AMERICANS: ARE WE THAT OBVIOUS?

I was visiting with a woman who had recently returned from a trip to Spain. She described how one lazy afternoon while sipping a glass of wine, she was approached by a stranger. Without so much as an introduction, the young man began to scold her about U.S. policy in the Middle East. She tried to appease him, but how does one begin to dissect the complexities of that region as a common citizen?

“We’re targets because we kinda stick out like sore thumbs, don’t we?” I said.

She nodded. “It’s the tennis shoes and the college sweatshirts, you know?”

“Or our insistence that the rest of the world speak English.”

While we can be an obnoxious group of world travelers, I remember a time right after 9/11 that the world was on our side. Three weeks after 9/11, I was on a plane to Italy with two girlfriends. Great timing on our part, huh? The plane was eerily empty since most Americans had cancelled their travel plans.

When we landed in Rome, we insisted on staying awake despite hella jet lag. We went out in our jeans and tennis shoes (but no sweatshirts) to find an outdoor café for a cappuccino. A delightful waiter came over to take our order.

“Hello,” he said in English.

Of course, he knew we were Americans from the get-go.  We stand out everywhere, but much more so in Italy. Those Italians can dress. I’ve never seen more Armani and Versace in my life.

I noticed the American flag lapel pin on his waiter’s jacket. I felt a lump in my throat.

“We love America,” he said in beautifully accented English.

He motioned around to the buildings surrounding the café. American flags hung in nearly every window of the apartments in the piazza. We hadn’t noticed them before due to our jet lag. But we did now. We three Americans began to cry at the sight, the bitter memory of that day replaced with the heartfelt love we felt from complete strangers in Italy. It was a beautiful moment to be an American, tennis shoes and all.