“Do people in Ireland talk normal?” the 13-year-old girl asked me. “You know, do they say things like cowabunga?” As cultural stereotypes go, this was one of the more intriguing. I’d never thought of cowabunga as a barometer of normality.

Cowabunga is a bundle of cultural stereotypes. Considered surfer slang, it’s a word no real surfer would utter. But actors playing surfers on Gidget, a popular ‘60s TV show, used it frequently. In the ‘90s, animated series like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons resurrected cowabunga.

It began in 1953 as cowa-bonga, a phony Native American word used by a phony Native American character called Chief Thunderthud on The Howdy Doody Show. Not that anyone would have said Native American then.

Today, we’re more PC, yet cultural stereotypes persist. Here are a few I’ve encountered.

Jollity On Demand

“People are so unfriendly there.” This is one I hear a lot about Eastern Europe. Sometimes even from people who have been there.

There are entire threads on travel forums devoted to the question of whether people in Eastern European countries are friendly. How does this alleged lack of friendliness manifest? Do Bulgarians spit in your soup, Croatians curse your birthplace, Montenegrins shove you aside to cut in line?

None of the above. No, the Big Problem, say many first-time, short-stay visitors, is that Eastern Europeans don’t smile enough.

Let me see if I understand. We blitz through countries that for over 2,000 years have been invaded and occupied by everyone from the Goths to the Venetians to the Ottomans to the Soviets, yet we’re surprised if the locals fail to greet us with instant warmth?

What if we decided to see what we could learn by practicing patience and respect for cultural differences? What if that which we hastened to label “unfriendliness” was simply reserve?

As I talk with people in their home countries, there often comes a moment when the conversation shifts from a basic exchange of information into genuine connection. Those moments are why we travel.

But what about instances of undeniable, cannot-believe-they-said-that rudeness?

Let me ask you: Have you ever encountered rudeness in your own country? And if so, did you extrapolate from said rudeness that everyone in your country must be rude? (Except you of course.) I’m guessing not.

Oh, I see: Wherever we go, whoever we meet, we’re complex individuals interacting with other complex individuals.

Dishing the Dirt

Food stereotypes make me do a slow boil. According to food stereotypes, Chicagoans are obsessed with deep-dish pizza, the Nordic diet consists solely of pickled fish, Tuscan food is overindulgent, and Irish cuisine is a contradiction in terms.

Tuscany is where I learned how to transform leftovers into frugal feasts. Today’s Nordic menus are wildly diverse. Deep dish? Pull-eeze. Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods offer a world tour of culinary traditions.

When Things Change, But Stereotypes Persist

As for Ireland, oh what a drubbing it once took from critics. “The drama of Irish cuisine is not that it is bad. It’s that the Irish believe it is very good.” So sneered the authors of a French travel guide in 1964.

Today, Irish chefs and home cooks are transforming organic resources, artisanal traditions, and creative innovation into superb everyday dining experiences.

The Quaintness Stereotype

One of the most entrenched stereotypes is the idea that whatever country “we” are from is always ahead of the curve, while “those other” countries struggle to catch up.

When I was living in Ireland, some American friends would say, “You don’t have electricity there, right?” I hasten to add this was in the 1980s, not the 1880s.

“That’s right,” I’d chirp. “We line the airport runways with candles and flap our auld arms for takeoff.”

In fact, my first job in Ireland is what introduced me to technology. Back in the ‘70s, many a Galway University graduate worked by computer. The Irish have always been early adapters and innovators of technology, which plays a critical role in the economy.

Likewise, texting was commonplace in Europe and Asia long before it caught on in the U.S. As Scott Campbell, professor of telecommunications at the University of Michigan explained in a 2012 CNN interview, texting was slow to take off in America because differing networks did not work well together in the early days of mobile communication.”

An End to Cultural Stereotypes
So how do we put an end to cultural stereotypes? In fairness to the cowabunga girl, she didn’t make pronouncements, she asked questions. More important, she listened to the answers.

She came away knowing that the Irish do a great many wonderful things with language—things that win Nobel prizes for literature and that change laws to ensure equal rights for all. It just so happens that saying cowabunga and sure n’ begorrah aren’t among then.

I came away learning that 13-year-old girls who dare to ask imaginative questions deserve thoughtful answers.

Step 3 is to question our own assumptions. Once when a friend ranted about “loud Americans in their loud clothing,” I couldn’t resist pointing out that by the speaker’s own criteria, soft-spoken Americans who blended in were powerless to balance the cultural stereotype—they existed, but by definition, you’d never know it.

That’s the thing about cultural stereotypes. We can always find evidence to support them—but if we look past our first impressions and give each other a chance, maybe we can move beyond them.

Comment on the post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

$\"An$

Beyond quaintness and cottages: This, too, is Ireland.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n

A Travel Guide to Cultural Stereotypes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cDo people in Ireland talk normal?\u201d the\u00a013-year-old\u00a0girl\u00a0asked me. \u201cYou know, do they say things like cowabunga<\/em>?\u201d As cultural stereotypes go, this was one of the more intriguing. I\u2019d never thought of cowabunga <\/em>as a barometer of normality.<\/p>\n
Cowabunga<\/em> is a bundle of cultural stereotypes. Considered\u00a0surfer slang, it\u2019s a word no real surfer would utter. But actors playing surfers on Gidget<\/em>, a popular \u201860s TV show, used it frequently. In the \u201890s, animated series like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em> and The Simpsons<\/em> resurrected cowabunga<\/em>.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
In Co. Clare, Ireland, surf’s up, but stereotypes are out.\u00a0
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
It began in 1953 as cowa-bonga<\/em>, a phony Native American word used by a phony Native American character called Chief Thunderthud on The Howdy Doody Show<\/em>. Not that anyone would have said Native American then.<\/p>\n
Today, we\u2019re more PC, yet cultural stereotypes persist.\u00a0Here are a few I’ve\u00a0encountered.<\/p>\n
Jollity On Demand<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\u201cPeople are so unfriendly there.\u201d This is one I hear a lot about Eastern Europe. Sometimes even from people who have been there.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
If this is your image of Eastern Europeans, you’re missing out royally.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
There are entire threads on travel forums devoted to the question of whether people in Eastern European countries are friendly. How does this alleged lack of friendliness manifest? Do Bulgarians spit in your soup, Croatians curse your birthplace, Montenegrins shove you aside to cut in line?<\/p>\n
None of the above. No, the Big Problem, say many first-time, short-stay visitors, is that Eastern Europeans don\u2019t smile enough.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
A smile is not a commodity, but a response. Take the time to engage, listen, and learn.\u00a0
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy (in Sofia, Bulgaria)<\/p><\/div>\n
Let me see if I understand.\u00a0 We blitz through countries that for over 2,000 years have been invaded and occupied by everyone from the Goths to the Venetians to the Ottomans to the Soviets, yet we\u2019re surprised if the locals fail to greet us with instant warmth?<\/p>\n
$\"A$
Oh, those “unfriendly” Europeans!
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
What if we decided to see what we could learn by practicing patience and respect for cultural differences?\u00a0 What if that which we\u00a0hastened to label \u201cunfriendliness\u201d was\u00a0simply reserve?<\/p>\n
As I\u00a0talk with people in their home countries, there often\u00a0comes a moment when the conversation shifts from a basic exchange of information into genuine connection. Those moments are why we\u00a0travel.<\/p>\n
Such moments don\u2019t come instantaneously.<\/p>\n
But what about instances of undeniable, cannot-believe-they-said-that<\/em> rudeness?<\/p>\n
Let me ask you: Have you ever encountered rudeness in your own country? And if so, did you extrapolate from said rudeness that everyone in your country must be rude? (Except you of course.) I\u2019m guessing not.<\/p>\n
Oh, I see<\/strong>: Wherever we go, whoever we meet, we\u2019re complex individuals interacting with other complex individuals.<\/p>\n
$\"alt$
Good things happen when we remember we’re all in the human race together.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy (in Copenhagen, Denmark)<\/p><\/div>\n
Dishing the Dirt<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Food stereotypes make me do a slow boil.\u00a0According to food stereotypes, Chicagoans are obsessed with deep-dish pizza, the Nordic diet consists solely of pickled fish, Tuscan food is overindulgent, and Irish cuisine is a contradiction in terms.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
From tacos to traditional Nordic…
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
$\"A$
food is\u00a0deliciously diverse in Denmark!
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
Only it\u2019s just not true.<\/p>\n
Tuscany is where I learned how to transform leftovers into frugal\u00a0feasts. Today\u2019s Nordic menus are wildly diverse.\u00a0 Deep dish? Pull-eeze.<\/em> Chicago\u2019s 77 neighborhoods offer a world tour of culinary traditions.<\/p>\n
When Things Change, But Stereotypes Persist<\/strong><\/h4>\n
As for Ireland, oh what a drubbing it once took from critics. \u201cThe drama of Irish cuisine is not that it is bad. It\u2019s that the Irish believe it is very good.\u201d \u00a0So sneered the authors of a French travel guide in 1964.<\/p>\n
$\"Good$
Good Things Caf\u00e9 & Cookery School typifies today’s Irish cuisine: organic and artfully prepared.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy (in Skibbereen, Co. Cork)<\/p><\/div>\n
Today,\u00a0Irish chefs\u00a0and home cooks are transforming\u00a0organic resources, artisanal traditions, and creative innovation into superb everyday dining experiences.<\/p>\n
But outdated cultural stereotypes\u00a0stick like burned rice.<\/p>\n
$\"People$
Despite the stereotypes, Corned Beef & Cabbage was\u00a0never popular in Ireland.
Try homemade\u00a0p\u00e2t\u00e9, fresh-baked breads, and local cheeses.\u00a0
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
The Quaintness Stereotype<\/strong><\/h4>\n
One of the most entrenched stereotypes is the idea that whatever country \u201cwe\u201d are from is always ahead of the curve, while “those other” countries struggle to catch up.<\/p>\n
When I was living\u00a0in Ireland, some\u00a0American friends would say, \u201cYou don\u2019t have electricity there, right?\u201d\u00a0I hasten to add this was in the 1980s, not the 1880s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s right,\u201d I\u2019d chirp.\u00a0\u201cWe line the airport runways with candles and flap our\u00a0auld arms for takeoff.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"People$
In Clifden, Ireland, neighbors\u00a0gather to digitize, tag, and annotate images of days gone by.
\u00a9 Brendan “Speedie” Smith<\/p><\/div>\n
In fact, my first job in Ireland is what introduced me to technology. Back in the \u201870s, many a Galway University graduate worked by computer. The Irish have always been early adapters and innovators of technology, which plays a critical role in the economy.<\/p>\n
$\"Students$
In Ireland, app-making and coding are part of primary (elementary) school curricula.
\u00a9 Brendan “Speedie” Smith<\/p><\/div>\n
Likewise, texting was commonplace in Europe and Asia long before it caught on in the U.S. As Scott Campbell, professor of telecommunications at the University of Michigan explained in a 2012 CNN interview, texting was slow to take off in America because differing networks did not work well together in the early days of mobile communication.\u201d<\/p>\n
$\"A$
As of 2017, 97% of Bulgarians use cellphones, compared to 95% of Americans.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy<\/p><\/div>\n
An End to Cultural Stereotypes<\/strong>
\nSo how do we put an end to cultural stereotypes? In fairness to the cowabunga<\/em> girl, she didn’t make pronouncements, she\u00a0asked questions. More important, she listened to the answers.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s 1 and 2 right there.<\/p>\n
She came away knowing that the Irish do a great many wonderful things with language\u2014things that win Nobel prizes for literature and that change laws to ensure equal rights for all. It just so happens that saying cowabunga<\/em> and sure n\u2019 begorrah<\/em> aren\u2019t among then.<\/p>\n
$\"A$
When we stereotype cultures\u2014whether positively or negatively\u2014we miss what’s\u00a0real.
\u00a9 Joyce McGreevy (in Ireland)<\/p><\/div>\n
I came away learning that 13-year-old girls\u00a0who dare to ask imaginative questions deserve thoughtful answers.<\/p>\n
Step 3 is to question our own assumptions. Once when a friend ranted about \u201cloud Americans in their loud clothing,\u201d I couldn\u2019t resist pointing out that by the speaker\u2019s own criteria, soft-spoken Americans who blended in were powerless to balance the cultural stereotype\u2014they existed, but by definition, you\u2019d never know it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the thing about cultural stereotypes. We can always find evidence to support them\u2014but if we look past\u00a0our first impressions and give each other a chance, maybe we can move beyond them.<\/p>\n
Explore\u00a0the Computer and Communications Museum of Ireland\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
Comment<\/a> on the post below,\u00a0or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":28412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[202,125,227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lessons-life","category-stereotypes-culture","category-worldwide-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28411"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28470,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28411\/revisions\/28470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}