Another shamless theivery from Ginny.

For those of you who don't know, Ginny teaches English over in Iraq. That's about all you need to know (because I don't want to have to kill you, my faithful readers). Giny and Kiki, sorry, this will be old news to you! ^_^


From Ginny:
I asked my Advanced Conversation class to come up with a list of cultural presuppositions they had about the West, and America in particular. Some of them are pretty interesting, so I thought I'd share them with you....

- People are loose. We get that idea from Hollywood and TV programs.
- There are lots of sins - sex, drugs, alcohol, crimes.
- Most families are dysfunctional.
- Kids leave their families too early.
- Old people aren't supported by their families.
- The media forms the way Americans view everything.
- Americans only care about themselves.
- The United States is trying to control the wealth of the Middle East.
- The American dream has been perverted by politicians.
- Americans are uneducated and don't know about other parts of the world.
- The style of life is too tiring.
- Americans are too time conscious.
- Americans enjoy money.
- Racism is prevalent.
- The Zionist Lobby (i.e., Jews) controls US policy and runs America.
- Americans misunderstand liberty and pervert the idea of freedom.
- They only believe the best about their administration (government).
- Americans respect God, but don't observe His actions in their lives.

We talked about positive stereotypes, and these suggestions were offered:

- The USA has the best model in the world of different ethnicities living together in relative harmony.
- The USA develops the best technology and has the strongest education system, and they share those things.
- Most innovations come from America.
- If you work hard, you'll receive a lot.
- Sometimes there are good families.

Class ended before we could finish positive presuppositions. At least, I hope that's why there aren't more listed! We'll continue this topic in a few days. If anything interesting comes up, I'll share more. Your thoughts?