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I'm an American who has been living in Switzerland for 9 years and the place I have had the most hostility towards me is in my French classes! Because they aren't full of natives, of course - the classes are full of Bosnians, Iranians, Iraqians, many Eastern European countries. And they always start on ME about whatever the president has done/is doing, etc., and I point out that I am just a citizen who has no control over my government, any more than they did theirs or why did they leave. And also that the U.S. is an immense country, bigger than Europe and that people of one side of the country don't necessarily think or act in the same way as the other side. That usually stops the haranguing.
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Having lived all over the world since childhood, I've always identified more with whichever CITY I happened to be living in than with the whole country. Especially now that I've moved to the city of my choice (well, not counting European ones). So, whether traveling abroad or posting online, I prefer to introduce myself as a "New Yorker" rather than an "American." That's a cultural identity which says much more than nationality.
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I am an American who has live in Europe for many years. People now think I am French as my English is so bad. For some years I got little opportunity to speak it at all.
I certainly wouldn't try to be identified as another Nationality. I'm happy as I am. |
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