Yesterday, we had a visitor at work. After I was introduced as the new IDF Europe intern, he immediately asked me if I was from the United Kingdom. I told him that I am from the United States, and he looked at me with a puzzled look. A few minutes later, he said,
"You're really from America?" I nodded. "Why are you not so big and fat?" he said, motioning to his sides in an imaginative expansion of his own stomach. I was at a loss for words. "Uuuuuhh...that's just a stereotype. We're not all fat in the US," I replied defensively. But then I added, "Although I have noticed that there really aren't as many overweight people over here. It's a very different lifestyle."
My roommates and I recently lamented about how difficult it is to live day to day in Brussels sometimes. People stare at you quizzically and sternly, and they have no qualms about pushing you aside, or whispering judgmentally in front of your face. We long for the day when we will finally fit in again on US soil. In Bruges, I felt slightly more welcomed than I do here. But I will have a whole new appreciation for American living upon my return.
"You're really from America?" I nodded. "Why are you not so big and fat?" he said, motioning to his sides in an imaginative expansion of his own stomach. I was at a loss for words. "Uuuuuhh...that's just a stereotype. We're not all fat in the US," I replied defensively. But then I added, "Although I have noticed that there really aren't as many overweight people over here. It's a very different lifestyle."
My roommates and I recently lamented about how difficult it is to live day to day in Brussels sometimes. People stare at you quizzically and sternly, and they have no qualms about pushing you aside, or whispering judgmentally in front of your face. We long for the day when we will finally fit in again on US soil. In Bruges, I felt slightly more welcomed than I do here. But I will have a whole new appreciation for American living upon my return.
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