Pennsylvania and Foerign Language Experiments

Over the last few days I had to go to Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania for a business trip. On the way there, after I got on the plane, I thought it would be interesting and maybe somewhat amusing if I spoke only in German and pretended not to know any English. I started this after I got on the plane. It wasn't really an issue until the stewardess came up to me and asked me if I wanted something to drink. I asked her, "Sprechen sie Deutsch?". I had to repeat myself a time or two because she was having a hard time hearing me due to our proximity to the aircraft engines. The ladies in the seats next to mine heard me and told her that I was asking her if she spoke (you're going to love this...) Dutch. I almost turned to them and said, "Nein, nicht Nederlander, Deutsch" but I figured that was taking this a bit too far. She tried to communicate with me and I waited until she got to the word "Coke" before I smiled and said, "Ja, coke bitte". I got my coke and the rest of the flight was more or less uneventful. While no one tried to communicate with me, I got several semi-nervous smiles from people who seemed to want to say hello but were afraid to approach me. It was an interesting experiment. What did it teach me? It seems to me that mainstream Americans are fairly ignorant in terms of dealing with foreign peoples but they aren't unfriendly and their heart seems to be in the right place.

After getting off the plane and getting to my hotel I decided that some food was in order so I walked over to the nearest Wendys and got a bite. Bethlehem is like any other place in Pennsylvania. I can't really describe it except to say that if you take anyone who's spent any significant time in Pennsylvania and plop them down in any other place in Pennsylvania without telling them where they are, even if they've been out of the state for a while, they will know they're in Pennsylvania. Maybe it's the whole steel mill/coal mining thing but I doubt it. I've been to Pittsburgh a few times and I lived in the greater Philadelphia area for four years. While there are very certain differences, it all feels like Pennsylvania. It was nice. Comfortable. Kind of like home. I look forward to going back.