Definition of stereotypes: generalized beliefs about
the attributes, characteristics and behaviors of a group. One stereotype of overseas Americans by locals is that they speak louder than other nationalities.
We had a perfect example of the vocal activities of Americans yesterday when we ate at Le Cottage, a lovely little restaurant not far from Lake Léman. Rather than calm, the lake had white caps. It felt more like early March than May, certainly not a day to enjoy the terrace.
Inside the restaurant, the windowsill is lined with books. Drawings of people like Mao and Emily Dickinson hang on the walls. Windows look out on the mini park and the tomb of the Duke of Brunswick. It was a bit crowded. One table, ours, remained. I had reserved it for 2.5 people (Sherlock, our dog, my husband and me).
The undercurrent of conversation was normal for any crowded restaurant with the exception of the two women seated next to us, whom we quickly identified as Americans by the volume with which they were talking.
Geneva is a city where 43% of the population is from another country. We guessed the women were accompanying wives by their casual non-working clothing: quality slacks and sweaters. Accompanying wives are married to men who spend a few years assigned with a UN agency, NGOs or international corporation. These women often can't find work in Geneva and put their careers on hold and use the time to be a stay-at-home mom. Yes, we were stereotyping.
Our second clue they might be American was the insertion of the word "like" every few words.
How do we know?
We heard very word of their conversation at a level that made our own conversation difficult unless we lip read, which we don't do.
Thus we knew the woman next to me was divorced and wasn't unhappy about it. She had some kind of hearing coming up. I was tempted to ask more details but resisted. She would attend some 50th wedding anniversary celebration of a Japanese couple which she was looking forward to. If the waitress had not brought my Nordic salmon salad, I would have heard why she was thinking of bringing her mother over.
The woman next to my husband talked far less but she recounted "...like I drop Kevin off to like karate..." She spoke more about her kids. Her face was animated, and she used her hands a lot.
The women couldn't accuse us of eavesdropping because the only way we could have not heard would to have put in earplugs.
They finished before we did and left smiling. It was more than a guess that they had a thoroughly enjoyable time, a good thing. They had been totally unaware of their volume and the couple next to them had an insight into their private lives. I don't know if the couple on the other side were anglophone or not and if they had the same insights we did.
My husband and I looked at each other. I wasn't sure if he was annoyed or not that any luncheon chitchat of our own was impossible. Then I said, "do I have a blog in this." We laughed, and ordered a cheesecake with a raspberry coulis and two forks for dessert which we ate as we chatted.
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