Are You Friends With George Bush?

Was the question that was asked Will and I when we were in a store the other day, by the guy who was manning the cash register. What? We asked, more surprised than deaf. He repeated his question, and we laughed it off as best we could, saying that we weren't friends with PRESIDENT Bush. As we left said store, we started discussing how often this question, has been asked since we've moved across the pond.

While we both do understand that he is our President, and respect the position most of the time, we are not supporters, which I'm sure does not surprise any of you. Unfortunately, since, being in a foreign country, we seem to be the representatives of ALL Americans, and since most people think that the US is the size of England, everyone assumes we MUST know him (do you know Tony Blair?) and/or their cousin that lives in California, Texas, you fill in the state blank here.

But another reason why we find this question so unnerving is not so much the question as who is asking it. Hands down the people that ask if we KNOW Bush, as opposed to do we support Bush, are of Middle Eastern descent, and as Will put it, it's like asking them, "Do you have a terrorist in your family?" They are saying it to us as an insult, for simply walking into their store and being Americans. Fair? Hardly. But that seems to be a common theme since we've moved here, which I find exceptionally strange that it's changed this much, as I have lived here before, and while I would get the offhand comment every once in awhile, nothing like what we are dealing with on a day-to-day basis now. AND we live in a MUCH nicer area than I did on both occasions.

So why the change? When I ask that question to my British or other non-American friends (or American friends that have been here longer than 5 years), they all reply, why the war?

Well I have to say I didn't start the war, and I'm sure that Bush has no problem spending his money, so if Americans want to live anywhere outside of the US, they should suffer another's problems. Incredibly unfair, but there it is. Just my opinion, but it's out there.

Anyway, other than that, same old, our Thanksgiving Party was a success, the stuffing was a big hit, and we got to meet lots of the sig oths, so that was fantastic.

I have a presentation this Monday, I'm slightly freaking, but, as I have most of it written, I think it'll be okay, or, it'll be like last time where I was ripped to shreads, but, everyone gets ripped to shreads, that must be the fun part for some people about being in a PhD program. Unfortunately, that's not the fun part for me, as I like positive academic environments, oh well. Wish me luck!