Photo: Desmond Kavanagh Feature Photo: space cowboy
The phrase “ugly American” actually has two historical meanings, although we’ve tended to ignore one in favor of the other.
When my flat manager in Dhaka finally arrived and asked if I was well, I responded, “No, I’m not at all happy,” furious that it took him a full day to check our water pumps.
We hadn’t been receiving consistent water pressure out of our faucets for over a day now, making it hard to bathe and cook. He said a worker would come “sometime tonight,” just after my roommates and I planned a celebratory dinner out. I worried we might have to cancel our dinner to wait for him, and judging by Bangladeshi lack of punctuality, he might not even come at all. Things just move impossibly slow here.
I suppose both my response and attitude towards the nuisance would clearly define me as the “ugly American.” Frustrated that it took me three hours to get enough water to bathe, I couldn’t muster up any cultural sensitivity and not act like a spoiled brat. An American friend once told me, “Sometimes, you have to be the ‘ugly American’ if you want to get anything done.”
Is this true?
Photo: Nir Nussbaum
At first, I was grateful to have this excuse, but then I thought further about the situation. In my work and personal life abroad, I’d like to think I represent my country outside the stereotypes: ugly, arrogant, ignorant, imperialist. Living in Bangladesh on a US government scholarship, I try to listen to people’s experiences, asking questions about individual and community identity and culture in order to form a reasonable impression of this foreign land.
However, while those conscious sympathies are active, I must be careful not to be misinformed or deceived. As a foreigner, I am likely to receive the “tourist tax” and have the price of my goods jacked up, or be given false information in an attempt to persuade me to do something I normally wouldn’t. By always being a passive listener, I have a very likely chance of getting walked over. This can happen in any country, to citizens or travelers, but looking blatantly different physically makes me a marked target. A balance must be struck between cultural exchange and self-protection.
I think this is what my friend meant when he said we have to act “ugly” in order to get things done. Ugliness is easily confused with aggression. Americans are culturally more aggressive, with values centering around self-reliance, directness, and task orientation. Think about our idioms: time is money, don’t beat around the bush, keep your eye on the ball, if you want something done right… It should be forgivable if we pass back and forth between being conscious sympathizers and demanding “aggressors” while living abroad, especially depending on circumstance. Maybe “aggressive” America is as misunderstood as much as “submissive” Asian cultures.
Photo: RL Hyde
The term “ugly American” derives from the 1958 political novel of the same title by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer. “The Ugly American”is fiction based on reality, alluding to Americans losing political presence in Southeast Asia because of their failure to understand local culture. The novel quotes a Burmese character as saying,
For some reason, the [American] people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They’re loud and ostentatious.
I think most Americans today would agree that this sentiment of imperialism existed during the Vietnam War, and any critically thinking traveler could easily witnesses this in many ex-pats today, especially government funded ones.
But interestingly, the title is a double entendre. The “Ugly American” also refers to the novel’s unattractive hero, Homer Atkins. According to a New York Times article appraising the novel, Homer, an engineer with black, calloused hands, lived in a dirt hut and collaborated with villagers on community empowerment projects, like the construction of a bicycle-powered irrigation pump. The article asserts that “Homer is the very model of the enlightened ambassador the authors thought America should send into the world.”
“Ugly” is an ironic play on words, describing an admirable hero who was “unattractive” due to the nature of his work: helping others.
Photo: Islip Flyer
Why did the negative title stick? Both kinds of “ugly Americans” exist abroad: the ones who are ugly from arrogant attitudes, and the ones who are physically ugly from giving up on hygienic luxuries for humanitarian goals. We more often lean to the negative rather than the positive. But according to the original definition, being an “ugly American” is what you make of it.
I thought about my manager and my aggressive tone: should I have been the “ugly American” and pouted until my water was fixed—or should I have been culturally sensitive and given up on water for a few days, as well as my personal hygiene, becoming the other “ugly American?”
We can’t always control other people’s perceptions of us. But what I could do is, firmly put my foot down to get what I needed, then be culturally sensitive and invite him for a cup of chai.
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I think it’s better to be the “ugly American” than the “naive American”. At least what you described, you were able to reflect on and own up to your actions, versus other American travelers I’ve often seen that take the easier, but far more insensitive route of ignorance that anything wrong was done in the first place. When travelers think too far into perspective, sometimes we end up losing integral parts of ourselves. To a certain extent, I think it is fair to demand what we need even if that can classify us as “ugly Americans”.
On a side note, lack of bathing could never classify you as the other “ugly American”, you’re too beautiful Amanda
miss you!
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I’m struggling with that actually: finding the balance of fitting in to this place and not losing an integral part of myself, like you said. It’s one of those impossible balancing acts! But I guess I can’t lose parts of myself because I’m changing 1,000 ways every day, anyway.
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Great article Amanda. You made me rethink what it means to be an ‘ugly american’. Your self awareness is amazing and it is fun to read how you navigate complex social situations.
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you got it all right, I am SO glad you published this girl! It really makes us think about the role that we play as “cultural ambassadors” on fulbright scholarships. You’re awesome.
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Loved it. Thanks for posting. Your article has inspired me to write about my own experiences with Americans.
Cheers!
Mauro
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Loved this article, as I could totally relate having lived in Pakistan for three years. Once I became such the “ugly American” that my maid was afraid to come back without the accompaniment of my landlady. Thankfully, lots of chai and bags of shalwar kameez that no longer fit me helped mend the relationship!
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let’s face it, in order to get work done, one has to be curt at times. but that doesn’t always make one ugly. what one really should master is the art of being firm but not offensive at the same time
great article, btw ^_^
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Not being a word traveler, but being the host to a few foreigners here, I hope I’ve done my part to be a good ambassador. I think we, as a human race, should never believe we are better than anyone else, to treat others the way we would like to be treated no matter what part of the world we are in. Great article, as usual you get us all to think outside our little boxes.
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Not being a world traveler myself, but being the host to a few foreigners, I hope I was a good ambassador. I think we, as a human race, should never think we are better than anyone else, to treat others the way we would like to be treated. Great article, as usual you get us to think outside our boxes.
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Thank you for writing and sharing this article!! It fascinated me and made me think back to all those moments of travel when being both a tourist and an American I had to be conscious of stereotypes and my attitude. Its a crazy world and it is very important to be aware of why, where, and who you are. Thanks Amanda!
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Love your article!!
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Nicely written Amanda, you are quite right, but please do not think that Americans have the only bragging rights to being “ugly travellers”, us Brits are just as bad!
I have travelled extensively over the last 6 years, and have been witness to many “ugly” incidences, some quite appalling!
My philosophy is to smile as much as possible, which works well for me, but sometimes even that is not enough!
I was visiting a friend in Ukraine a couple of years ago, and I took travellers cheques for security, my friend took me to a bank where the exchange rate was good, signed my checks and got my cash, the following week we returned to cash some more, and the lady said (in Ukrainian), that they did not take them, my friend said we had been before with no problem, so off the teller went to find the manager, he came back and said the same thing!
My friend saw red, and stood in the middle of the bank, and gave everyone who worked there such a mouthful (in Ukrainian) at the top of her voice, that they suddenly changed their attitude and couldn’t help us enough, cashing my cheques with a smile!
Not the sort of thing I could do, even at home, but it just goes to show that maybe sometimes, being “ugly”, can get the job done!↵ -
Exactly what my friend meant about “being ugly to get things done.” In the US, we are used to the saying “the customer is always right”.. but that doesn’t fly in other parts of the world. When we know we are right, like your traveler cheques, aggression could get things done, or it could turn people off. Trying to learn the rules is the challenge as a foreigner/ex-pat.
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Great article! I was in Dhaka, Srimongol, and Sylhet a few months ago and I found myself having to take deep breaths to calm down from Bangladeshi stubborness a few times! Very smart people with a keen eye for trying to get a deal out of an “ugly” American. “Dono bat” for the encouragment, Amanda!
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The real question is how long did it take to get your water fixed?
I’ve traveled to 41 countries and have the ability to culturally sensitive, without question, but to knowingly act against your will when you know that you could achieve a goal by willing it so, doesn’t quite make sense to me.
Should any one from a well-developed, organized country give up all those things that they have come to appreciate about their country – time responsibility, operating efficiency, productivity – just because they’re away from home?
I lean towards getting things done. It is visible in my travel style, for sure (I love to see as much as possible rather than lounge around).
So, how did that water fix go down?
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It did get fixed by the end of that day.. I’ve been feeling a lot of that lately: not wanting to give up ideals I’m used to and value just because I’m abroad. Part of me feels that arrogant, but part of me also feels that in this cultural exchange, I could also be teaching some of my culture’s values too–like timeliness. But more often than not, Bangladeshi friends keep telling me when I’m frustrated, “Well, that’s Bangladesh, get used to it.” With that attitude, I can understand why so many expats hide within their small communities and avoid it all. But, then again, things will never change.. Clearly, I’m still debating it all!!
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