How Others See Us

After being in Australia for almost a month, I have had a number of interesting conversations about how Australians view Americans and vice versa. Most of the people I have spoken with have very similar views of us. I asked two friends of mine, Harrison and Luke, about their view of Americans, and they had a similar opinion of what they expected us to be like. Both agreed that we are seen as very boisterous and loud all the time and we eat a lot, which is not an uncommon opinion amongst Australians. Most of these ideas are based off of what they learn from others along with personal experiences with US students that study abroad at JCU. 

https://britishaisles.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/american-stereotypes-according-to-the-british/

Harrison, who is from Pambula in New South Wales, and I have had many conversations about a huge range of topics, but it often comes back to do you do this or that in America and vice versa. I have learned about a lot about how Australians live through our conversations. When prompted about his view of Americans, Harrison said he expected us to be “very loud and patriotic.” Being a freshman, he constructed this idea off of what he had heard from others and the media. He believes that I don’t really fit into what he expected from an American, although at times like most people I can become loud. He and a few of his mates also noted that “we complain A LOT about everything” and we are "constantly hungry/eating."

I recently met Luke and we have had a few conversations about the similarities and differences of America and Australia. He is from Airlie Beach in Queensland and has a similar opinion to Harrison’s of what Americans are like—loud. However, he also added that we really “love our guns.” I am definitely not surprised about any of the opinions they have about Americans because they do for the most part seem true. He said I sort of fit into these categories mostly because I told him about being around and now owning/shooting guns from a young age. He said these views were formed mostly from the media of all the shootings that happen in the US and from past Americans he has met at JCU. I tried to explain to him that most people are very safe with guns, and the stories you hear of the shootings are the few people that don’t handle guns safely or are mentally unstable.

Hopefully, I will be able to change and influence how Australians view Americans, but I will have to be more aware of how I present myself around them.

I have definitely learned a lot about Australia through my conversations. Both Harrison and Luke along with other Australians express interest in one day visiting the US just to see what it is like. They will likely encounter some people that fit the stereotypical loud, patriotic, gun loving American, but with so much diversity, they will find there are also a lot of people that don’t act like that at all.