American Influences Abroad

In preparing to come abroad, I asked anyone and everyone that had ever been abroad what to expect, what to bring, what to wear, basically any advice they might have.  I tried to be as prepared as I could possibly be, and it paid off.  I have been here for a little more than two months, and I still haven’t thought of anything that I forgot to bring!  I also suffered little culture shock because I was so knowledgeable about what to expect.  However, there are always a few things that no one can prepare you for, that you cannot prepare yourself for.

I was told to study up on my politics because I would be shocked to see how much Europeans know about U.S. politics.  Well, I have had few political conversations with others about politics and more about American actors and singers!  I am not suggesting that they are not knowledgeable on politics because they are.  However, their knowledge of America extends so much further than politics. 

I have friends that live here in Madrid that know all of the words to songs by Aretha Franklin and John Denver.  I cannot tell you how many stores and banks I have walked into or by and heard Lady Gaga playing.  I had a cab driver that told me he learned English by listening to American music!  Also, nearly all of our TV programs (including one of my favorites “Bones”) has been translated into Spanish and plays here.  They basically watch American movies and sitcoms; they have very few Spanish movies or sitcoms!  I was not expecting that!

And it isn’t just the younger generation that is close to the American culture like I originally thought.  Today, a professor told us that growing up he use to watch “Casey Jones.”  We, of course, had never heard of it, so he pulled up a clip on youtube.  If you have never seen it, you should pull up the clip on youtube to see it for yourself.  It is as American as American can be!  My professor grew up in England, which typically shares more American beliefs than Spain but still.  Shocking right?

It goes beyond the social and political aspects too, though.  Think about it-the European Union.  Twenty-seven small European countries all now united under one economic policy…sound like the United States of America?  The European Union, though they would never admit it, was created because of the success of the U.S.  They have been trying to emulate it-especially through economic policies.  I am not trying to say that European Union and the U.S. are just alike, far from it.  However, they are more similar than many might think.

Interesting stuff isn’t it?  There is rarely a day that goes by without me thinking of yet another example of how America has influenced a city and country much older than itself!