America: How They See Us Once They Move Here
Fascinating piece from ThoughtCatalog.com about how émigrés see America. Here's a Russian woman, Natalia Rekhter, who writes, "I'm from Russia. Below are a few things I almost always have to explain or discuss with visitors from Russia":
•Why individual houses are so large? We always get into discussion that house is not just a shelter, but also a manifestation of one's financial achievements.
•Philanthropy. There is no culture of philanthropy in Russia and many view American philanthropy either as a waste of money or as some intricate plot to get some additional benefits.
•People don't walk places. They go everywhere by a car.
•There is almost no public transportation except in a few large cities. People actually have to have cars to get places. Cars are necessity, not luxury.
•Majority of high and middle schools have sport facilities of very high, almost professional quality.
•Many schools have orchestras, bands, theaters of a very high, almost professional quality. Free.
•Every state has a lot of autonomy.
•President's salary is comparable with the one of a plastic surgeon.
•President doesn't automatically become the richest person in the country.
•Majority of things in the US aren't controlled or regulated by the government.
•Children are expected to leave home when they are 18.
•Students prefer and are expected to live in a dorm and not with parents.
•When relatives visit they often stay in the hotel.
•Many children, even in well to do families, work in fast food, car washes and do a lot of other things to get money and it is not an embarrassment.
•Parents have their babies sleeping in separate rooms almost from the day of their birth. (Russians find #11-15 are particularly absurd, offensive, and egotistical.)
•Many Russians believe that American system of primary and secondary education is very inefficient. As a mother, I have to explain that it is very diverse and essentially even in the poorest districts there are tons of resources available for children who are willing to use them. There are also an opportunity for kids to take advanced and extra advanced classes providing they are willing and able to do the work. And this differentiation is available as early as elementary school.
•How well elderly live, even those on SSI and Medicaid. How many services are available to them.
•How open Americans are about their shortcomings and always ready for self-criticism.
•Millions of people don't have medical insurance.
•Some hospitals look like five-star hotels.
•Budgets of some hospitals are equal to h/c budgets of small countries.
•Doctors tell their patients everything.
•Return policies and free refill.
•Idea of a liberal art education. In Russia, after high school graduation, a student should decide on vocation: engineer, doctor, teacher, lawyer, accountant, etc. It seems inconceivable to attend a university and then to graduate without a solid specialty. I often have to explain that not knowing what one wants to do after high school is an acceptable norm in US. A student can still acquire marketable skills, expand his or horizons, get a job after graduation, and, what is even more surprising, obtain an advance degree in a totally different field later. Yes, accountant can attend a med school and become a doctor and musician can go for a master degree in computer science.
It's my experience that people from Russia and Cuba appreciate our freedoms far more than we do.
via @instapundit
I knew my parents were Americanized when I went to pick them up from the airport after visiting grand kids and their first words were
"Next time we are gonna do it like white people and stay in a nice hotel."
Ppen at November 18, 2013 2:09 AM
I couldn't help but read this in a Russian accent.
I have a lot of Eastern European friends, what's up with the women being so good looking?
Ppen at November 18, 2013 2:11 AM
When I visit friends and relatives, I PREFER a hotel if it's in my budget.
Then _I_ get to decide when it's time to leave.
Lamont Cranston at November 18, 2013 6:22 AM
•How open Americans are about their shortcomings and always ready for self-criticism.
* bursts into laughter *
Kevin at November 18, 2013 7:14 AM
I liked how it also showed the Hollywood driven misconceptions.
•That I have never, ever, ever seen anyone firing a gun from a moving vehicle. They think this is happening constantly.
•I wasn’t from Chicago, New York, or Hollywood.
Joe j at November 18, 2013 7:29 AM
"It's my experience that people from Russia and Cuba appreciate our freedoms far more than we do."
Depends on the person. I've met quite a number of immigrants who are more appreciative and quite a number who do nothing but criticize, condemn, and complain.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at November 18, 2013 8:38 AM
Oh, the hotel thing.
My boyfriend's mom, dad, brother, sister, three cousins, aunt, uncle, etc. come to visit, and they always want to cram themselves into our tiny apartment with one bathroom.
Money is not an issue for them, but "family does not stay in the hotel." I made the mistake early on of offering to book (and pay for) a hotel room for his parents, who both have back problems, and complain constantly about our mattress. And now the whole extended family jokes about that one time I DARED try to "make" family stay in a hotel.
sofar at November 18, 2013 1:04 PM
I read through the link.
Basically it analyzes the American psyche as a gregarious, forthcoming bunch of people that want a general conformation to our loose standards. We don't want you to be the same as us, but don't live on the edge and be stiff. You will not have an enjoyable experience.
Jim P. at November 18, 2013 8:32 PM
"Russians find #11-15 are particularly absurd, offensive, and egotistical."
Then they can go fuck themselves.
Regarding the points they're so bothered by.
•[#11] Children are expected to leave home when they are 18.
Since when?
•[#12] Students prefer and are expected to live in a dorm and not with parents.
Evidently, the Russians would rather cling to their beloved moppets and encourage emotional dependency.
•[#13] When relatives visit they often stay in the hotel.
God forbid that visiting relatives might wish for some time to do their own thing and come and go as they please, as well as minimizing their imposition.
•[#14] Many children, even in well to do families, work in fast food, car washes and do a lot of other things to get money and it is not an embarrassment.
Russians apparently believe that the affluent should spoil their children and let them learn no practical skills; basically, raise the kids to be worthless.
•[#15] Parents have their babies sleeping in separate rooms almost from the day of their birth.
See response to #12.
Patrick at November 19, 2013 6:48 AM
Amy, you're right about folks from communist dictatorships often appreciating American culture more than Americans do.
Every Thanksgiving, we have our best friends and their kids over to our house. They escaped from Cuba in 1992, when they were 28. One did it the new-fangled way, by getting into a one-year student exchange program with a Canadian university (all of the Cuban students defected at the end of the year...so much for THAT program!). His wife followed the old-fashioned way: with murkily-obtained signatures on documents allowing her to visit him at the 7-month mark. They got to the U.S. 7 years later, and if there were a country that were more free than here, that's where they'd go.
There is nothing like having a Cuban expatriate over to one's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Not only is there actual meat (which need not be purchased on a black market!) for which a Cuban-born person never stops being thankful, but the occasion prompts our friends each year to make it clear to the kids in the room all of the reasons why they chose to get to a free country before starting a family.
Our friends' gratitude definitely helps our kids see how fortunate they are, and gives them an up-close-and-personal view of what freedom means.
Deb at November 25, 2013 3:03 PM
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