[Culturechat] A foreigner in his own country

Peter Haggart haggart@uidaho.edu
Sun, 10 Mar 2002 17:12:09 -0800


Vance --------

I don't read your message as "unpatriotic" at all.

I read your message as a commentary from a person returning to his "native"
country - as you do now and again - and giving us a perspective that we
would not normally have of what is happening in the USA - at least in that
area of the country that you visit. Just as we give you a perspective of
Switzerland - a country that you live in 95% of the time - that you would
not get in any other way. So - I for one anyway - appreciate your comments -
and I always find them interesting. Maggie and I are looking forward to
meeting you and your wife this summer.

At the end I can only say that I have never ever found a bakery in the USA
to match any European village bakery - there is something "magic" about the
bread crust or the ingredients of anything sweet. Looking forward to that
too!!

Pete

Pete and Maggie Haggart
1530 Borah Avenue
Moscow, ID 83843
Email:  haggart@moscow.com
WebPage: http://users.moscow.com/haggart/
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vance Roy" <giglisaw@aiconnect.com>
To: "culturechat" <culturechat@untours.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 11:48 AM
Subject: [Culturechat] A foreigner in his own country


> OK, first the disclaimer. If you think me a traitor, don't bore anyone
about
> it but me. You can send what you like as a private message. Some of you
know
> how I like to wear my asbestos underwear.
>
> I have been in USA four days now. Am I mistaken or are people a bit nicer
to
> each other since 9/11? It hit me between the eyes in Boston as I entered
MY
> country again after many months. You may know that in the late 60's, I was
a
> prisoner of war in Boston. Almost never left.
>
> Our country has become a multi language country since I left in 1994.
There
> have been a lot of voices in the USA for a long time. I knew that already,
> but it is more apparent each time I return. What the Heck! I live in a
3/4/5
> language country anyway.
>
> Folks in RI have always been a cut above the New England "brusqueness", so
> Newport is still Newport. Mansions, great accents, wonderful traffic
> courtesy, lousy streets and sidewalks, beautiful trees and  beaches, what
I
> call Rhode Island "lick and promise work", overpriced places to eat and
play
> (not so bad in the off season), and I especially like it because I don't
> have to get my "Boston personality" on before I walk in somewhere.
>
> Funny though. I know folks over the whole USA that recycle. As some of you
> know, the Swiss are big on this. Today, we went to the grocery and asked
for
> paper instead of plastic bags. What did we get? We got paper bags filled
> with groceries AND STUFFED INTO PLASTIC BAGS!! We just laughed.
>
> I still run around turning off lights, wonder at the amazing number of
cars
> with only one person on the roads, am amazed at the great variety of goods
> in places like Walmart (One of my favorite places to waste time), don't
want
> to be here if gasoline gets to be 10$ a gallon, but I cannot find a bakery
> in the whole town comparable to those Swiss places.
>
> I'll probably write more about this. I am still learning a lot about "my
> country". If you read this as unpatriotic, so be it. I don't see it that
> way. I just realize how different things can be. It is a "culture thing",
I
> suppose. After all, we are still all together on the same ball.
>
> Vance Roy
> gigli.saw@dplanet.ch
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> This message was sent by Culturechat.
> To reply or send a new message, email to:
> Culturechat@untours.com
>
> Visit the CultureChat archives:
> http://mailman.dca.net/pipermail/culturechat/
>
> To unsubscribe, change to digest delivery, or
> temporarily pause delivery, visit:
> http://mailman.dca.net/mailman/listinfo/culturechat
>