How to spot an American abroad

JOHANNESBURG-Apparently it’s very easy to spot an American.

Not only do we walk differently, but our English is vastly different from the English that is spoken here in South Africa. The way we carry ourselves in public spaces and walking about the host cities is so unique that South Africans can instantly spot that we are not just a Westerner, but an American.

For most people here our unique characteristics are not an issue. Far more people are welcoming and accommodating than the popular belief back home.
That’s how I found out about the differences between a South African and an American from Thabile, one of the people who worked at the tent city I slept in Friday night. We spoke until 3:45 in the morning about our cultures, our families and our experiences as 25-year olds separated by 8,200 miles.

Thabile told me Americans have a distinct accent. Whether it’s a Floridian, a New Yorker, or someone from Wisconsin we all enunciate more than South Africans. The way we pronounce words is also a stark contrast to people in greater Johannesburg.

We joked about our families, specifically our cousins, and our incredible bond with them.

She told me about her cousin who is infatuated with American culture. Thabile told me her cousin curses to emulate American movies and music, wears his pants off his behind because it’s allegedly popular here and has a poster of Beyonce in his room—for reasons I never found out because I was too busy laughing.

For most of the night, I looked Thabile in the eyes. Our eye contact kept the conversation going during the dull periods. It also debunked the most evident attribute of an American abroad—looking up directly in front of me.