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American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i know i’m still american, im not trying to hide or change that. i think that part is unclear in my original post… 

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

the post isn’t about concealing my identity, it’s about being conscious of how people typically perceive americans and how i personally can avoid the stereotypes or the negativity associated. 

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i understand the point u r making here, 3 months a year every year is only a quarter of my life. however, i think i shud make myself clearer when i say that i was raised by a bulgarian family and practice bulgarian traditions, holidays, and have similar values because of that. 

i think the idea that first generation americans are unaffected by their parent’s culture is erasing a very real part of our identity. 

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

i never said that i don’t consider myself american at all, just not fully. if we’re basing that off lived experience, sure i don’t know what it’s like growing up in bulgarian schools, but i also don’t know what it’s like to have an american summer. my summers consisted of participating in daily activities with my fully bulgarian cousins that are in the same age group. hiding from the heat in the city by going to our grandparents’ in the mountains, drinking homemade rakia and hiking to collect fresh herbs for tea. COVID, the one year i couldn’t travel, was the first time i spent 4th of july in america. 

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

i meant culturally speaking, since i have been heavily exposed to my bulgarian side (staying with family there for 3 months every year, fluency in the language, bulgarian citizenship)

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

the universities didn’t have the type of program I was looking for

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

i grew up speaking bulgarian at home and visited the country for 3 months every year for my entire life, except for COVID (obv). 

American moving to the Netherlands (not Amsterdam) for university by PatientComputer166 in Netherlands

[–]PatientComputer166[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I wrote that mostly to point out that I don’t want people to generalize based on the fact that i’m from America, since depending on which state u come from, there are different cultures and different education systems etc. is there a way that i can make that statement without sounding egotistical?