I am proud to be an Englishman. Since August 2007, I’ve been living as an Englishman in the United States. Unfortunately, some people in this country stereotype that I only eat “fish and chips or bangers and mash” without knowing anything about me.
To those folks, I have only one thing to say: I DO OTHER THINGS TOO.
See, my parents left their home to ensure our family could have a better way of life in the United States. They believed in the “American Dream.” They struggled for months with multiple jobs and not a good paycheck. On top of that, they had to play the waiting game. It took about a year just for the immigration application to be reviewed. Then, they had to obtain a visa. No, they DON’T want to go through that process again.
My whole life I’ve been called “mate,” “bruv,” or “the Englishman.” People even attempt it with an English accent. They shoot me looks in history class when wars involving England are spoken about as if I played a part in them. They ask if I want “tea and crumpets” or “fish and chips” like that's the only food I can eat. Don’t get me started with “shrimp on the barbie” because that’s not even English, that's Australian. If only Americans knew the feeling of getting a late-night cheeky Nando’s, the most divine fast-food in England. Americans even drive on the wrong side of the road. Well, they would think the same thing if they were driving in England. And Americans are wrong about football. How can American football be the “real” football if they hardly use their feet?
I recognize that most Americans just aren’t ready to hear what we English have to say. They would rather live in their own little world than hear anything challenging what they believe to be “the average English person.” But what’s that I hear? It’s the sound of my family yapping on the phone to catch up with us. It’s the sound of the tea kettle whistling like a train. It’s the sound of 90,000 people filling up a stadium for a football game. It’s the sound of loud music mixed with chatter at my uncle’s pub on Christmas Eve.
It’s the sound of my country.
We have power in numbers. London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, and every other city is ready to make some noise. If you haven’t heard our country during a World Cup summer, brace yourself. Alone in America, I can annoy my neighbors. Together in England, we can break the sound barrier.
People might feel more comfortable if I were just an “American.” But joke’s on them, I’m an Englishman living in America. Yes, I sometimes can pronounce words differently. Yes, I wake up at 4 am to watch my favorite football team play. Yes, I order snacks online from England all the time. Yes, I have one cup of tea every day. It’s just a part of my culture, “innit?”
The truth is, I won’t ever stop. I don’t know how to. What people don’t understand is that I actually love the United States and have dual citizenship. I moved here for a better life and I got that. But it’s hard to live comfortably when I get stereotyped. It can be really draining, even more draining than the 11-hour flight to my roots.
But I’ll continue to be proud of where I’m from and live the only way I know how: watching football with a trusty cup of tea in my hand.