You’re reminded you’re not a ‘true’ American when…

By not ‘true’ I’m referring to being the first generation immigrant who didn’t grow up in the US.

I’m writing this on the day of the Super Bowl, so you can probably guess the first point on my list.

• I’ll watch the Super Bowl later this afternoon, but it will be in the background. If I happened to be doing some errand, I wouldn’t stress about missing the game. You understand the magnitude of the event and its role in America’s sports and pop culture, but you don’t fully understand. By the way, I can’t say the same about basketball. Basketball, a very American sport, has an appeal that transcends cultures and geographies.
• Don’t get me started on baseball… With football — and I should call it American football — I can at least experience some interest when, say, the game gets tight. With baseball, the not-understanding part is extreme and literal.
• Switching gears. The other day I mentioned to a stranger how my oldest son is in college. I got asked if he was a Freshman or Sophomore. I should know the terminology by now, especially considering that it’s also used to describe high school years but I keep forgetting. And it’s a little confusing too. The word “Junior” for example sounds like it describes the youngest of the youngest. But it refers to the penultimate school year in the American schooling system.
• America’s political system. Why are America’s Republican candidates currently contesting in the primaries and there isn’t…