Sophia Hathaway once described doner kebabs to me as “the greatest food in the history of ever.” A doner kebab is shaved chicken and/or beef in a grilled pita thing (that’s the best way I know to describe it) with any combination of onions, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, chili sauce, greek yogurt sauce, and thousand island as toppings.
To my knowledge, our group has come to love eating doner kebabs. Gervais and Ellen love it because 10 of us can be fed for 25 euros (it’s a lot of food too…Europe is awesome). All of us love it because it tastes good and is ready quickly. And we’ve also found a favorite doner kebab stand with a friendly shop owner who now recognizes us after four trips. 
“Ah, yes!! My American friends!! 10 kebab??” he energetically greets us as we walk up to the stand, a storefront on a busy street leading from the train and bus station to the city center. His voice just has that kind of energy that makes you happy when you hear it. He’s like a warm towel on the back of your neck after a haircut…soothing.
When it’s my turn to add toppings onto my kebab, he asks me a question that I figure he knows the answer to, but I guess he needs confirmation.
“You from America, no?” I laugh and tell him that yes, we are from America.
“Ah yes!! America!! Go Chicago Bulls!! Haha!!”
Chicago?? That’s what this dude knows about America?? Out of all the cities in America to know something about, Chicago?? At least he didn’t say go Cubs or go Blackhawks, but still, I was rattled that he dared to mention Chicago in my presence. (I was, of course, wearing my St. Louis Cardinals hat.) 
While eating my kebab, though, I started thinking–my mom warned me about thinking after watching 101 Dalmatians, so I try my best not to do it. I started thinking about Slovenians and wondering what first came to mind when they thought about America.
Was it Trump? Was it the Chicago (ew) Bulls? Was it cheeseburgers and shotguns? Was it our lord and savior Ryan Reynolds? What about sports? What did they know about American sports?
During my extended talks with Slovenes, I’ve always made sure to ask the question, “What first comes to mind when you think of America?” Here are some answers that I got. They may surprise you.
Starting off our answer parade is Boštjan Hren, a local from Celje who Ellen met last year while visiting Slovenia and who graciously served as our unofficial tour guide for the day we spent in Celje. Picking up on the fact that I was a St. Louis Blues fan, Boštjan’s answer to my question revolved around his favorite hockey team, the Los Angeles Kings.
“Hey Ryan, do you remember the team that had a two games to zero lead on the Kings in the playoffs a few years ago, but then the Kings won?”
Unfortunately, I do remember because that team was the St. Louis Blues and I remember watching every second of that series. Moving away from the playoff failure of my favorite hockey team before I begin crying, I’ll admit Boštjan’s answer was interesting to me. He knew the Kings because of Anze Kopitar, the first Slovene to reach the NHL, and he rooted for them because of Kopitar. Likewise he cheers for the Miami Heat, who employ the only Slovene in the NBA, Goran Dragic.
A few weeks ago, we visited a class at the University of Ljubljana, and I had a chance to ask this question to students from Ireland, Finland, and Slovenia.
Among the answers that I got were typical responses that I was expecting, and a few that still have me thinking. 
The Finnish student said he thought of Los Angeles and chicken strips because that is the only city he’s visited in America and chicken strips were the first American food he ever ate. The Irish student said she thought of seafood and surfing because she tried both of those things to Boston, the city she first thought of when thinking about Irish-Americans.
The Slovenian student said that she first thought of Native Americans and how misunderstood and mistreated they have been. I was fascinated by this answer because Native Americans aren’t close to the first thing to cross my mind when I think about America, yet students in a university 5,000 miles away from America think about Native Americans first. Needless to say, I was interested in every answer, but the Native Americans answer stuck with me and shows, to me, just how loving the Slovenian people are.
So, with all being said and done so far, here is America according to Slovenes (and other Europeans I’ve met in Slovenia): Los Angeles, chicken strips, the Los Angeles Kings, the Miami Heat, seafood, surfing, and Native Americans.
Not too bad of a description, I’d say.
~Ryan
Ryan Eisenauer, a sophomore, remains undecided about his major. However, his hobbies include writing—particularly about sports—watching sports, playing sports, thinking about sports, hanging out with his golden retriever puppy, and bothering Ellen. Ryan enjoys sports, so his cultural presentation is on sports in Slovenia…go figure.