Cultures Divided by a Common Language

I realized with surprise that I’ve now lived exactly the same amount of time in America as I have abroad.

I was born and raised in Pennsylvania but began moving progressively further away from home when I was 17.  I lived very briefly in New Jersey and then in Texas for nearly 3 years. From there, I moved to Ireland, where I lived in Belfast for 4 years, in Dublin for a grand total of 2 weeks, and then in Galway for a year.  I next moved to England, staying put in London for 21 years. Finally, I returned to my hometown just over a year ago.

Fortunately, while living in London, I visited Rome and Barcelona but that’s as much an incursion as I managed to make into Europe.

I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed everywhere I’ve been, although admittedly I didn’t always understand everyone and everything I experienced.

I suffered culture shock when I first moved to Belfast in December 1983 and, although I thought I’d remained as staunchly American as I’d always been (the accent never so much as wavered), I suffered an equal dose when I returned to Altoona in June 2010.  I suppose all those years abroad did leave a mark, as well as an impression, after all.

Two statements made in my hearing, equally incorrect and 27 years apart, summarize for me what I know of cultures divided by a common language.  In 1983 a man in Belfast said, “Americans know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”  In 2011 a woman in Altoona said, “Foreigners understand nothing about us.”