Buongiorno amici (Italian for hello friends) ~ A new column for you all to enjoy in The Weekly!

What’s with the title? In order to better understand it, you must say it in a foreign accent as if you were making fun of Americans. So it comes out sounding: Uuuuuuu-mericans.

Before I continue to tease actions of our people, let’s get some background. I am a born and raised Minnesotan, and I love my state; but, I am aware of its odd people. I am also a Gustie, and Gustavus has given me a lot (after all, it has made me a BA). Both from the internal and external point of view, I’ve looked at our way(s) of life as Americans and Minnesotans. My external view is from being abroad; I have lived in two countries and two states, traveled to seven countries (excluding the U.S.) and have been to 18 states in the U.S.

The point of this column is to pick on and point out the goofy actions, words or deeds of the American people (thus the mock of the word Americans in the title), Minnesotans and finally, those here at Gustavus.

There are some obvious laughable traits we all do, so I would like to use this column as a tool to point out how odd we are as a people.

This column is here to bring another twist to what The Weekly has to offer. We all enjoy a good laugh, and it’s healthy to do so (so I hope that this will at least bring a smile to your face or a chuckle to your day).

I lived in Rome, Italy for five months. My residence: Vicolo di Sant’Onofrio, Roma, Italia was a half mile from St. Peter’s Square. A two story apartment with six other girls within the small streets of Rome was home. I was immersed in a culture completely different than St. Peter’s hill.

Where I lived highly influenced my external viewpoint. I went to John Cabot University in the heart of Rome. It is an American University next to the Tiber River with two campuses and students from, obviously, Italy and the U.S., but also other countries including Spain, Asia and other European countries. It was going to school in a place where I was the minority and living with six girls from the U.S. (but far from the Midwest), and it was there that I realized some of our (Americans’ and Minnesotans’) odd ways and came back with a more critical eye.

I had to quickly learn the language in Italy if I was to understand the people around me. Those of you who know another language or have lived in another country know what it is like when you start to think in other languages. I still find myself doing this.

Upon reentering the United States and joining in informal and classroom dialogue, I soon realized the one word that encompasses Americans’ conversation on a national perspective: INTERESTING. I am going to call out Americans, conversationalists and those at Gustavus on the overuse of this word. Everyone does it. I have heard this word come out of the mouths of professionals in the business world, professors and students.

People often jump to this word if they are at a loss for what they are going to say or in order to avoid confrontation. I challenge you my fellow Gusties to count the number of times you hear the word interesting 1) in your day, 2) in a class and 3) in one person’s statement in their contribution in a discussion.

Interesting is a safe adjective; no one wants to take the position of saying something is challenging or an absolute truth or for goodness sakes maybe even disagree with another person and say something such as “it’s horrible.” Not that it is completely wrong to use a safe adjective, but its overuse makes it an obsolete expression.

I want to challenge all of you who are repeatedly and overly using the word interesting. Use a different word to describe your idea or your interpretation. Be the one who provokes a deeper thought, use a word other than what everyone else is using and please don’t be afraid to express what you really think.

I mean this article with no offense to anyone (I’m just as guilty as the next person for using the word) but rather to educate us all on how interesting our solo choice of words is.