You dahling Americans

You know I love you guys.  Americans make up 90% of my readership.  So clearly you guys must be ok.  But you do make me smile sometimes.

*Huge gaping generalizations coming up*

You know how there are certain attributes / characteristics that are attributed to people of certain nationalities?  Like we joke that the Scots are stingy?  The Brits are dour and sexless (except you of course)?  The Germans meticulous and quite regimented? The Aussies drunk sheep-shagging ho’s who suck at cricket and rugby?  ONLY JOKING!!  (not about the cricket and rugby tho.) Love the Aussies. 

Well what is the worldview of the typical American?  What do you think it is?

I am not getting into political shit here, this is supposed to be funny, ok!!  Remember – we laugh at ourselves here!!  Make as many SA jokes as you want.

So, would it be fair to say that the cartoon American is a slightly large, big Mac eating, Stetson-wearing, loud, brash character who thinks the world is divided into two countries ;  America, and Not America.  World (i.e. Not American) geography not being the strong suit. 

Of course, this doesn’t apply to you, the people who come here are intelligent, worldly-wise and G&D. 

(Although I must be honest and say I was surprised to see how many people wanted to know more about SA.  You clearly are not the cartoon American character.)

However…  a little test.  It’s something I find so amusing, and something I see all the time.  To me it’s a little thing that speaks volumes.

As you may, or may not know, each country has a unique international dialling code.  In business, and otherwise, if I give out my telephone number I always prefix it with the country dialling code for SA.  I.e. +27 xx xxxxx.  I do this so that people outside SA know how to dial the SA number from their country.  People all around the world do this.  In the UK they precede their numbers with their international dialling code, +44 xx xxxxx.  France, Germany etc, they all do it.  No one assumes the rest of the world automatically knows their particular dialling code.

Except (some!!) Americans I know.  They hardly ever prefix their telephone numbers with the international dialling code for America.  It’s as if we (Non-Americans) are supposed to just know the international dialling code for America.  It makes me smile every time.  I just love the confidence.  So funny.  I get this all the time from American business people I deal with on a regular basis.  Almost every businessperson in a Not American country knows their country’s international dialling code.  Not my dear American colleagues.

So here’s the test.  Do you know yours?  Quick!  What is the international dialling code for your country?  If you had to give me your telephone number, would you have included the dialling code, or would you have assumed that I should know it? 

I love you guys.  Really, I do.

Comments

[Kathy]

It's +1 --- but you're right -- I never give it out when giving a phone number. As far as I know, I've never given my phone number out to anyone outside the US. (I guess we don't deal internationally as much as you do!)

Also, I happen to know that Switzerland's is +41)

[Nat]

HA! I do know it! If I'm out of the country, I dial 011 +1 then the area code and phone number. Otherwise, for all long distance North American calls, we do 1-area code-telephone number. Of course, in some places, long distance is actually just a few miles away, but don't try and convince the phone company of that!

I'm not offended at all by your American generalizations, I can see how we are perceived that way, unfortunately. I abhor Big Macs, but do enjoy the occasional McD's cheeseburger or chicken nuggets. I am severly overweight, but that has more to do w/emotional eating issues than where I'm from. Don't own a stetson, but used to own cowboy boots, however both are prevalently worn here in my state of Oklahoma. Speaking of which, you'd be surprised how generalized people are about my state. When I travel here in the US, and tell people what state I'm from, they assume that there are still cowboys and Indians (Native Americans, not people from India) running around here shooting guns and bows and arrows at each other, and that teepee's are everywhere. It's quite hilarious. Of course, I could do the same for other states, which goes to show how we can all make assumptions, even locally, but most certainly globally.

The only things I knew about SA before your posts on the matter were: there was formerly the practice of aparthied, Nelson Mandella, Dave Matthews, and Charlize Theron were from there, Charles Spencer resided there before his divorce and the death of Di, great white sharks can be found in the waters off your coast, and that there were alot of Dutch settlers there at one point, based on the names of some of the towns, and people's last names. However, thanks to you, my knowledge of your lovely country is growing, and my interest has most definitely been piqued. How good of you to enlighten me! :)

[sweetisu]

If we're dialing *out* to other countires, we use "011"
If we're dialing back *in* while in another country, we use "001"

Except within North America.

Even though we're one of the richest in the world, Americans rarely travel outside of their "comfort zones - CZ" and therefore know very little of other people/cultures' existence. (CZ being, Mexico/Carribean vacation spots, cruises, etc.) We learn about others through our media and take that as gospel.

[gkk]

61 here in Oz, I also know USA (01) and UK (44) off the top of my head but that is about all.

I read a stat the other day which I hope is wrong, but somehow I don't think so.... only 4% of Americans have a passport - 4 PERCENT! I was flabbergasted.

When I think of Americans I can't help but remember the huge, stetson wearing guy I met in a german museum bitching about how there were no guide leaflets with the American flag on them. There was English, German, French, Dutch etc etc but no USA. Couldn't have anything to do with there being no "American" language now could it??

[Monique]

Okay, I'm only half American. The other half is Panamanian. I remember my Panamanian country code immediately: 507. But the American one... I couldn't remember it until I read the comments and found out it was +1... I was further confused since the Panama country code is three digits and it's a code that's dialed after dialing three *other* digits: 011. When I dial from the US to Panama, it's 011+507+number. (We don't really have area codes in Panama.) When I call from Panama to the US, it's 00+1+(area code)+number.

Having been an international dialer all my life, it's odd to ask this question: what exactly are those first two or three numbers (not the country code ones)?

[Tertia]

Phew! V relieved to see there aren't any hate comments. Was v scared I would offend you chaps. Had to come back and check or else I wouldn't be able to sleep.

[victoria]

I think you're absolutely right. Americans, on the whole, tend to be louder & more overweight than the rest of the world. Also more clueless about folks outside their country. We DO see the whole world as "America / Not-America." We are insulated by power & geography. All of this applies to me. I didn't even realize how loud & clueless I was until I did a little traveling.

[CathyY]

Well I'd throw botox and silicone into that generalization but we weren't talking about California now, were we?

-CA Native

[Robin (from TLOL)]

No problem - it's +972 :).

Now another question is why America gets a cute little ethnocentric one digit country like, say, ONE, and little Israel gets a ridiculous 3-digit number like 972. There's no justice in the world I tell ya'.

(said tongue-in-cheek all my fellow Americans, no need to get offended, I'm a card carrying dual citizen born and raised in American and so can make American jokes with impunity)

[Robin (from TLOL)]

No problem - it's +972 :).

Now another question is why America gets a cute little ethnocentric one digit country like, say, ONE, and little Israel gets a ridiculous 3-digit number like 972. There's no justice in the world I tell ya'.

(said tongue-in-cheek all my fellow Americans, no need to get offended, I'm a card carrying dual citizen born and raised in American and so can make American jokes with impunity)

[Lioness]

Here you go dahling: Portugal: 00351; Israel: 00972. And I know a few others as well.

Aren't we ab fab, here in Europe's armpit? Quite.

[Amber]

Guilty as charged. American, and I don't have a clue what the number thing is. I hate feeling like an idiot. Jeesh. LOL!

[Bec]

I did not know the code before I read the comments section of this post. But, then, I've also never called anyone outside the US, and have never had to tell anyone outside the US my phone number. Imagine that!

[Louise M]

Tertia, I think alot of it has to do with the size of North America. There are eight time zones, two countries and one "country" code - 1. Many people never call "overseas", their family and friends live in North America. Unless you deal with international business, you may not be aware that there are country codes, as well as city (area) codes.

The seven-digit telephone number is also slowly being replaced with the ten-digit number. I do not know how prevelant it is in the US, but in Canada it is becoming more common. I live in a smaller city, that only has a 7-digit number, but Vancouver uses a 10-digit number (604-then 7 numbers) to dial local calls. Very confusing when visiting and you forget. The 10 digit number was introduced because of the rapid growth in cell phones, we are running out of 7 digit numbers...

[Cindy]

I completely agree with Louise. Few Americans even call outside of the US, much less venture overseas. As a retiree of a major telecommunications company I could go into excrutiating detail regarding country codes, but I'll stop at this: we had to start somewhere, and since ATT was the first telephone company, and was the primary driver behind international telecom standards, would we have given the US a country code of 3? 9? They chose 1 because we were the first, not because we were or are the best. It was just logical at the time.

Americans traveling overseas often embarras me. Once I was in St. Martin on the US Thanksgiving holiday, and a group of fellow Americans were just amazed that any shops were open - DOH! We are, as a people, unicentric, I'd have to agree. But I think it's more from lack of exposure than purposeful arrogance. Brits think nothing of traveling to SA, or India, or OZ or other places halfway across the world, while Americans mostly vacation here or in adjacent countries. Even Europe seems terribly far to most of us, and it's only 6 hours from our east coast. I was fortunate enough to travel internationally for a living and now do so as often as I can, but I still choose the US first - it's just more convenient and we have so many different geographies to choose from.

[scott]

No idea.
Thanks for letting me be an honorary woman. I feel strangely light-headed.

[Christina]

Dumb American here. I have no clue. But, I have never called internationally, so that is my excuse as to why I don't know.

[Elizabeth]

I'll admit it, I didn't know it before reading comments! I've never called out of the country (except when calling something like the CC company, but then again I didn't dial an out of country number!!!! so it doesnt count). Tertia, you truly are G&D and Brilliant! God love arrogant americans.

[usako]

no clue.
i'm proudly canadian, but i live awfully close to the can/us border, so maybe it's 'them' rubbing off on me ;p
just kidding!
i'm a mere peon i mean student, and i have no need to call anyone out of country (hell, out of province even) so i really have no idea. maybe... it's +11? haha just a total random guess.
long distance here we dial 1 first, but that's probably just an in-country standard.
hm. thanks for making me think T! :)

[jemy]

See, I have had to call internationally every once in a while, and I find Europeans often assume you know how to make international phone calls. They'll give you the country code, but not explain that you have to dial "011" first, to indicated you're dialing internationally. (Is that right, is it 011? I haven't done it in a while). I never give out the codes to the country, because A) I don't know them, and B) I assume you don't know them either and are going to have to look up how to place the call anyway.

I think it's just that us Americans don't have to call internationally as much. It's not that we assume you know how to call us, it's we assume no one knows how to call, since we don't know. So who's the person who's all superior now, my foreign friend? ;)

When I travelled, I tended to find that I could spot Americans in a crowd. In general, Americans were:

Dressed in a certain brash, yet casual manner. (jeans, or some comfortable equivalent, with patterns that were not in sync with the locals)
Louder, more emotional, and more casual in speech and body movement. (When talking, but not when in line or boarding a bus, in which case foreigners were much more casual about being in your personal space)
More forceful and personal when meeting strangers. (Except in the case of the Irish, who seemed much more brash and curious.)
And in England and France, Americans were generally taller with better teeth. (sorry guys. Just something I noticed)

I think it would be fun to compare women across countries. There was a great article recently on the differences, culturally, between East German and West German women. I have a friend here from Russia, and we were talking about her being a physicist, and I asked her if she ever felt like she had a hard time becoming a scientist, and she said "Because I'm jewish?" And I said "Uh... no, because you're a woman." And she simply couldn't understand what I was asking her.

She, and her russian friends, act completely differently around men than American women do.

[Tam]

0044!

As the wife of an American, I can say that the one and only stereotype I've found to be true almost completely across the board is the LOUD thing. Every American I've ever met seems to have their volume turned up two pips louder than I'm accustomed to here in the UK. And my husband, bless him, often thinks that he's whispering inaudibly in church or lectures, and oh, he really isn't.

[Lisa]

You know, I really have no idea! But more because I haven't had much of a reason to know it. When I worked in the business world, I was in an administrative department and provided tech support for my own company (which only had offices in the states). Now, I work as a nurse and can't think of a time that I've needed to give our number out to anyone from another country (even our close neighbor Canada ~ I live in Michigan).

I noticed the first poster said "1", and I'll have say that was my first inclination, since we use 1 in front the area code and 7 digit phone number when dialing out of our own area (and sometimes even within our own area). I have to agree it sounds pretty self-important though. Not surprising, coming us from us Yanks! :)

[Mollie]

+1 - 800 - U R N ASSHOLE

[twizzle]

Fuck if I know my country code. Stupid, redneck, world-revolves-around-me American here.

[Adelaide]

I am an American – a very proud one. I don’t think my country is perfect. We have much to learn and more to accomplish. We have many problems. Our present leaders are, in my opinion, headed in the wrong direction with many things, and I console myself with the thought that, as they say, the arc of history is long and bends towards justice. I think the people in your own country are experiencing that now Tertia. Your county too has a very, very long way to go.

Having said that, and acknowledging our lack of perfection, I do firmly believe that the United States remains a shining beacon of hope and freedom. Americans are incredibly generous. We are fantastically blessed with a standard of living enjoyed by few people on earth. People in my country do, still, have a better chance at improving their lives than the people anywhere else on earth. I live in a very expensive, up-scale community. My neighbors are Latino, Black, Asian, Indian, and white. We live together with respect and affection. We rejoice in the diversity that surrounds us.

My ancestors came to this country from poverty and need. They worked hard and watched their children and their children’s children better their lot. America educated my ancestors and gave them a chance for something more. By working hard my husband and I have achieved a standard of living that my grandparents would have found unbelievable. I’m sorry that the rest of the world finds so much about America to hate and dislike. I think they might be better off if they were to take what is good about my country and try to emulate it. Freedom and democracy are wonderful things. You have described quite eloquently the struggles of your own country to begin to achieve the same kind of freedom and democracy that we enjoy here. Some people would say that the “dislike” of Americans is based on jealousy. I’m not sure that I could totally agree with that, but there might be some truth in it.

But really, Tertia, do you truly think that lack of knowledge of an international dialing code is any sort of benchmark to use to judge people? I am sure that those Americans who need to know what our dialing code is, know it. I am just as sure that there are South Africans who do not know their international dialing code number. I hardly think that is an indication of arrogance on the part of those South Africans, or any other people who don’t know their country code. If you want to criticize Americans, feel free, but please use some kind of reasonable standard when you do so.