Sarah Gebhard, 21, moved to the Netherlands from Illinois three years ago when her family relocated to Eindhoven. She’s currently an undergrad in Sustainable Innovations and is one of the 11 American bachelor students on the TU/e campus (There are also nine master’s students). As Americans, we’re of two minds about living, working and studying here. Most of us adore our bikes, Dutch social liberalism, beautiful historical buildings and, of course, we love Dutch frites. But on the other hand, we’re often confronted with many of the negative stereotypes associated with being American and it can sometimes be trying to feel like you need to defend all 320 million Americans back home in the States. So, as an American myself (from the gezellige town of Greencastle, Pennsylvania…) consider this article my personal attempt to give you a more nuanced perspective on the US and an introduction to the few Americans you might encounter at TU/e. 

“Those people on MTV aren’t us”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a flag-waving American but it gets my back up when people say things about America that are hateful, hurtful, or wrong.” Audrey Debije-Popson is an instructor of English for Academic Purposes with the Education and Student Service Center (STU). She’s lived in Holland since 2001 and has heard all the stereotypes. “People say we’re bossy. That we think we own the world, that we’re arrogant but also ignorant. But I think a lot of that comes from our pop culture. They see The Voice, MTV or the Kardashians and think - those Americans are crazy. But those people aren’t us. Not really.”

Craig Plaisance, 33, hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is a post-doc in the Chemical Engineering and Chemistry Department. He arrived in Eindhoven in May, 2014 and jokes that residents of his state live up to most people’s expectations of Americans: “My father has 10 guns in his closet. I grew up hunting ducks. So, yeah, I am sort of one of those Americans.” And even though the American South does have a reputation for racism - particularly within the US itself - that’s one stereotype of his country he finds difficult to accept. “I don’t like that people think we’re racist. I think compared to people I’ve met from the rest of the world, we’re the least racist. We were all a bunch of immigrants at one point so we’ve had to learn to get along.”

During my years in the Netherlands, I’ve also heard many of the prejudices. But if there’s one I would hope to alter here and now, it would be the idea that Americans are insufferably superficial in their dealings with others. We ask “Hi, how are you?” and don’t really care about the answer and that we make fast - but somehow not vast - friends with others (For you non-Dutch speakers, vast means permanent, fixed or steady). Unfortunately, I can’t give you an academic reason for my country’s affinity for exaggerated friendliness. However, I can offer you an anecdote of this instinct at its best: while I was interviewing Audrey Debije-Popson for this piece, she suddenly interrupted our conversation and jogged over to a passing student who was clearly distraught. When she returned, she explained, “She was crying in the bathroom earlier today and I wanted to make sure she was okay.” Sarah Gebhard would recognize that behavior immediately as a quintessentially American thing to do. “Sometimes I miss American helpfulness and friendliness and how people are more willing to go out of your way to make you feel comfortable.”

There are no stupid questions

Professor Ruth Oldenziel (Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences) says this American instinct for inclusiveness also extends to the academic world. She specializes in the history of technology, particularly as it relates to the relationship between Europe and the USA, but she also has first-hand experience - she obtained her PhD at Yale and lived and worked in the US for 10 years. “Americans say that there are no “dumb” questions. Participating in class is very important - in fact, students may get a lower grade if they don’t participate - and they feel that they can ask anything in the classroom. That’s a concept we really don’t have in European higher education. European students tend to participate less because asking a question means they don’t know something. Traditionally, European professors hold a higher position in the hierarchy, students are deferential and there’s this notion of the core curriculum - ‘you need to learn what I have to teach you.’”

Dr. Oldenziel also explains that American students at TU/e (and in Europe in general) receive a different sort of university education than they would in the US. “In Europe, we emphasize the core curriculum - there’s core knowledge that you have to acquire in order to become a master in your field. But in the US, there’s the sense that students are consumers. Students pay a lot for their education so they have more power to demand. They choose from more electives and they have more freedom. But it’s changing in Europe. Look at TU/e. We’ve just gone through a major re-organization and we look more like the US system in that we now we offer more general classes.”

American culture: Yes, we have some!

Sure, you know about Britney Spears, The Godfather films, Coco-Cola and a certain, unpopular-beyond-US-borders Texan politician who ascended to the highest office in the land. But do you know why America was founded? Or some of the values we hold most dear? Here’s a brief cultural lesson in my attempt to provide you with a more complete image of the USA:

1) America’s original 13 colonies were founded to ensure religious freedom. However, most Americans also value what we call the “separation of church and state” which means, in short, we don’t want the government messing with our religion and vice versa.

2) We’re geographically isolated from just about everywhere. This may seem obvious but as student Sarah Gebhard points out, it has a regrettable influence on how we think about the rest of the world, “It’s hard for people from Europe to understand how it feels to grow up in the US because they’ve always had a more international mindset. They deal with other countries more because they’re right next to them. But living in the US, you feel completely surrounded by it.”

3) We call our country the “melting pot” because we’re a society comprised of immigrants from every corner of the world. (Though the first waves of immigrants were mostly Europeans.)The idea has always been that no matter where you’re from, what color you are, or what religion you practice; you can eventually become an American. Today, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than 300 languages are spoken in the United States with Spanish, Chinese, French and German among the most frequently spoken non-English languages. Technically though, we have no official language.

4) Our love of sports mirrors much of what we value in our culture – fair competition, community, hard work, and the American Dream. Audrey Debije-Popson’s son plays baseball and she says the club’s parents often express positive opinions about the US, “They like that we put a lot of pride into our sports teams, that we take personal development very seriously. They appreciate that Americans focus on the idea that each person has a right to become who they want to be.” To put it in perspective, a national poll from 2012 showed that Americans found the use of performance enhancing drugs by athletes to be the least morally acceptable behavior in a list that included prostitution, underage drinking, human cloning, and illegal drug use. For many Americans, bad behavior by our sports heroes is a reflection of our nation as a whole.  

5) And now for a few fun facts: The Netherlands could fit into the USA about 230 times. Edward Lodewijk “Eddie” Van Halen, founding member of 80’s über-band Van Halen, was born in Nijmegen. Dutch firearms played a crucial role in helping the fledgling USA win its War for Independence against the British in the 18^th century.

Dank je wel, Holland

We love our country - most Americans, for better or worse, are fairly patriotic - but as residents of the lowlands we can very easily switch and tell you what we love about living here.

“I find it easier to talk about world issues with Dutch people than with Americans. I also like how there aren’t “off-limits” topics. You can talk about anything in Holland”, says Sarah Gebhard. And Audrey Debije-Popson, whose son has a condition on the autism spectrum, is grateful for Dutch healthcare: “We haven’t seen a single bill ever. That is a huge load off my mind. I can’t imagine how we would’ve afforded his care in the US.” Craig Plaisance appreciates Dutch “agenda culture” in his academic life at TU/e. “My department is very organized. Super organized. Everything is based on appointment. I have planned meetings with my supervisor. My PhD advisor in Virginia would just drop by when he was around.”

And what do I appreciate? Well, as the wife of a Dutchmen and the mother of two half-Dutch kids, I’m obliged to tell you that it’s my family. But really? Between you and me? It’s the friet met mayonaise.