Special

Americans are great about making you feel like you're special. Whenever I tell people down here I'm from Holland, the first thing they say is "Wow! That's amazing!", with a look on their face that can be best described as overawed. Now although I admit that coming from Holland and moving to this specific part of Georgia should be deemed a miracle, or at least an act of God, I personally had very little to do with it. I mean, it's not as though I personally swam across the Atlantic Ocean to get here. Then when they find out I live in the same state, or heaven help them, the same town, like the same bands as they do, get my hair cut at the same salon, or that we own the same color car, their enthusiasm knows no bounds. It's great. I finally feel really special.

And I especially love how this feeling of "specialness"has pretty much permeated all aspects of American life. This starts in elementary school, where there are not just awards for the smartest and fastest students, but also for those students who tried the hardest, showed the most improvement, and had the best school spirit. And it continues pretty much right through one's life down here. Not only does this whole award circus continue throughout college and even graduate school, but various adult-oriented organizations, such as karate schools and swim clubs have awards for just about every imaginable achievement ("best freestyle kick", "best attendance", and "best attitude").

What I personally find most enjoyable is how the whole notion of everybody being special has become integrated in the retail and service industry. Enter any restaurant in Holland, or France, or Germany, and you can count yourself lucky if your presence is acknowledged within ten minutes. Note, I said acknowledged. I'm not even going to go into how long it can take to get as much as a menu from a European waiter. Here in the US, on the other hand, the waiters will all act as though your appearance was the thing they had been waiting for to make this night just perfect. Go out and try to buy a semi-expensive appliance such as a vacuum cleaner or a laptop; before you know it, you're swapping life stories with the salesperson, offering to bring them coffee next time you're in that part of town. And the very best part? There are discounts for every imaginable age group. Of course, there is the senior citizen discount, but here in the US, there is much more. Are you a teacher? Discount! Are you in, or related to, the military? Discount! Do you have a certain store card? Discount! Oh, you don't have that card? No problem, I'll use the one I have right here at the register. Discount! I have earned free entry to museums, gotten up to 30% off on clothes, and earned goodness knows whatever else in freebies and or discount because of my job, my husband's job, or some card we happened to have.

Yes, we're cheap. Very much so. But we're also special. Very. Special.