Us versus Them
Usually I am not the type to write on someone’s FB post, but last night I saw a post that brought me back to training and I couldn’t help myself. So the topic is Us ‘Americans’ versus Them/ those ‘Americans,’ I’m just going to talk about how this was brought up during my training and say a few of my personal thoughts.
As many of you know, I spent my first three months here in pre-service training. During this time, we discussed culture, language, our programs, and we had a lot of training on diversity (and being open minded). You could even say some people thought the staff went a little above and beyond on diversity and how we should approach it.
One of the first things we were taught was that the politically correct way to say our heritage in Spanish was by using estadounidense or Soy de Estados Unidos. This is because for the people living here, America is their continent too. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not yelling that whoever says they are ‘American’ instead of from the United States is WRONG. But I do think it is smart to take a step back and open your mind, especially if you are traveling or living in a South or Central American country. You should always take the time to respect another culture, specifically if you are there.
The problem arises in Spanish, not English. One person brought up, using the word “Americano” isn’t specific and means you are from the continent of the Americas. And that in Spanish there is a word for us “estadounidenses,” this does not mean we should stop calling ourselves Americans, just realize in the Spanish language there is a distinction. One of the points I really agreed with was, “My point is that we should recognize that this word that we claim has different meanings to other people, and that they have a right to claim it too.”
I’m not saying this is something you need to change, but like I said above, keep it in mind if you are traveling because some people do take issue with the use of the term. Here is a video I found discussing this topic.
Also, here is an article I found discussing this topic as well. What does 'American' Actually Mean?