Looking at US from outside

My sister-in-law sent me the following message:

I’m writing yet another paper for my English class and I wondered if you could help to enlighten me. The question posed to me was “How does traveling outside of the US make a difference in how you see your community in the US?” I know you lived outside of the US so I can imagine you might see the US from a totally different perspective than I do. I am interested in your point of view on that question.

Off the top of my head, I was raised to be patriotic. I always stand during the National Anthem, and sing. But ever since living abroad I get misty-eyed during the National Anthem. I was living in Mexico in September 2001. It was absolutely incredible to go to the grocery store there after the attack and see so many American flags.

Living abroad helped me see how other people see us. I was in Brasil during the 2000 election. They got a big kick out of the fact that we couldn’t figure out who our president was. It was like they were seeing the US wasn’t perfect and the land of promise like they thought it was. I read the BBC for the same reason. I think a lot of people who have never left the States are a bit egocentric (some more than a bit), they see our country as the center of the world.

Food changed for me. It took me over a year to like eating again when I got back (it took me that long to figure out how really cook). I’d gotten used to fresh prepared food without all the mass produced processed food. And there’s really no going back after that. My own cooking today reflects that. America in general has no idea how to eat.

With all the differences, one of the thing that travel teaches you is that we really aren’t as different as we might initially seem. The details change, but the underlying values and principles are the same.

My brother has lived abroad for over 3 years total. His answers would be more in depth. Living abroad gives you a different perspective than simply being a tourist. When you are a tourist you can be isolated from a lot of the local realities, seeing only the shiny side they want you to see. Like when you clean up the front room of your house when company comes over but don’t necessarily fold the laundry piled high on your bed. But when you are living in a place you’re going to see the back rooms, the day-to-day happenings. You get a more real feel for what the place is like. If you put for the effort you can see all that as a tourist, but it isn’t automatic, most people never see that.