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tjpnz2000 · Joined: 22 May 2003 Posts: 118 Location: Japan

I don't know if you have ever seen the show but I thought it was one of the best American TV shows of all time.

(OK, I'll get to the point!)

One episode Flieshman (spelled that wrong, I just know) the Jewish doctor from New York worries that he is loosing his identity. As he puts it:`I used to be Flieshman, the Jewish doctor from New York. Now....`

He tries to reclaim his New Yorkness buy ordering specific foods and magazines from the local store to no avail. Then one morning the guy next doors dog wakes him up and he completely goes postal. It is then that he realises that his New Yorkness has not been lost and that it is just under the surface waiting to come out.

So, here is the question: How do you retain your identity, your New Yorkness (or in my case my New Zealandness), in a strange land?

We mostly want to fit in and if we were not looking to change we would not have left home but how do you hold onto that home?

T

Steiner · Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 573 Location: Hunan China

I think the show was called "Northern Exposure." A Northern exposer is Gerard wearing only a trench coat.

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

I keep a good bottle of whisky handy for emergencies. Any time a student asks me "What part of England are you from?", I pour myself a large one.

johnslat · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 11:03 am Post subject: Overexposure

Dear Steiner,
You're quite right about the show's name - and it was, in my opinion, a very good one ( there ARE a few ). But the typo ( i.e. Northern Exposer ) conjures up some interesting possibilities ( such as the one you mentioned ). Another? A tabloid devoted to gossipy tidbits about the Inuit.
( which could be purchased as the local supermarket check-out line ). As to the original question, well, I've never felt any " need " to " retain my identity " in a different land. About the only thing I think I've lost over the years is most of my " Boston accent " ( which, however, immediately resurfaces when I'm back in " Beantown " - and, at the moment, I am; so for a few days, anyway, I'll be paaaarking my caaaaar in the Haaarvaaad Yaaaard ).
Regaaaaaards,
John

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Grahamb, where are you from?

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

Naturegirl, I�m from Scotland, hence the hypersensitivity to being called *ngl*sh.
On one of your earlier postings you said you�d spent some time in Scotland. Where were you exactly?

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Hey, I was in Ullapool, up in the HIghlands, about an hour from Inverness and where the ferry leaves for Stornoway.

Seth · Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Posts: 575 Location: in exile

I lived near Inverness for a while as well as Gullane, halfway between Edinburgh and North Berwick. I could happily retire for the rest of my life in North Berwick but, alas, it's not meant to be. At least not now, anyway.

My experience was almost the opposite of John's. When I did live in Britain I acquired a strange Irish sounding accent. I've never been to Ireland nor really knew many Irish. I also started using Scottish colloqialisms without even thinking about it, like 'aye' and 'wee'. I even got threatened by a crazy old man in London because he thought I was Irish (which is a really funny story). Then I tried to open a bank account at Barclays and I had to prove I was American and not Irish by showing my passport.

I think it's mostly because of hearing English accents while living in London. Londoners especially seem to cut the 'r's off the end of words, while Americans have a distinct R sound (unless you're a Bostoner like John). My brain was getting torn between the 2 R sounds so the R was coming out a bit stressed. I was also pronouncing my T's more clearly as the American T sounds like a D most of the time. The result was an Irish-like accent. I've heard of people living in Germany and getting a German accent.

It quickly faded once back in the US.

grahamb · Joined: 30 Apr 2003 Posts: 1945

Seth, "Aye" and "wee" aren't colloquial, they're examples of good Scots, which I believe sprang from Old English.
When I was a wee (!) laddie, my teachers always "corrected" me for saying "Aye" in class. It was considered "bad English." But guess what, in the House of Commons, a vote in favour isn't "Yes," it's "Aye," hence "The Ayes have it." Crazy.
South of the border, "wee" means to urinate, and "a wee" is what you might call "a leak" in the USA. If you said "I need a wee" in Scotland, you'd be regarded as a cissy.
Naturegirl, how did you fare with the midges on the west coast? For the uninitiated, midges (or "midgies"), are like mosquitoes fitted with silencers. And they hunt in swarms. Nasty!

naturegirl321 · Joined: 04 May 2003 Posts: 9041 Location: home sweet home

Midges were horrible there! I couldn't believe it. I also aquired an accent. I was the only American there, we got a lot of American tourists, but they were the rich old kind who complanined about everything and tried to one up one another. there were some Ozzies and Kiwis there and a Brit as well, the rest were from Ullapool.

It was a huge shock going back to the States for three months to finish my degree.

You get a different imporession of your country and people when you live abroad. It really makes you think. It was hard to adjust to the American accent and way of life. The accent was hard on my ears. It was so peaceful and beautiful up in the HIghlands compared to WDC.

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2003 6:43 pm Post subject:

A few years ago, I spent 3 years living in London, and although I am canadian, everyone assumed I was Irish. This happened to a lot of Canadians I met there. It had something to do with the Canadian accent morphing into the Brit through osmosis-- it turns Irishy. In fact, several unrelated individuals had me pinpointed to a specific region in Donegal where I have never set foot in my life. This included an old woman from Donegal who was certain I hailed from her village. When I told people I was in fact from Vancouver Island, they often heard, 'Vancouver, Ireland'. Sigh. It is with this knowledge that I have resigned myself to the fact that your identity and image and culture are quite malleable and open to interpretation by others. Really, it's irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. I've been living in Turkey for the past year now, and am used to 'Canada' being the last place people guess I am from. My students persist in calling me American or British. The trick to retaining your past and your identity is to not let the world confuse you! I don't need to drink Labbatts or eat poutine to remember where I'm from. Even if I'm apparently from a small village in Donegal, I'm still Canadian. Whether I like it or not...