As
my departure date creeps closer and closer I am wondering if I’m prepared to be
an American for a year. Of course I
will still be Australian, however if
I am to immerse myself into this country, to live and breathe my new
surroundings, I will undoubtedly have a far greater experience. So the hunt begins to uncover the true American.
As I ponder that question I begin to realise
I’m not even sure if I know what the correct answer would be. What does it
mean? If someone were to ask me the definition of being an Australian my instinctive response would be centred on having
choice, opportunity and rights as a woman. I think of Kangaroos, Wombats,
Possums, the beach, surfing, sausage sizzles, thongs, boost juice, meat pies, cricket,
AFL, Rugby, Saturday morning sport, the sound of Kookaburras laughing, spiders,
snakes, cicadas, cascade apple juice, vegemite and roast lamb cooked by my
Grandma. Walks on the beach in Tasmania with my Dad. That’s my Australia.
Manly. Home in Sydney.
Sydney Harbour.
But
what is an American?
I
decided to do some research and of course, the answers come from Google.
I
found a website with responses from ten-year olds in Wisconsin, Alabama, South
Carolina, Hawaii and Kentucky. All were asked the question, “what does it mean
to be an American”, the children’s responses varied but included “people can do
what they want”, “I love America because I have so many rights” and “it means
being special”. Interestingly, each of the answers encompassed the word
“freedom”. To be an American... is to be free.
I
thought these responses were lovely and very similar to that I imagined of
ten-year olds in Australia. But then again, why not just ask? So I did. I asked
some children I knew, responses were “cool”, “in my homeland, to be free and
have a nice life” and "enjoying the beach". I wondered where children form their ideas? What is it that
they see and experience that allows them to form their view of ‘being’ an American or an Australian. Of course their answers stem from surroundings, families,
culture, religion, friends, daily activities, sports and their personal perspective.
So
what does Rachel think about being an American?
Well the first thing that has jumped to the front is the idea of driving on THAT side of the
road. I will not only now enter on the other side of the car, but also drive on
the other side of the road. I’m going to need to relearn roundabouts, turns and
parallel parking. I need to adjust to the different spelling and grammar, for
example colour and color, favourite and favorite, Mum and Mom, neighbour and neighbor. I need to pick
an NFL team to follow (I need to learn what teams exist). I need to pick a
baseball team, a basketball team, a hockey team (I need to find out what these
teams are). What are the seasons? I remember when I was last in New York, I
proudly proclaimed that my birthday was the first of spring, September 1st! The Americans couldn’t have been more confused. So as an American, I am no longer a spring baby. Then I need to grasp miles,
pounds and Fahrenheit (make note I actually had to Google how to spell it).
However, somewhere
in-between the sport, the food, the accents, the bright lights and the people I’ll
undoubtedly stumble across a deeper meaning to being an American.
