It’s December 26th and I still find myself saying “happy Christmas” here in Chicago. The cars are massive, people are less polite, and portions seem too much for any human. Being home for the holidays has been a mixed bag of nostalgic longing for the cobblestone culture of Cambridge, and the warm feeling of family and friends whom I’ve missed dearly.
I carried more than a few English phrases with me from Cambridge. It’s easy for travelers to develop a snobby Stockholm syndrome with their destinations; I cringe when I hear crass comparisons between stereotypes of cultures. “The way they it is so much better,” or “Wow, how American of you.”
Coming home, I’ve learned to define what it means to be culturally American. The idea of American culture as being vacuous and vapid is somewhat inaccurate. One professor of mine proclaimed the American four-way stop as a sign of the highly civilized nature of American driving (I laughed in his face).
The truth is, much of the pretentious attitude carried by study abroad students comes from a nasty case of “the grass is greener on the other side.” The great cities of the world – Paris, London, Rome – all have citizens who dream of visiting the great American cities – Chicago, New York, San Francisco.
I try not to be a travel snob, and occasionally it comes through. So forgive me, and forgive the rest of us.
