South African's Take on Americans

Over the course of almost four weeks, I have been fortunate enough to gain insight from native Africans and whites.

Africans represent fewer than 80 percent of the population, whites nine percent and the rest are Asian and colored. I have also interacted with several Xhosa people. Xhosa is a native dialect in South Africa and is the second most spoken national language, third is African. Communicating with these various groups of people has allowed me to take in several opinions about the U.S.

I have found that the majority of people in South Africa either like America or they’re indifferent. A lot of them are still enthused over Obama’s election. I asked a local FIFA volunteer what it would take for me to get into the stadium for a press conference and she said to tell them I love Obama. While it was wishful thinking, it points out that Obama is well received in this nation. Even though he hasn’t delivered on all of his promises. Although there was always going to be a huge security threat if Obama were to travel here. Security officials even hoped the U.S. would get knocked out in the first round, so that they would not be hassled by the risk of him in Africa.

People in South Africa refer to the “American Dream” every time we discuss the U.S. The local who is showing us around the country has worked in the U.S., and he says the consensus here is that America is the land of promise. There are a lot more job opportunities in the U.S. than South Africa. This kind of made me take a step back, because I only work summers and winters when I’m not taking classes. I feel like I take our job field for granted. I also never realized how easy it was to find a job in Cincinnati compared to other nations.

The U.S. and South Africa are on relatively good terms politically, which may contribute to their respect for us. We are both apart of the United Nations and typically support each other in wars. One exception would be the war in Iraq. It’s not that people despise us for going to war with the Middle Eastern nation, they just don’t see the point. I agree with this stance because I think ultimately we will have to setup a government and then pull out and hope it works. This war, like the Vietnam War, cannot be won, and Africans agree.

There are few stereotypes about Americans in South Africa, which has surprised me. The one about Americans being very rich exists, a realtor in South Africa picked us out while we were watching the U.S. play. He gave us his business card and expected us to call him and buy land here in 2010 and sell next year. To Americans it would seem bizarre for poor college students to buy land. This idea of wealth will probably always be there, and it has some truth to it. I have yet to come across any other reoccurring assumptions about Americans.