Being a U.S. Citizen

I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be an "American" abroad. Living in an international city like Geneva you often get the question "Where are you from?" My response is pretty standard, "The United States." Then though, the question is always, "What state?" This is a complicated question for me and for many Americans who do not have one state that they identify as home. If I were to say Louisiana, people then might not understand why I talk about going back to Texas. If I say Texas, then people wonder when I start talking about the best food in the world that comes out of Southern Louisiana. I hardly ever say California, although I do still have my California license. (During my eight months in Texas somehow I never got around to getting a driver's license there.... oops) Then there is the question of where I was born.. which adds even more confusion. Such a simple question is so hard to answer. I usually respond with the carefully worded phrase, "Before I moved here I was living in Texas." That doesn't say where I am from - it simply gives an answer that people find acceptable. It is also nice that I can respond with a state the they have probably heard of. I think that most people in Europe have heard of three states, California, Texas and New York (although knowing the difference between New York City and New York State may have escaped them) The fact that I can quickly respond with one of these states gives me an advantage. I don't generally have to explain where that is and the immediate topic many people bring up is the former president and former governor of the Lone Star State. Since I like talking about Politics this is good for me. I can then generally go on about how much I like our new President, as opposed to the old one.

I am also starting to realize just how much EVERYONE I meet seems to know about the U.S. I have had conversations with people from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Australia, Scotland, Latvia and many other countries about the state of politics in the U.S. Although I studied politics, even with an emphasis in international politics, I couldn't tell you much about any one of those countries political structure or who runs them. My Canadian friends can talk to me all day about the difference between the politics in Illinois and California and I don't even know the name of their Prime Minister. Until I was in my junior year of college I just assumed Canada had a President like the U.S. I don't have to know about anyone else's country because everyone knows about mine. There is a certain privilege there that I am taking advantage of. As a U.S. citizen, I need to go out of my way to learn about other people's culture. I need to go out of my way to talk to people about themselves. If I don't try hard enough I can spend my time in Europe just talking about my own country and about indirectly about myself. It's easy to live in the bubble where only the United States matters. I need to burst that bubble.

I also feel a certain pressure as a "representative" of my country. Even though I understand that the United States is far from perfect - it is still my country. I am shaped by it's history and by the culture and by the expectations that come from growing up in Louisiana. I am from the United States and that I cannot change, nor would I want to change. I have been reflecting on where I am from and what that means as a person living in a foreign country.

Side note: I do not like the term "American" because America encompasses two entire continents with many countries. When I say I am American I am exercising privilege and power that diminishes the validity of the citizens of the other countries in the Americas. However, I have not found another word to use to describe myself and that is universally understood.