Secret Life of a Nerd Girl: It’s All in the Sauce
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a blogumn by Gudrun Cram-Drach
Thank goodness they have American Sauce here. I would be so lost without it.
Every person on this planet who knows what America is (including every American), has their own opinion about it what it means. There must be millions of American interpretations of what it means to be American in America, but as an American in France, I am living the paradox of being a minority representative of a pervasive majority culture.
In my French classes, one technique used to get us talking is to ask what things are like in our own countries. My former teacher Tony tended to ignore me when we got to this point. I think he assumed everybody already knew (or didn’t care) what it was like in the U.S., because they already know it from T.V.
When I switched from “extensive” to “intensive” general French, I gained 11 more hours of class a week, a new prof, and a smaller class. Four of us are American, and my teacher once lived in the U.S., so we get to talk more now. This week’s chapter is called “I Act,” and we are studying manifestations, social services, and NGOs. We listened to a song from the WWII French resistance. It was a call to arms, and that put us on the subject of national anthems. Prof Olivier, reminded us that The Star Spangled Banner is sung before all U.S. sporting events. He shuddered when he said this, like it gave him the heebie-jeebies, and then the grad student from Minnesota asked whether lavage de cerveau (brainwashing) meant the same thing in French as it did in English. It does.
During this interchange I get annoyed that what I consider a rather charming tradition is being considered dangerous propaganda, so I have to jump in. Trying not to sound snippy, I point out that the French celebrate almost every Catholic holiday there is (like Ascension, for example, the day, several weeks after Easter, when JC rises up to hang out with his dad), even though every French person I’ve discussed it with says “Pfff, they’re just days off, nobody knows what they mean—it’s tradition!” It seems to me that celebrating almost all the holidays of the religion of the rich in a country full of immigrants, while simultaneously criticizing other countries for their own traditions, is a wee bit hypocritical.
I’m not a religious, or particularly patriotic person, and I’m pleased to assume that Ascension would never be written into the U.S. federal holiday schedule. It’s unconstitutional (I think), the mere notion would cause a huge hullaballoo, and in the end the idea would be scrapped because in our version of equality we could not (openly) favor one group over another.
The Minnesotan grad student will think I’m a neo-conservative-Republican-with-American-flags-taped-to-the-side-mirrors-of-my-Hummer because I’m not disgusted to have recited the Pledge of Allegiance when I was in 3rd grade. The French will think that, by saying I find their tradition of celebrating Catholic holidays silly, what I really mean is the U.S. rocks, and France sucks, making me a gun-toting-Bush-lover. Yes, I do see the irony here. I’m judging the people I assume to be judging me. I know.
I think sometimes we come off like the littlest brother of 12 kids, jumping up and down to get his parents’ attention. I’ve heard the term imperialistic more than once. Not off the mark. I’ve also been told that American politics don’t ever really get left of center, even though we believe we are liberal. That one is irrefutable. Sometimes I get defensive and want to say, if you don’t like us, why do I see our culture everywhere?
I suppose what I’m grappling with is, here, like anywhere else in the world, I can’t control how the French see me (or my people, rather), and I can’t guess what they might expect me to be. All I can do is hope they have an open mind and are willing to look beyond preconceived notions, if they have them. And if they don’t have an open mind, well… I don’t want to be friends with them anyway.
Hypocrisy is hypocrisy, double standards are double standards, and they deserve to be pointed out wherever and whenever they occur. Nobody likes to be called out for them, so of course they are going to snipe back.
What I want to know is: what is American sauce?
That's what I was about to ask! It looks like 1000 Island, doesn't it? Sadly, Gudrun's probably asleep in France, but hopefully she'll get back to us when she wakes up: around 3am our time I think — but I've never been good w/ this time difference stuff.
Looks like a cross between 1000 Island and mustard. It's yellower than 1000 Island, though not as yellow as most mustard, but it has those specks of whatever is in 1000 Island.
Of course, the color could be the photo.
You'd be surprise what they do to "American" foods in other countries. I won't even go into the lactose-free slices that the Chinese called "American cheese."
Hypocrisy is hypocrisy, double standards are double standards, and they deserve to be pointed out wherever and whenever they occur. Nobody likes to be called out for them, so of course they are going to snipe back.
What I want to know is: what is American sauce?
That's what I was about to ask! It looks like 1000 Island, doesn't it? Sadly, Gudrun's probably asleep in France, but hopefully she'll get back to us when she wakes up: around 3am our time I think — but I've never been good w/ this time difference stuff.
Looks like a cross between 1000 Island and mustard. It's yellower than 1000 Island, though not as yellow as most mustard, but it has those specks of whatever is in 1000 Island.
Of course, the color could be the photo.
You'd be surprise what they do to "American" foods in other countries. I won't even go into the lactose-free slices that the Chinese called "American cheese."
Oh, welcome, welcome to the club, Gudrun. I always say that living abroad in China and Japan taught me to love my country.
In China, quite a few people thought that I must have quite a sad life being an oppressed African-American. Between the civil rights movement (which they study heavily and somehow w/o irony) and the depictions of African-American life in dramas, they really thought all African-Americans just suffered terribly under the tyranny of white America. It was weird to have to explain that my life in America wasn't terrible for me. And it was awfully hard for me not to say, "Dudes, you're living in a (then) third worldish country w/o any real freedoms and you feel sorry for me?" Bizarre.
In Japan, I didn't have any American friends (b/c it seemed like every American I met over there was an ugly one) but I still found myself standing up for America whenever the Brits and Aussies got to ragging on us too bad.
It's weird b/c I think every other country to some extent wants to feel that they're superior in some way to the most popular kid in school. And you really have to say, "Just because you're not the most popular kid in school, that doesn't mean you're not an asshole." Seriously, that's one of the great things about our world. Every country is a mean girl in their own special way — especially the Frogs, so they really need to STFU.
It all reminds me of a story my father told me about visiting a friend of his from India who lived in Paris. The Parisians constantly told my father how racist the US was in regards to African-Americans. But the current issues in the US were nothing compared to how his Indian friend was treated in Paris, largely because we are far more frank about it here than they are there.
The riots a couple years ago really exposed the truth of the matter that the Parisian elite would rather have kept swept under the table.
Oh, welcome, welcome to the club, Gudrun. I always say that living abroad in China and Japan taught me to love my country.
In China, quite a few people thought that I must have quite a sad life being an oppressed African-American. Between the civil rights movement (which they study heavily and somehow w/o irony) and the depictions of African-American life in dramas, they really thought all African-Americans just suffered terribly under the tyranny of white America. It was weird to have to explain that my life in America wasn't terrible for me. And it was awfully hard for me not to say, "Dudes, you're living in a (then) third worldish country w/o any real freedoms and you feel sorry for me?" Bizarre.
In Japan, I didn't have any American friends (b/c it seemed like every American I met over there was an ugly one) but I still found myself standing up for America whenever the Brits and Aussies got to ragging on us too bad.
It's weird b/c I think every other country to some extent wants to feel that they're superior in some way to the most popular kid in school. And you really have to say, "Just because you're not the most popular kid in school, that doesn't mean you're not an asshole." Seriously, that's one of the great things about our world. Every country is a mean girl in their own special way — especially the Frogs, so they really need to STFU.
It all reminds me of a story my father told me about visiting a friend of his from India who lived in Paris. The Parisians constantly told my father how racist the US was in regards to African-Americans. But the current issues in the US were nothing compared to how his Indian friend was treated in Paris, largely because we are far more frank about it here than they are there.
The riots a couple years ago really exposed the truth of the matter that the Parisian elite would rather have kept swept under the table.
Hmmm so I'd be curios if the "American" sauce tastes decent?
Double standards unfortunately will always exist most likely.
And you raise an interesting point about our culture being everywhere. Read a recent MSN article about Kim Jong Il's sons being lovers of the NBA and so forth.
:p My brother as a two year old knew word for word the entire Star Spangled Banner (however for him it was just the "song before the hockey game")
Hmmm so I'd be curios if the "American" sauce tastes decent?
Double standards unfortunately will always exist most likely.
And you raise an interesting point about our culture being everywhere. Read a recent MSN article about Kim Jong Il's sons being lovers of the NBA and so forth.
:p My brother as a two year old knew word for word the entire Star Spangled Banner (however for him it was just the "song before the hockey game")
OK, I re-tasted American Sauce. The little specks of stuff are shallots, but they don't really taste like shallots. I was thinking of thousand island dressing too, but then I want ot say there is a mix of something else in it, then it gets ironic because that something could maybe be what we call French dressing, which I am sure the French have no knowledge of… It reminds me a bit of the secret sauce on In-n-Out hamburgers, but I feel like the little bits of stuff should be relish instead of shallots.
Ernessa, 'wow' about China. Through the news and media, race issues in America are not very well represented. I was living in Madagascar when the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced, and my host family turned to me and said "so is it true that all the white people in American think he is guilty, and all the African-Americans think he's innocent?" because that's how it was told on the French news. But then I wonder how in-depth American news gets when it's talking about other countries, we are probably doing the exact same thing.
And Nate, you're right about those riots. To me it seems like France is a bit over its head with this stuff, while we've been struggling with it for generations. Has Obama had that beer yet?
Movie-wise, an awful lot of American crap gets screened all over the world, while "foreign films" have to be really really good (and successful) to make it to American art-house screens. Just something to think about…
OK, I re-tasted American Sauce. The little specks of stuff are shallots, but they don't really taste like shallots. I was thinking of thousand island dressing too, but then I want ot say there is a mix of something else in it, then it gets ironic because that something could maybe be what we call French dressing, which I am sure the French have no knowledge of… It reminds me a bit of the secret sauce on In-n-Out hamburgers, but I feel like the little bits of stuff should be relish instead of shallots.
Ernessa, 'wow' about China. Through the news and media, race issues in America are not very well represented. I was living in Madagascar when the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced, and my host family turned to me and said "so is it true that all the white people in American think he is guilty, and all the African-Americans think he's innocent?" because that's how it was told on the French news. But then I wonder how in-depth American news gets when it's talking about other countries, we are probably doing the exact same thing.
And Nate, you're right about those riots. To me it seems like France is a bit over its head with this stuff, while we've been struggling with it for generations. Has Obama had that beer yet?
Movie-wise, an awful lot of American crap gets screened all over the world, while "foreign films" have to be really really good (and successful) to make it to American art-house screens. Just something to think about…
Great blog, Gudrun! I think I feel the same too. I know when I've been on foreign soil & spoke with locals that sometimes they've referred to Americans almost as if we were aliens.
On another note, I totally want to try that sauce.
Great blog, Gudrun! I think I feel the same too. I know when I've been on foreign soil & spoke with locals that sometimes they've referred to Americans almost as if we were aliens.
On another note, I totally want to try that sauce.
I am so happy to have found your blog, came up on a Google alert I have on "french culture". My husband is French, I lived in France for 3 year 2003-2006, bu worked in Switzerland. It was such an interesting adjustment and I get everything you said above! My husband and I often get in heated discussions, and on trips to France in which we visit my belle-mere she sometimes looks at me (and my husband, because he has become Americanized, although he'll claim otherwise!) like I am an alien! But I love the French and that is part of their complexity. So happy to discover you, I will be a regular visitor!
I am so happy to have found your blog, came up on a Google alert I have on "french culture". My husband is French, I lived in France for 3 year 2003-2006, bu worked in Switzerland. It was such an interesting adjustment and I get everything you said above! My husband and I often get in heated discussions, and on trips to France in which we visit my belle-mere she sometimes looks at me (and my husband, because he has become Americanized, although he'll claim otherwise!) like I am an alien! But I love the French and that is part of their complexity. So happy to discover you, I will be a regular visitor!