Do you ever wonder what people in other countries think of us? Like all those girls in China, locked into factories where they have to make beer-holder hats and St. Patrick's Day garden gnomes all day long? I wondered about this recently, when I snuck into the water park and encountered a bunch of Bulgarian teenagers. It would seem that nobody who works in that particular tourist attraction of a town is a native, and they all seem to be from Eastern Europe. The first girl I encountered, for example, responded to my query of: "Where will the fireworks be?" with the reply: "Nine-thirty." It struck me as highly unfortunate that what these adolescents see of our great country is this tourist trap of a town full of overpriced souvenirs and ridiculous attractions. What will they tell their friends when they return to Bulgaria? I can just hear them now: "Americans spend the whole day playing around in chlorinated water, wearing swimsuits that are two sizes too small, and they eat their ice cream in BB-sized beads, and they pay a fortune for giant foam gloves and bobble-head dolls!" And their friends will all be like, "Weird! Americans are crazy!" But while we may indeed be somewhat insane, I would hate to think other countries are judging us by our behavior at water parks. Yet, if that's all they see, what other data do they have to go on? And which is worse, that or the image they see on American TV, in which all Americans are tanned, drop-dead gorgeous, and incredibly rich and shallow?
So now I'm asking you, my three or four faithful readers: where should we take foreigners to show them the GOOD side of America? Please post lots of comments!
Famous Hat
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2 comments:
Holy Redeemer.
Almost any farm or ranch.
Little [name of country here] in any large urban area.
My home when people are over for a group meal.
etc.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area, my house where I hvae no grass whatsoever. For the sake of Wackiness, the Mt. Horeb Trollway :-)
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