Why do we call ourselves "Americans?" In all of North, South, and Central America are we
pompous enough to assume we are the only "Americans?" Some French and Canadian friends
suggested "Staters," or "Taters" for short. I don't know. I'll stick with "Gringo" from
"Gringolandia" for now.
Sure, back home in the good old U.S. of A. I am continuously fed the line that us Gringos are
the smartest, richest, and most powerful people of this earth. What does the rest of the world
think? What line are they fed? Smartest? Well maybe narrow minded. Richest? Well maybe in
dollars and cents. Most powerful? Maybe when in comes down to dealing with the military. I
understand that part of being a Gringo means that you are proud of who you are and how you do
things. But I think we miss out on a lot of what this world has to offer. The Chilenos were powerfully
curious about Gringos and Gringolandia. They didn't want to be Gringos though. They just wanted to
see what we are like and what makes us tick--the rich, smart, powerful Gringo. I noticed
that the Chilenos spent more time looking out for one
another. And they took more time to do things,
suggesting that it was more important how well you did something rather than how much, how
fast, and how efficient.
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