 

Proud to be an AMERICAN in Norway... :-) 

In addition, I am going to try to see if I have  traveled to a place with the letter of the day..


 A is for  AUSTRIA..




From a great European road trip, a couple of years ago.. :-)

Oh.. and ARGENTINA.. a few years ago.. on a wine tasteing with work .. :-)

Comments

Mary Aalgaard said…
Beautiful. Is your husband also American? We do have a bad habit of saying what our heritage is, and not claiming American.
http://pastryandpoetry.blogspot.com/p/about-me.html
April 1, 2012 at 8:35 PM
Jen said…
I think it's because we're the children and grandchildren of emigrants.
So we honor their heritage by claiming it!
I do it too and I live here in the US born and raised here. I'm an American but I'm half Irish- both grandmothers came off the boat and so on..... Great topic!
April 1, 2012 at 9:39 PM
rach said…
I ran across the same thing when I moved overseas!! In the states we always broke it down and here its just your nationality. (although the majority of people you meet here are 100% irish so it wouldnt take them long to break it down haha!)
April 1, 2012 at 10:48 PM
Texas Yellow Rose said…
Whenever I am in Scotland, my response to "Where are you from?" is "Texas." Even here in the States, I (and most Texans if you notice) will not say, "Houston" or "Austin" as folks from other states do - "I'm from Chicago" and so forth. Texans typically say, "I'm from Texas." Don't know what that is, but we're state-specific instead of city-oriented. Welcome to the Challenge and good luck!
April 1, 2012 at 11:09 PM
pbquig said…
I understand, I've always been part this or part that until we traveled to Germany and then England and Scotland. Then I was what they saw American! I look forward to your travels.
Pam

Quig Land
A Pirate Looks Past Sixty
Pirate Knitting
April 2, 2012 at 12:05 AM
Empty Nester said…
Excellent point! I absolutely never thought about that! How is it in Norway? It's one place I've always wanted to visit.
April 2, 2012 at 12:39 AM
momto8 said…
fun to read and interesting points! Norway is so beautiful too! lucky you with your travels!!
I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.
April 2, 2012 at 1:19 AM
Nicole said…
Very neat post! Thanks for stopping by my blog.
April 2, 2012 at 3:22 AM
Kelley with Amy's Angels said…
I love the letter for every day concept!!

I can't even get a blog post up a week much less every day. I'll just have to live through you! :)
April 2, 2012 at 3:32 AM
Hold my hand: a social worker's blog said…
Great start of your A to Z!!!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and for your kind comment.

Doris
April 2, 2012 at 3:51 AM
Adrienne said…
I've never thought of it that way, but I haven't done any overseas travelling. Yes, I too am guilty of breaking down my heritage, and many in my family take great pride in examining the roots of our family tree! Interesting post!
April 2, 2012 at 4:04 AM
Stephanie said…
Honestly, I don't even try and figure out what my kids are. They're just Americans..and I am too. Occasionally I will comment on my 1/4 Italian, cause it's the only thing I know without a doubt. My dad is half Italian. The rest...who knows. I am a mutt!
April 2, 2012 at 5:31 PM
Dennis and Valerie said…
Thanks for visiting my blog- your blog title intrigued me so I came on over. Your post resonates with me. I especially liked the line about Americans identifying themselves as Americans when they become expats. So true! My first taste of that was when I moved to Canada and married a Canadian. I had no idea there was a fiercely patriotic heart pounding in my chest. I've been living outside of the USA for 14 years now- in Canada and now in the Philippines, but I'm still American inside!
April 3, 2012 at 1:28 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hey you... hungry butt!

-
Hey you, Hungry butt!!!! .... First thought that played through my mind as I stood behind the woman in the GREY SWEATPANTS in line at the post office..... Hungry Butt is what my little sister & her friends say when referring to what in my day, was called a WEDGIE ..... "Hungry Butt" just fit the large bottom , which was gobbling its underwear in front of me.... Ugh.... the sight of her butt was burning into my mind as I waited in the ridiculously SLOW line at the post office.... No longer able to stand the site... I put my boxes down... and did the neighborly thing.... I pulled her underwear out of her butt.... You should have seen the SHOCK & SURPRISE on her face ... Ummm , OK I didn't do that... I tapped her on her shoulder & in my best AMERICAN accent announced to her & the rest of the post office... that she had the picture perfect HUNGRY BUTT... cause it was gobbling everything in sight... K... I didn't do that either... I just stood...
Read more

I ♥ Faces -Silhouette

-
Image
I ♥ Faces -Silhouette... this week is a little different.. we are able to choose one photo to enter... (darn...I had two...) but I think this is my fav.... Eva out at a beach near our home... I love the yellowish clouds & her hair blowing in the wind... She was jumping up & down on the rocks (safety first i n our house...LOL) One of the things I LOVE about Norway are the LONG summer days... this shot was taken about 7 pm... Head on over to I Heart Faces , & see who else is playing! Are you playing yet? if not...WHY NOT? Sooo many neat bloggers who WOW me every week...get on over there...go on ...
Read more

A visit to the ICE AGE....

-
Image
Sunday... FUN-DAY, Another family day..... Because we had such nice weather, (never knowing how long it will last) we decided to take another family hike.... (2.5 hours....) around the be ach. It is funny, each week, each hike, I see changes in our family....less whining (on my part) & more time learning, enjoying our time together....Bjørn who usually gets irritated with all of my picture taking, is stopping to find things to take pictures of...appreciating colors, nature etc. Dane is less squeamish...touching & picking up all of sorts of things he finds along the hike.... Today we learned about Jettegryter or "Stone Pots" these huge rock formations from the ICE AGE .... pretty cool... these holes are formed by pebbles/gravel being aggitated by water, over thousand of years.... WOW..The holes on our local beach date back to 15,000 years.... the kids had a blast.... & wanted to stay much long...
Read more