cultural education

Part of the reason I moved to England (and even joined the Navy) was travel and cultural education. I want to experience as much of the world as I can in the short time I have on it, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to move to another continent. I suppose the decision making process there is the topic for another post (or maybe that’s all the more you need to know)… getting to the meat of this one.
One of the things I’ve noticed about Europe is that the continent and all of the countries and subsequent provinces/cities/etc within act like a super super super concentrated version of the USA and all the states within. Europeans, in general, are very proud to be such… and the pride that each person has of their individual country reminds me of what you experience when you meet a Texan or a New Yorker. Of course, this is a super generalization… I understand the language, historical, and cultural differences that run longer and deeper than the USA has even been around, but this is my blog and my opinion so I’ll state it however I want to.
Anyway, part of the awesomeness of this is that by moving to London I get to be a Londoner, which is part of not only the English world, but the British (being the UK as a whole), and European as well. Circles within circles within circles, if you will. To add to my cultural experiences, I’ve got a couple of Germans living with me (one from Munich and one from Berlin, which are, apparently as different as the aforementioned Texans and New Yorkers) and I work at a NATO headquarters (and the 26+ nations represented within that). After a long Sunday night, and a rough Monday that started earlier and ran longer than usual, the ‘smart’ thing for me to do on Monday night was to take a bath and tuck into bed early, which, of course, I did NOT do.

Tristan and Katharina just arrived Saturday, but they have friends from their time in Germany that already lived here in London. Unfortunately those friends are moving back to Germany on Tuesday, only allowing for a day or so overlap to get together. They invited me along Monday night to go see them and, the masochist that I am, I decided to go. Glad I did….
It’s not that we did anything particularly interesting, it’s just that I got to see, even more so, how much my ‘experience’ of the world is limited. I would’ve considered myself ‘well traveled’… and suppose, in a way, I still do (compared to most of the people I’ve known in my life)… but I had NOTHING on this crowd.
For starters, I was the only person in a room of 7 that spoke only one language. I’m fluent (or at least used to be) in American Sign Language… but that doesn’t do me much good in England (yes, sign languages vary as much as spoken). Second, I would say I’ve lived in 3 different countries (I’m counting my few short months in Japan prior to the Navy), but again, this was the lowest number in the room…

A run down of the players:
Katharine- speaks German and fairly fluent English and French
Tristan – speaks German and English
Mr O – speaks Ukrainian, German, and English
Mrs O – same as Mr O
The Blonde – speaks Polish, Ukrainian and English
Some Guy – speaks Ukrainian, German, French, and English
Cheesy – speaks Ukrainian, Russian, German, and English
Me – uh… American English anyone?

Aside from conversations about who was from where, with what descent, grew up where, has lived where, etc, what I found most fascinating was the WAY everyone spoke their perspective languages. For example, although Ukrainian was Mrs O’s ‘mother language’ (as they call it), her English was American (vocab and grammar) with a very distinct German accent. Some Guy and Cheesy were both originally Ukrainian as well, but their English was British with a British accent (I kid you not). The Blonde was sporting American with a Polish accent, and Tristan and Katharine are both speaking American English with an almost American accent (at least compared to the others). The other thing that is funny, is at some point or another they would all revert to their ‘native tongues’… so a couple would be conversing in Ukrainian while a couple others were speaking German… they would randomly throw words from other languages into their conversation, and even forget which one they were speaking when they would turn to someone else. Of course, I didn’t know WHAT was going on about 75% of the time… all I could catch were some of the numbers and the words that sound the same in English… but it was awesome.
Also, I got into a bit of a debate with Cheesy that I found interesting.
Earlier in the weekend Katharine and I had gotten into a discussion with Kelly and Claire (my Londoner friends) over which English (American or British) is the ‘correct’ English. I say American because it is more widely used and understood… they say British because it is the original. The biggest support of my argument is the fact that the foreigners I have met that have learned English were taught American English in school (not British English which is, believe me, VERY different). They are taught American spelling, American grammar, American slang, etc. I’m sure a lot of this is supported by TV, music, Hollywood, and the fact that the majority of ‘world wide blockbusters’ are American films… but the fact of the matter is that everyone I meet that speaks English understands me, but I don’t necessarily understand them. Londoners, naturally, disagree with me… which leads to my debate with Cheesy.
As we were discussing languages and accents I pointed out that I found it interesting that he spoke English with a British accent and not a German or Ukrainian accent. I’m not sure how the discussion changed from there, but somehow I got myself into the usual American English vs British English conversation… what I found interesting is the fact that Cheesy took the side of the British, and not so much for the fact that he thought England was so great, but because it was a big part of his ‘European pride’. Despite this, the majority of the rest of the room was on my side, having been educated in American English themselves. Cheesy fought the good fight, and even got to the point that he said something I hear often: “Americans just THINK that they’re so popular and that the rest of the world cares.”

This leads to my next side topic: Have I mentioned before that nearly 99% of the people I have met over here feel the need to tell me that they think Americans are full of themselves?? What fascinates me about this is:
1. It is the OTHER country’s choice as to whether or not they know US politics… it’s not my fault they followed our presidential election so closely.
2. It is the OTHER country’s choice as to where they get their entertainment… I’m not the one playing US movies in theatres, playing US shows on TV, or playing US music on the radio…
3. It is the OTHER country’s choice as to what they teach in school… I’m not the one who chose American English as a mandatory subject in their schools…
And finally… I’m the one who’s living in a foreign country… doesn’t that get me even a little ‘open-mindedness’ credit?!

I digress…

Aside from a little bit of irritation with Cheesy (which is why he gets the crappy nickname, by the way)… the night was awesome. His comments were simply that little bit of sand left in my shoe after a wonderful trip to the beach.
I’m really enjoying meeting new people from all different walks of life… and Tristan and Katharine have been a lot of fun so far. This cultural education thing isn’t so bad.

I’ve even learned how to call Dexter “little shit” in German.