3 ms·

Americans typically assume I'm from somewhere in the Midwest but can't quite place where, and when I say I'm not American they assume I'm Canadian. It's usually

by mstade 6y ago

Americans typically assume I'm from somewhere in the Midwest but can't quite place where, and when I say I'm not American they assume I'm Canadian. It's usually a bit of back and forth before they believe that I'm actually Swedish, and sometimes I have to bust out the börk börk as proof – it's a lot of fun! :o)

082349872349872 6y ago
Mange tak. I was more interested in the other direction: were there any situations where you'd been surprised by americans behaving other than how you'd been led to believe by their media? (I'd been told the literal börk börk is a false attribution, and that he sounds more like a norwegian chef. Or at least a danish chef trying to sing with a mouth full of potato?)
- jacobush 6y ago
  I was also waiting for an answer in the other direction. :)
  - mstade 6y ago
    Oops – my apologies! I would say the only time I've been surprised by media's portrayal of people in the US is when I've visited Florida – turns out Florida man isn't just a stereotype after all! Joking aside, I think I've traveled enough and met enough people from all over the world that if I ever did let my opinion of people be (overly) prejudiced by what I saw in various media it was probably so long ago that I can't recall. I try to keep as open a mind as I can. So, no, I don't really recall any time stateside that I've been surprised that people were different from their media portrayal. But I will say this, as a European I often hear people say that Americans are ignorant gun toting maniacs, and it makes me sad. The US is vast, incredibly diverse, and while I certainly have met an ignorant person or two along the way I'd say the majority of people I've met are fine people just trying to go about their business – pretty much like it is everywhere else. Maybe it helps that I don't follow the news very much. We may speak different languages, eat different foods and watch different shows, but my firm belief is that at the end of the day if we're all pretty similar after all.
    - 082349872349872 6y ago
      at the end of the day we're all pretty similar after all. I had had some hopes that TikTok might succeed where Youtube has apparently failed in making this point obvious to even the most casual observer, but it appears to be, for some, conceptus non grata. That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars And whether they had one, or not, upon thars. Tack så mycket!
- mstade 6y ago
  The Swedish chef doesn't really sound like he's from anywhere in Scandinavia to be honest, while perhaps somehow from all over Scandinavia. Kinda like a mix of all Scandinavian peoples. "Mange tack" sounds more like danish than Swedish, where you'd say "stort tack" or "tack så mycket" instead. :o)

by mstade 6y ago

082349872349872 6y ago

Mange tak. I was more interested in the other direction: were there any situations where you'd been surprised by americans behaving other than how you'd been led to believe by their media? (I'd been told the literal börk börk is a false attribution, and that he sounds more like a norwegian chef. Or at least a danish chef trying to sing with a mouth full of potato?)

jacobush 6y ago
I was also waiting for an answer in the other direction. :)
- mstade 6y ago
  Oops – my apologies! I would say the only time I've been surprised by media's portrayal of people in the US is when I've visited Florida – turns out Florida man isn't just a stereotype after all! Joking aside, I think I've traveled enough and met enough people from all over the world that if I ever did let my opinion of people be (overly) prejudiced by what I saw in various media it was probably so long ago that I can't recall. I try to keep as open a mind as I can. So, no, I don't really recall any time stateside that I've been surprised that people were different from their media portrayal. But I will say this, as a European I often hear people say that Americans are ignorant gun toting maniacs, and it makes me sad. The US is vast, incredibly diverse, and while I certainly have met an ignorant person or two along the way I'd say the majority of people I've met are fine people just trying to go about their business – pretty much like it is everywhere else. Maybe it helps that I don't follow the news very much. We may speak different languages, eat different foods and watch different shows, but my firm belief is that at the end of the day if we're all pretty similar after all.
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    at the end of the day we're all pretty similar after all. I had had some hopes that TikTok might succeed where Youtube has apparently failed in making this point obvious to even the most casual observer, but it appears to be, for some, conceptus non grata. That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars And whether they had one, or not, upon thars. Tack så mycket!
mstade 6y ago
The Swedish chef doesn't really sound like he's from anywhere in Scandinavia to be honest, while perhaps somehow from all over Scandinavia. Kinda like a mix of all Scandinavian peoples. "Mange tack" sounds more like danish than Swedish, where you'd say "stort tack" or "tack så mycket" instead. :o)