(11:55 a.m. PDT, 8:55 p.m. in Bergen)
Whenever I travel overseas, I see myself as escaping America- not in a bad way, but it always feels like a well-deserved break. I look forward to being out of my comfort zone- new tastes, new sounds, new customs, people communicating in a tongue I can’t begin to comprehend. I also eagerly anticipate not encountering the things I’m used to seeing at home- chain restaurants, f’rinstance…and, more often than not, that part never quite pans out the way I think it should.
Bergen’s an affluent Western city, so it makes sense that American companies would want to have outposts here. So far, I’ve seen a Burger King, a McDonalds, several 7Elevens, a few Subways…oh, and a Starbucks…and that’s just in the three days we’ve been here. Just when I think I’ve escaped America, it turns out it’s all around us.
Yeah, I know; it’s an increasingly global economy and the Internet Age has made this a much smaller world. Turns out there’s quite a demand for the things American companies have to offer, and most are good at adapting to local tastes and desires. The Starbucks store near the harbor carries an assortment of Norwegian pastries to go with their American coffee. It’s in a prime location with a lot of tourist traffic, and they appear to do a brisk business. I suspect other American businesses aren’t hurting for business, either…and that’s great for them. It also means I need to accept reality and accept that the more I try to escape my home country, the more it follows me around.
America may not own the world, but it certainly seems we rule it.
