Being American and Living Abroad
About Alexandra Baldinger
Alexandra Baldinger is a caring woman who grew up in New York City, USA and fell in love with a businessman who swept her back to Switzerland. That is when she thought twice about her American identity after entering a different setting.
“Could you start by telling me a little bit about yourself considering yourself as an American in the late 1900s?”
“... I grew up in New York city. I was actually born to 2 european parents and I was able to see both the good and the bad since I considered myself as not just an american but as a european…”
“Could you start this off by giving us a few stereotypes… while you were growing up?”
“I think it has always been known as freedom, they would free people in trouble, they are known to be a little bit like cowboys. Americans could do no harm, we felt that people considered America the best and that everything was cool and cutting edge.”
“Do you think the stereotypes have changed since then?”
“Oh absolutely, I think the stereotypes have changed, I feel alot of people consider the americans to no longer be untouchable. I also think that alot of the world considers americans to be ignorant, stupid, junkfood eating, gun control crazies, at the moment. Now it's especially bad.”
“If someone came up to you and they asked you what nationality you were and what nationality would you say you were because you said before you said you are less proud to be American?
“... Now that we live here in Europe I make a point of not speaking as an American or with an American accent, I'm lucky that I speak another language, so if I'm ever in a situation I try to hide the fact that I'm American, so I speak in that other language. There's a stereotype that Americans are loud and rude, I have to be very careful and I get very nervous when I'm that way, so I have to change the way I act so nobody would have to target me as an American.”
“Why do you think Americans are so patriotic about their country?”
“Honestly, I think they're brainwashed… Since I grew up there I would always hear that America was the best [country]. The best transportation and the biggest and best and now that I grew up a little bit and am able to communicate, I think we all understand that America is not the best [country].”
“Let's say you lived in America instead of Switzerland. If you said you were an American would you think it would be a target or agent identity?
“If I was an American in America I think it would be an agent identity, it would be an advantage because I would feel that I was a part of the ‘club’”.
And then here do you think it would be a target identity?
“... I absolutely believe that for example if I was stopped by Swiss police I would not speak English, I would speak French because I did not want to be identified as an American.”
“I remember feeling very strongly that we were headed on the wrong track. Those actions caused me to be less proud to be an American.”
- Alexandra Baldinger
“When you say “We” do you consider yourself as an American... and were you proud to say you were an American?”
“In the 1990s…I was definitely proud to be an American. That changed when the politics of certain presidents came to be. I remember feeling very strongly that I felt that we were on the wrong track. [Those actions] caused me to be less proud as an American now.”
What were some of your thoughts about the stereotypes back then? Were there any big misleading ones? Or were most of them true?
“So I think the stereotypes of Americans are just eating junk food…I grew up in New York City so there was pretty good food. I think that's a misconception, I don't think that we all eat junk food and watch TV. As far as the stereotype of gun carrying patriots I think that that has been proven to be true but I think there's more good people than these stereotypes.
Do you think there is a way to change these [negative] stereotypes … for Europeans for example they look at America… is this amazing place?
“Honestly, I think they're brainwashed… Since I grew up there I would always hear that America was the best [country]. The best transportation and the biggest and best and now that I grew up a little bit and am able to communicate, I think we all understand that America is not the best [country].”
““I’m glad that I know how to speak French just in case the police pull me over.””
