One Oblivious American

I am an American. That fact honestly isn't something I think about very often. It isn't something I am particularly proud or ashamed of. It is just something that simply is, just like any of the many other facts about who I am. I am female. I am a brunette. I have Hazel eyes. I am 5'6" (167.5 cm) tall. I don't enjoy Brussels sprouts. These are all things about my existence that are relatively immutable.

Recently I was watching some random YouTube video, probably some BBC panel show that I can't get any other way, perhaps something Doctor Who related, or equally likely some political satire (this is an election year). Per usual I got caught in a spiral of "related videos" until I was eventually watching some videos of individuals trying "American Food" for the first time, which progressed to videos of how much the world at large hates Americans and then finally tips for Americans traveling abroad. I'd link to some of examples, but you get the general idea, and a quick search will get you there just as easily.

I try to be more self-aware than the average American. I don't get my information from Fox News and I try to think outside the box that is America's borders in an increasingly global world. These kind of videos which portray Americans as loud, stupid, Twinkie-consuming, jingoistic idiots who have never escaped their home state, much less the country don't bother me much. I know that that description doesn't - usually - apply to me. But for some reason this particular series just got to me. The generalizations these individuals were making about Americans seemed to be identical to their primary complaint against Americans: The predominance of stereotypes and generalizations. I found it all irksome. A rare response to a YouTube video. I know.

The more I thought about it...the more mildly irritated I became. But there is absolutely nothing I can do to change their view of Americans, because, on balance, there is a significant portion of the United States that are loud, stupid, insular, Twinkie-consumers.

What I have decided to do instead, is make myself less insular. I'd love to be able to travel the world and expose myself to a variety of cultures, but that just isn't financially possible and never will be. So I am setting out to investigate, however briefly, all of the world's 196 countries. (I know that number is disputed, but as it seems to be the highest - and most inclusive - that is what I am going to stick with.)

I like to do things in order, so I'm starting alphabetically: Afghanistan. I have a vague notion of spending about a week reading about each country, but I'll just see how things go. I know I'll just skim the surface, but I guess skimming the surface is better than not even looking at all.

Everything I know about Afghanistan now comes from images of war. And as much as I wish it wasn't true...my differentiation between Afghanistan and Iraq is minimal - due to all of these relatively similar images of war. Hopefully I'll post again in a few days with a much clearer view of Afghanistan. We shall see.

Countries

1. Afghanistan

1. Albania

1. Algeria

1. Andorra

1. Angola

1. Antigua & Barbuda

1. Argentina

1. Armenia

1. Australia

1. Austria

1. Azerbaijan

1. Bahamas

1. Bahrain

1. Bangladesh

1. Barbados

1. Belarus

1. Belgium

1. Belize

1. Benin

1. Bhutan

1. Bolivia

1. Bosnia & Herzegovina

1. Botswana

1. Brazil

1. Brunei Darussalam

1. Bulgaria

1. Burkina Faso

1. Burma (Myanmar)

1. Burundi

1. Cambodia

1. Cameroon

1. Canada

1. Cape Verde

1. Central African Republic

1. Chad

1. Chile

1. China

1. Colombia

1. Comoros

1. Congo

1. Congo, Democratic Republic of the

1. Costa Rica

1. Côte d'Ivoire

1. Croatia

1. Cuba

1. Cyprus

1. Czech Republic

1. Denmark

1. Djibouti

1. Dominica

1. Dominican Republic

1. Ecuador

1. East Timor

1. Egypt

1. El Salvador

1. England

1. Equatorial Guinea

1. Eritrea

1. Estonia

1. Ethiopia

1. Fiji

1. Finland

1. France

1. Gabon

1. Gambia, The

1. Georgia

1. Germany

1. Ghana

1. Great Britain

1. Greece

1. Grenada

1. Guatemala

1. Guinea

1. Guinea-Bissau

1. Guyana

1. Haiti

1. Honduras

1. Hungary

1. Iceland

1. India

1. Indonesia

1. Iran

1. Iraq

1. Ireland

1. Israel

1. Italy

1. Jamaica

1. Japan

1. Jordan

1. Kazakhstan

1. Kenya

1. Kiribati

1. Korea, North

1. Korea, South

1. Kosovo

1. Kuwait

1. Kyrgyzstan

1. Laos

1. Latvia

1. Lebanon

1. Lesotho

1. Liberia

1. Libya

1. Liechtenstein

1. Lithuania

1. Luxembourg

1. Macedonia

1. Madagascar

1. Malawi

1. Malaysia

1. Maldives

1. Mali

1. Malta

1. Marshall Islands

1. Mauritania

1. Mauritius

1. Mexico

1. Micronesia

1. Moldova

1. Monaco

1. Mongolia

1. Montenegro

1. Morocco

1. Mozambique

1. Myanmar

1. Namibia

1. Nauru

1. Nepal

1. The Netherlands

1. New Zealand

1. Nicaragua

1. Niger

1. Nigeria

1. Norway

1. Northern Ireland

1. Oman

1. Pakistan

1. Palau

1. Palestinian State*

1. Panama

1. Papua New Guinea

1. Paraguay

1. Peru

1. The Philippines

1. Poland

1. Portugal

1. Qatar

1. Romania

1. Russia

1. Rwanda

1. St. Kitts & Nevis

1. St. Lucia

1. St. Vincent & The Grenadines

1. Samoa

1. San Marino

1. São Tomé & Príncipe

1. Saudi Arabia

1. Scotland

1. Senegal

1. Serbia

1. Seychelles

1. Sierra Leone

1. Singapore

1. Slovakia

1. Slovenia

1. Solomon Islands

1. Somalia

1. South Africa

1. Spain

1. Sri Lanka

1. Sudan

1. Suriname

1. Swaziland

1. Sweden

1. Switzerland

1. Syria

1. Taiwan

1. Tajikistan

1. Tanzania

1. Thailand

1. Togo

1. Tonga

1. Trinidad & Tobago

1. Tunisia

1. Turkey

1. Turkmenistan

1. Tuvalu

1. Uganda

1. Ukraine

1. United Arab Emirates

1. United Kingdom

1. United States

1. Uruguay

1. Uzbekistan

1. Vanuatu

1. Vatican City (Holy See)

1. Venezuela

1. Vietnam

1. Western Sahara*

1. Wales

1. Yemen

1. Zaire

1. Zambia

1. Zimbabwe