How Others See Us

For this blog post, I interviewed two of my Aussie buddies that live here on college with me. They were both eager to be interviewed as was I eager to interview them. I've been curious to know what Australians think of American culture and have been asking people in passing but was excited to get more answers in a little more formal setting. I asked both of them to be completely honest, knowing from previous conversations that some ideas that people down here have of Americans isn't always positive. I myself am not blindly patriotic to my country and know very well that it has its flaws, so I wanted to hear their honest opinions ans I didn't want them to just try and be nice.

Julia, how do you view Americans and why?

There are kind of tow views I have of Americans. One is the Hollywood image I get from the movies and TV shows and such of rich, well dress, fit people of Beverly Hills. The other one is of overweight people because of McDonald's and fast food in general. I know this isn't really an answer to your question but I also feel like here in Australia, we are being Americanized because we now also have fast food restaurants like McDonald's and KFC and it seems like obesity here is going up because of that. 

Do I fit this image? Why or why not?

No not at all. To be honest you seem to be more of what I would think a Canadian would be like. You are way to down to earth to fit into the Hollywood image. I can't imagine you getting caught up in all that glitz and glam craziness. 

Emma, how do you view Americans and why?

I see Americans as people who are very opportunistic because the US is seen as the land of opportunity and people travel to the US to try and make something of themself. Americans also seem to be full of themselves and are extremely patriotic. Aussies definitely don't take themselves that seriously. 
Americans have a very unique fashion sense and you can tell right away when someone is from the US, especially for the guys, in the US they have these weird adidas things that have just a thick strap across the toes. People never wear stuff like that here. Also, guys' shorts are so long in the US. Guys here never wear those long cargo shorts. 

Do I fit this image? Why or why not?

No you don't, you even wear the proper thongs and not those weird thick ones. You'rs not full of yourself at all and you are agreeing with the things that I am saying about the US. You don't seem to take patriotism too seriously. 

It is important for people from one culture to be able to step outside of themselves and look in from the perspective of another culture. This way, a broader cross cultural understanding can occur as globalization becomes more and more prominent in this day and age. I thoroughly enjoyed this activity and am learning quickly from the Aussies that it is important to laugh often and not take oneself too seriously.