Every time I sit down to talk with some french students, or even students from other countries, they all want to talk about the same thing. They want to ask me about the war and talk about it. I also get the feeling that all of them have the same mindset. So far all of them have told me that their news-media is telling the truth and that our American media is spreading nothing but lies. This makes me upset because how in the world would they know what is truth and what is lies? Also, they admit to me their lack of participation in viewing American media. So again, how do they know our media is spreading lies when not only are they not watching it, but they aren’t there watching the war unfold before their very eyes. They also go on to say that all Americans support the war and that we are an non peaceful nation. I have tried to stay out of these conversations because they make it very uncomfortable for me. Their media is strongly against the war and that is all you see and hear over here. All of the bad things. I tell them, when was war peaceful? Bad things happen in war, its the nature of it. I don’t try to condone nor disregard the war. I simply try to explain what is being told in the united states, but the problem is, they don’t want to listen to me, all they want to do is yell at me, as if I was the person who started the whole mess. They also strongly believe that Iraq was in a much better situation before than it is now. This I don’t know and I cannot agree or disagree with because I have not been there to see it. I’m just getting tired of being blamed for everything. I feel as though it is not a good time to be an American outside of America these days (especially in France). When people find out that I am an American I get dirty looks and bad service sometimes. I also hear the same complaints from English, Irish, and Australians because we all speak English, the French automatically assume we are all American (they are deaf to accents). But don’t get me wrong, not everyone is like this, but there certainly are times when it is evident, and I do know that those who are asking about the war do not mean to accuse me of anything, they just want to know what I think and they are hoping I will agree with them, but then again... there was a girl here, who is from Southern California who was born in America but her parents illegally came here from Mexico (she is extremely proud of this and HATES America, a contradiction if you ask me), that was extremely against the war and against President Bush. She never said anything good about the country, but then again, did not want to leave it either because she gets a free meal ticket. The French, and other students, did not like her negative attitude toward her country, even though she desperately wanted to be called a Mexican when the Mexicans arrived and told her she was not Mexican but American and made fun of her lack of communication skills in Spanish, they also told her she needed to be great-full to be an American. The French students also didn’t like how she was negative against the war, so I don’t understand what they want, you can’t support it, you can’t deny it and you can’t avoid the question.