With Halloween approaching, it was time to locate and acquire the perfect novelty tee-shirt. It would have to be adorable, most likely sporting witches, pumpkins, or ghosts, in my wildest dreams - perhaps all three! The height of New Zealand's children's fashion seems to be the appropriately named Pumpkin Patch, so we headed there. The store was a maze or cute summer outfits, swim suits, and sun hats. There was not a pumpkin in the place; was I missing something? As a mom on a mission, I headed directly to the cash to inquire if said novelty tee-shirts existed in New Zealand. I was informed "We don't celebrate Halloween like Americans in New Zealand".
In a knee-jerk reaction, I wanted to correct her; didn't she know I wasn't American? And then, why did it matter if this one sales associate, who I would never see again, thought I was an American? I should note that every American I have every had prolonged contact with has been extremely pleasant and accommodating...yet, I feel that America is perceived as the Big Bully and wish to distance myself from it. In the end, I let it slide and wander away preoccupied with my thoughts. How does the Land of Opportunity become the Big Bully? And is it really perceived as such? If so, why are there still waves of immigrants applying each and every year to live in America? Or is it merely better to be part of the Big Bully in the World's Playground?
This morning at the market, I would again be called an American. This time there was no hesitation - I gently corrected with Canadian. It was not a wish to distance myself from America this time, merely a desire to make my heritage known. With this in mind, I made my way to the Crepe counter et j'ai commandé un crepe d'oeufs et de fromage. C'était magnifique :-)
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2 comments:
You know... there is a kids clothing boutique that actually ships things directly to you... and maybe would be nice enough to throw in a few bags of goldfish crackers! ;)
I remember being asked if I was American regularly when I was in Asia and the difference in attitude from when they thought I was American to when I told them I was Canadian was huge. Even though we don't have anything against Americans for the most part there is definitely a need for Canadians to be thought of as Canadians and not Americans, and also a perception that it is better to be Canadian than American by a lot of other nations. So feel free to brag ;)
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