american pie

i often say that i feel more north dakotan than american. i like the values that i believe north dakotans have - being respectful, polite, community, living close to the earth, etc. and maybe this isn't necessarily a "north dakotan" sort of value system, but i see it more there than i do anywhere else i've lived (and i've lived in quite a few different places). i always start to think about being "american" when i'm getting ready to leave for europe. i have some friends over there who, because they watch their news (which includes a story on the US almost every night - how often does nightly news with brian williams do a story on france??) they think they know everything about living in the US. it gets frustrating because i'm always defending america or our way of life or some stupid interpretation of one thing or another. ugh. i'm already dreading it. BUT i was given a slight bit of hope when i read this article talking about the fact that america is great because no one murdered jay leno. it doesnt say he should be murdered, just that in other societies if companies wanted to save money, they would've done that. and i dont think murder is good, so it made me happy.

this is another article about living abroad now that obama is in office vs. when bush was in office. i haven't been to europe in 14 months, so it'll be interesting to see how its changed (if any) or how people there look at americans. (and, come to think of it, i was only in paris for a day last time, vs. this time it will be 9 days) the article points out that most americans (literally, "most" - only 30% have passports) will never realize how other's around the world look at us. and that is sad.

another thing that is sad is this article. well, sad for me, of course, because it puts me (once again) in the minority based on how i think.

ok, enough about all that. as you read this i am in london most likely. i'll be working from the london office on friday and then taking the train friday night to paris where i shall sleep forever and ever.

have you been abroad? and what are your thoughts??

[FABULOUS song by don mclean]