During the past 2 months in Japan, I’ve been making friends not only with people who are Japanese (my labmates, members of the biking club, etc.) but also people from other countries around the world (housemates, other exchange students, researchers, etc.). This has given me the amazing opportunity to hear about how people from other countries view America. It has also often put me in a situation of having to “explain America” to my friends.

For example, one friend who will be moving to America shortly told me that he was concerned about guns. “Will I see people walking down the street with guns?” “What should I do to prepare for a mass shooting?” I was taken aback; of the many ways in which one should prepare to come to America, I would never have put anything gun-related on the list. But I realized that this is one of the ways that people from countries with minimal gun violence and strict limits on civilian gun ownership tend to view America.

I explained to this friend that, yes, American gun laws are more lax than many countries around the world and that yes, there is a high incidence of mass shootings nationwide. But despite living in America my whole life, I have rarely seen someone openly carrying a gun, and thankfully never experienced or been near a mass shooting. (This has become harder to say after the horrific hate crime in my beloved collegetown of Pittsburgh; a few small turns of my life and I would have been within a mile of that shooting).

Often, then next question is why — why does America have such lax gun laws, especially given the high incidence of gun violence? And then I go back into American history and explain that armed civilian militias had an important role to play in the American Revolution, and were subsequently viewed as a bulwark against future tyrannical governments. That often leads to a discussion of how, ever since the rule of King George, wariness about governments that force people to act against their will has largely been baked into America’s soul.

In some of these conversations, I find myself needing to explain political positions that I myself do not align with. Rather than dismissing those positions — and in doing so, portraying a subset of Americans as irrational or naive — I explain where those positions come from and what the core debates on those issues are, to the best of my ability. I am transparent about my perspectives and life experiences, and let my conversational partner decide how to interpret what I say. In doing so, I make it a point to be a cultural ambassador for ALL of America, not for any particular subset of America.

I also find myself having to look at America through their perspective. Rather than talk about the issue in the way we might talk about it in America, I have to understand where my conversational partner comes from, how their cultural background and experiences relate to this issue, and then explain it in a way that builds upon that.

In another conversation, a friend asked me about Americans who he called “super left wing.” As an example of what he considered “super left wing” behavior, he mentioned people policing others’ language. I told him that although I think policing others’ language can be ineffective, I do think it is important for individuals to be introspective about how they speak, since it shapes their thinking, their social interactions, and how others may see their own place within society. I also explained that, as with any country, both the American left and the American right have people who are far to their side of the political spectrum, and those are often the people who get the most attention. But, as with any country, most Americans are reasonable, moderate people.

It is interesting that, whenever I “explain America,” I interweave the present and past, as well as my ideals for the future. Even though I maintain hope that the majority of Americans are reasonable and moderate, it becomes harder and harder to believe that in this increasingly polarized environment. However, whether or not it exists today, that is certainly a part of my ideal for our nation, and hence it is a part of the America I portray to people I meet here.

I am also learning about others’ stereotypes about America. In multiple conversations, my conversational partners would say something and immediately follow it up with “I don’t know if that was offensive, but…” Or they would ask me “Did I offend you?” If wasn’t until I asked them point-blank that I realized there is a stereotype about Americans being easily offended. And again, I explained to them that although there are Americans who get frequently offended, so many more are interested in learning from others and having good conversations, and they will understand if you say something with good intention without fully considering its implications.

I am also experiencing a different side of explaining America. I’ve signed up for a program where I get paired with elementary and middle school classes to talk about my country and culture. Not only do I have to portray a country as broad and diverse as America, but I have to do it in a way that is understandable and interesting to children!

I began by thinking about what we are taught in elementary school about America. That we are the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave.” That our president is the “leader of the free world.” That we believe everyone should have a say in their government, that people should not be persecuted for what they believe, and that anyone who works hard in America can be successful. I firmly believe in these American ideals, but as I have been meeting people from numerous nations around the world, I have been reminded that these are not unique to America. Many other nations have the same ideals, and some have had them for longer, or implement them more effectively, than America. If these are not what make America unique, then what does?

After a lot of soul-searching, I realized that what makes America unique is that it is a land of immigrants. That is welcomes diversity. That anyone can come to America, believe what they want, love who they want, and still have an equal share of the American Dream, still have an equal role in American society, still be just as American, as anyone else. It is democracy despite this diversity. It is simultaneously a reality as well as an ideal that we have to constantly work towards. It is that pluralism that truly what makes America unique. 

So that’s where I decided to start my presentation.

Here is my presentation, a work in progress (it is also embedded at the bottom of this post). Let me know what you think of it! My first presentation to an elementary school class is in a few weeks, and I can’t wait!

And importantly, I recognize that everyone’s American experience and ideals about America are different; so if YOU were making a presentation about America to elementary school students in another country, what would you say? Where would you start? And how would you balance the diverse perspectives that make up America? I look forward to hearing from you!