The subject of life pre and post-9/11 has come up a couple of different times in class now and I always find myself curious to hear what people have to say about their experiences. I have a gap in my American cultural life of this period of time when people became patriotic because it was what made you fit in. I was living outside of the U.S. in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corps Volunteer and I remember clearly wondering how I was going to be able to relate to my students when I came home to teach the following year, without having had the same experience. I never imagined that it would be something that would come up in graduate school eight years later.

We talked about race as a signifier tonight without considering what other people of the world see when we travel outside the U.S. I was the only American living in my small community, but not the only light-skinned person. However, in the DR, if you look white and like you come from elsewhere, you are called "americana/o". Just like all Asian-looking people are called "china/o" and dark-skinned people are called "negra/o", "morena/o" or "haitiana/o". For Dominicans, race, rather skin color, is a way to identify people so you know who you are talking about.

My point in saying this is that on Sept. 11, 2001, as I was walking back to my friend's house from the bus station (after cancelling my travel for the day), I heard a "psssst, americana!" coming from the corner store I was passing. Because I was the only American in town, the man that owned the store wanted my help drafting a letter to President Bush explaining how he was ready to stand up and defend my country. Regardless of my opinion on the matter or my political leaning, I can't help but marvel at how (at least in this case) race and/or nationality was creating a positive reaction to a horrible event, while in the U.S. race and/or nationality was creating a negative reaction. I know that was not the reaction of all Dominicans, but I do still wonder how many expats/embassy employees/volunteers around the world had similar experiences.