Last night a pair of American students discussing their plans to travel to Europe this summer debated the idea of pretending to be from Canada in order to avoid anti-American sentiment. One of the students had just returned from traveling in South America and was emphatic that admitting to be American had brought him nothing but trouble during his trip. The other student said that he did not feel right lying about where he was from, that in fact he was proud to be an American and that he had even voted for G. W. Bush in the last election. The more experienced traveler told him that it didn't matter who he voted for or what his political views were, that the prejudices against all Americans were strong enough to ruin a vacation and the easiest way to insure a good time was to simply lie.
His friend said he didn't know anything about Canada and wouldn't have a clue how to impersonate a Canadian. The traveling student said it hardly mattered, simply saying you were Canadian was now sufficient to show you disapproved of American politics even if no one believed you. The other student renewed his objection, repeating that he did not disapprove of American politics. The traveling student told him it was his funeral, but if he was going to be American he'd be traveling alone.
He said that if his friend really wanted to have a good time all he had to do was memorize two words.
Vancouver and Aboot.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
American Students Prepare To Impersonate Canadians Abroad
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12 comments:
Sound advice for the American abroad, particularly as no foreigner can tell the difference between a Canadian and an American accent... Hey?
Know what I love about this blog? It's the way everyone reacts to each posting as it turns up. You think, "Hello, is this for real? Man , you can't be serious.....but hey, it's the world we're living in..." It's that delightful time of indecision, when our insecurity clutches us and we wonder about making a fool of ourselves. Do we believe this? Can it be true? And that's the genius of the man: each and every one of them could be true!
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
I don't know that being a good listener qualifies as brilliance, but as I rarely receive such compliments I'm in no mood to argue.
am really enjoying this blog, just discovered it a few days ago.
poor travellers. i travelled abroad 3 days after the war started, and again last year, admitted i was a peace loving american, and was welcomed.
brooke, from rivervision
Thanks Brooke, honored you've stopped by.
Good evening, Mr. Kyle. Words like Pithy, Succinct and Concise, although meaning about the same thing, do well to describe my sentiments regarding your writings, but allow me an opportunity to simplify better by stating, "Fine work".
As to traveling abroad in these troubled times, I have little interest left to do so, prefering to hide here in my cave and grow old in peace. But to those that do, I'd kindly advise them to mind their manners while in strange lands, learn a few words of the language and some of the customs, and stay on the main roads, avoiding confrontations of any sort. And don't wear lots of jewelry; that tends to create an even-worse image.
Funny you should bring this up. I'm heading to Europe (specifically, London, Paris and Amsterdam) in a few weeks and my friend and I had talked about claiming we were from Canada. We haven't decided if we're actually going to do it. Perhaps we'll see if we encounter any problems as Americans and if so, maybe then we'll consider switching our "citizenship."
By the way, thanks for stopping by my blog. I've only started exploring yours, but I'm really enjoying it. As a former reporter, I'm getting a kick out of your blog "headlines."
Love to hear how it goes for you Nanette.
Harry, appreciate the kind words.
I had to leave you this. It really is the ultimate blog...
Fantastic. I sympathize.
I get a kick out of the statements. Honestly don't pretend to be a Canadian because it is offensive to Canadians. Feel free to embarrass yourselves don't ruin the Canadian reputation. Would you find it offensive if American's were impersonated abroad just to make there own lives easier because of their countries foreign policies?
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