Something to gripe about

There is something that really ticks me off....and let me share it with you.

On more 10 different occasions within the past 8 months, I have had Spaniards tell me that they don't like my American accent (when speaking English....compared to the British accent). Some say "the British accent is smoother. The American accent seems like you have a mouthful of potatoes". I had one person last week say "my brother-in-law HATES the american accent. In fact, he would be laughing in your face right now if he was here." What am I supposed to say to that? Um, SORRY that this is the way I speak? Do they want me to fake a British accent just so they can be pleased? I mean, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT?????
I find comments like this to be incredibly rude and unnecessary. In my opinion you should never make someone feel bad about something that they can't control- whether it be your accent, nationality, sexual orientation, mother tongue, etc. Look, I agree. I think the British accent is much cooler. I love it in fact. But just because I speak a different way doesn't mean my English is inferior. I even try my best to omit "like, like" from my speech- an aspect of American english that I do not like at all. But still, there are people who frown upon the American accent and covet the British accent. I understand that the British accent may be a bit more pleasing to the ear, but think about how many people live in England and how many people live in the US. Wouldn't American English be more coveted based on sheer numbers of speakers?
That being said, for every person that offends me by knockin' my American accent, there are plenty of others who appreciate it. Many people say that they can understand my accent better....and in actuality there are many more similarities between American English words and Spanish (Iberian) words. So that is comforting to me.

On a related note, I once met a Portuguese woman in a pub here in Seville. She asked where I was from, and when I said "USA" she rolled her eyes and said, "oh. I don't like Americans." And do you know what I said? I said, "You know what? I hate when people say that. Why don't you just forget my nationality for a second and talk to me and if after 5 minutes you still don't like me, then fine, I accept that. But don't automatically dislike me because of my homeland and your perception of my government. Be a little more open-minded!" That sure shut her up!:)
I'm not trying to scare any of you out there who worry about dealing with anti-americanism while traveling or living abroad. True, it does exist. And if you are American and live here for more than a few months, you will be confronted with it at least once, usually by some stupid drunk person. But the thing to remember is that the people that say and think those things are closed-minded and don't know what they are talking about. They are most likely people that have never left their country, let alone their hometown, and have a very distorted perspective on foreign cultures. Truely smart and open people may not like your government or your president, but they have intelligence to differeniate between you and the government.
In the end I am glad that I have had these encounters, because they really give you perspective on prejudice and they remind you that we can all be vulnerable to it. It has made me much more sensitive to other cultures, religions, etc. Prejudice breeds hate, and that is the cause of all the problems in our world today. Think about that before you pass judgement on someone just because they are different than you......

Updates

Hey everyone!
I just realized that I haven't updated my blog in a few weeks......oops!
I have been quite busy though- the sun is shining and the weather is wonderful, and it makes me want to be outside with my friends, walking around the city and enjoying the warm Andalucian primavera. You would not BELIEVE the flowers that have blossomed all over the city. There are seriously flowers from every color of the rainbow....even blue flowers, which I myself have not seen very much of before in my life. The only downside to the beautiful flora is allergies.......I have never in my life suffered from allergies, but I have noticed that it has affected me here. I gotta say though- the beauty of the city is worth it!!!!

We had a long weekend here in Spain......no school on Thursday due to Spain's Labor Day... I went out in the countryside for a belated-birthday party for one of my coworkers.....we spent the day relaxing, eating (LOTS of seafood and pork) and chatting about everything under the sun. I was the only foreigner there, and that's the way I like it!!!
On Saturday I went to Cadiz with Marion. We hung out on the beach and stayed the night in the old part of the city- I had a great time! Seville is the best, but it is nice to take a little break and head for the sea. A bus from seville to Cadiz is only an 1 and a half ride.....not too bad!!!

A bit of bad news though......this past Friday, 4 kids from Brenes were involved in a car accident on the highway and died. 2 of them were students at the school where I work, although I didn't have either of them in my classes. They were apparently coming back from celebrating a communion of someone in the town. Oddly enough I had talked with my students about that specific communion, as many of them had said they were going there. Its such a tragedy that a seemingly happy day could end in such sadness.
Needless to say the school and the town of Brenes are pretty shook up. Most of my kids are friends, cousins or neighbors with the boys who passed away. By the way, the students who died where 19 and 18 years old.....the other 2 boys were 20 and 21 years old. So sad.
If you understand Spanish and would like to learn more about the accident, you can go to the website for Canal Sur and watch a short video about it at the following website: http://www.canalsur.es/informativos/portada?idActivo=164&idCanal=713
It should be on the main page, with the title being "Dos mil personas despiden a los cuarto fallecidos en el accidente en Brenes" - translation: "2 thousand people say goodbye to the 4 boys killed in an accident in Brenes".


That's all for now, the bell is going to ring......