I love hearing about all of Batswana’s perceptions of Americans. Some are pretty accurate and while others are so far-fetched. Most of the perceptions come from television and from the media. During our program orientation, our program volunteers mostly referenced shows like the Real Housewives franchise, and “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” to come up with the ideas about the American “culture”. Also, some of the Batswana perceptions of America came from interactions with previous international students.
The biggest shock I have received while in Botswana is the perceptions that Batswana thought ALL Americans embody. When , the perceptions that they had only characterized small pockets of the vast country of USA. “Do you all walk around wearing crop tops and thongs to walk your dogs?” My jaw literally dropped when my friend asked me this question. She wholeheartedly believed that this was something that all Americans did. I quickly explained to her that this is probably something you would see in an American Hip-Hop music video. While music plays a huge role in, I guess the American culture, they do not accurately depict our dressing style. My friend said she believed we all dressed like this because it is shown in music videos and at public events like Coachella.
A different friend of mine asked, “Is America really as bad as it is portrayed in the media? I want to go but it seems very scary.” She is not wrong. It is quite scary right now to live in America. Yes, the terrible events do happen. And the media does tend to fixate on them, so much to the point that it can be overwhelming to watch the news any longer. But the media should not stop her from coming to experience the country for herself. I explained to her that the media often blows things out of proportion and controls the information it feeds to the public.
Upon interactions with international students, I have heard that people think all Americans are disrespectful (because they can say “shut up” to their parents), are messy, entitled, and do not have culture. The locals also did not seem to fully believe these perceptions. They had come to the conclusion that the new environment and new culture caused international students to freak out and start to act in this way. This does seem like a plausible conclusion but it does not forgive their behavior. At the end of the day, all it takes is one person to act like a sane and caring individual for this “American” perception to be discredited. Studying abroad, you become an ambassador for your home country, so it is very important you try to dispel all inaccurate perceptions and help the people in your host-country to see the good Americans have to offer.