I want some hot Euro jeans! Doesn't everyone - deep down? I went to "Brooklyn" (of all places) where they have lots of cool jeans at fair prices. The shop girl said, "Mag ik u met iets helpen?" To which I replied, "I only speak English." Then she said, "May I help you?" I explained that I was from the United States and that I was looking for some hot Euro jeans though perhaps not using those same words.
While helping me the shop girl said, "You don't look like the typical American." Given my outfit consisted of what I put on in a darkened room this morning (see below) for the mere purpose of being clothed at breakfast, I was very flattered:
But as I am trying on the jeans I start wondering, what does this mean, I don't look like an American? Does this mean I don't have fluffy blond hair and enormous white teeth? So I say, "I'm curious, what did you mean when you said I don't look like an American? What does an American look like?"
The girl replied that Americans... their hair is (making funny face and pulling on her hair) greasy? They wear the (motioning to her waist) - "Hip Sack?" I offer - yes hip sack. And, another shop girl joining in, they wear the cameras around their necks and they are, how do you call it, vat? Yes, fat. And their clothes do not fit well, bad lines, not fashionable.
I told them that Americans are not so bad but perhaps a lot of mid-western retirees are coming to Brugge on vacation. They went on to say that in Belgium the young people are not, "all cheerleaders and prom." "We do not have cheerleaders or prom here," girl number 2 says. After they spoke some more I realized they had two distinct impressions of America, one from Hollywood and the other from tourists. In this dichotomy I think actual America is lost to Brugge.
While helping me the shop girl said, "You don't look like the typical American." Given my outfit consisted of what I put on in a darkened room this morning (see below) for the mere purpose of being clothed at breakfast, I was very flattered:
But as I am trying on the jeans I start wondering, what does this mean, I don't look like an American? Does this mean I don't have fluffy blond hair and enormous white teeth? So I say, "I'm curious, what did you mean when you said I don't look like an American? What does an American look like?"The girl replied that Americans... their hair is (making funny face and pulling on her hair) greasy? They wear the (motioning to her waist) - "Hip Sack?" I offer - yes hip sack. And, another shop girl joining in, they wear the cameras around their necks and they are, how do you call it, vat? Yes, fat. And their clothes do not fit well, bad lines, not fashionable.
I told them that Americans are not so bad but perhaps a lot of mid-western retirees are coming to Brugge on vacation. They went on to say that in Belgium the young people are not, "all cheerleaders and prom." "We do not have cheerleaders or prom here," girl number 2 says. After they spoke some more I realized they had two distinct impressions of America, one from Hollywood and the other from tourists. In this dichotomy I think actual America is lost to Brugge.
Comments