''American''

everday, i meet people from all over the world; dutch who speak italian, germans who speak british english, french who live in switzerland and speak german and russian, just to name a few. europeans are made up of an intricate web of history, some having family lines that they know date back to the middle ages.

what then of the americans? our country is a baby in comparison to the history that europe holds. most of us only know our family roots back three generations. and most of us are content with that. i have a german friend studied in the states a few years ago. a frequent conversation she had with americans living near by was similar to this:
american - oh you're german, cool so am i.
vera- oh really, where abouts are you from in germany?
american - oh i have no idea, but i know i'm german!

thus, europeans are quite confused as to what we actually mean by our ethnicity. to an ACTUAL german, germany is the country of their birth, and their heritage. to americans with german decent, it is an identity. a more complex version of the basic ''american'' which so many of us are. what do you define yourself as? i usually say my mother's family is from poland, and my father's from ireland. do i actually know if %100 of my father's side of the family is Irish? no, of course not. i am embarrassed to even admit, that i too have no idea what city my ancestors are from, or if i have distant relatives in Ireland or Poland. then there are those of us who are a number of different ethnicities. which ones do you choose to identify with? i've never met someone who has identified themself with more than 4or 5 ethnicities, and what traditions do you choose then to keep? i also have two adopted aunts. they are both blood to me, but in actuality, they may not be irish at all. the ethnic web of america is very complex. maybe that's why so few pursue their past.

we live in an american bubble where most history doesn't exist before 1776. europeans find it strange that we connect ourselves to a country, but know nothing of it's culture, history, or most importantly, language. i try to explain that it was essential to know english to be successful in the early 1900's. therefore, immigrants refused to speak their mother-tongue with their children, in hopes that their children would rise to a higher social status. funny enough, we have now done a 180 and try to raise bilingual children for that same reason. they knew nothing of raising bilingual children in the eighteenth century, and out went all other languages in the United States.

americans most certainly know how to be passionate about ethnicity. everyone is a little bit irish on st. patrick's day, and we all know the infamous ''everyone loves a .... girl'' t-shirts from urban outfitters. but we limit our passion to holiday traditions and flags in our homes. we are quite proud to acknowledge our ethnicities, but yet so ignorant as to pursue our past. but i encourage you all to really discover who you are, and where you are from. if for nothing else, do it so that when you are approached by a european of your same ethnic decent, you can actually name more than one major city in their country.