Defining Culture

"You eat lettuce on your sandwich. You're 'so American.'"

"You wear flip flops even when you're not at the beach. That's 'so American.'"
"You're happy and optimistic all the time. That's 'so American.'"

"You drink your coffee with ice. That's 'so American.'"

These are just a few things I've heard from the Spanish people involved in my life during the past couple of years. I never knew that all of these little things could reveal so obviously that I am American. Normal things that I've never thought twice about are now dead give-aways as to where I'm from. Naturally, if you live within one culture your entire life, these things don't seem odd. If you escape that culture for a period of time, you realise that those things wind up forming a part of who you are. To me, there are many things that Spanish people think are normal that I find strange. For example, mopping the sidewalk outside of their house, wearing big hats to weddings, not eating lunch until 2:00, buying fresh bread each day, letting their dogs leave their poop wherever it may fall, etc...

When we are living within the boundaries of our own culture, we don't see things as a part of the make-up of that culture. These things are normal and, from our perspective, the rest of the cultures are not. You may think that as an American, you are very well rounded because the United States is a melting pot of many cultures offering exposure to different languages, foods, and ways of life. But, that exposure in itself, is something that makes you even more American. The fact that I am sitting here right now craving Chinese food, or maybe I'd prefer Italian food, or maybe a Greek salad, makes me even more American. Those options are not so prevelent here in Spain and therefore it would seem odd to a Spanish person to hear me say that I am craving some vegetable lo mein instead of croquetas or flamenquines whatever other fried meat that may interest you.